The South Sudan government requests the East African Court of Justice to give them another one month to respond to a lawsuit seeking to block the country from producing oil in Unity and Upper Nile region.
Last month a human rights organization filed an interim order at the East African Court of Justice to stop South Sudan from exploring and exporting crude oil.
On June 6th, human rights organization Hope for Humanity Africa took the government of South Sudan, and oil producing companies, Dar Petroleum Operating Company and Greater Pioneer Operating Company or GPOC to the East African court of Justice over environmental destruction.
The organization says it wants the court’s intervention to stop ongoing environmental pollution in the oil producing areas of Unity and Upper Nile.
The organization says it filed the case on behalf of communities living in the oil producing region.
In a letter dated June 26th and addressed to the East African Court of Justice, the ministry of justice says it was unable to respond to the court sermon within the days given by the court.
The letter signed by Biong Pieng Kuol Arop requested the regional court to give the government of South Sudan until July 30th to respond to the lawsuit.
Arop said in his letter that coronavirus pandemic made it difficult to respond to the allegations made by the human rights organization.
The oil producing areas have been affected by the activities oil firms, leading to contamination of water sources and farmlands with dangerous chemicals.
The environmental pollution has been blamed for increasing cases of poisoning and deformities in the area.