Civil Society Organizations urged the President of the Republic to abolish death penalty by not confirming death sentences.
Agency for Independent Media, Amnesty International, Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, Comboni Missionaries, Human Rights Watch, South Sudan, Human Rights Society for Advocacy and South Sudan Law Society urged Salva Kiir Mayardit to commute all existing death sentences in South Sudan on the second independence anniversary.
The agencies commended South Sudan’s Government vote in favour of UN General Assembly resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty on 20 December 2012.
They urged President Kiir to establish an official moratorium on executions in South Sudan to abolish the death penalty in line with the resolution and the global trend.
The agencies are greatly concerned about 11 men sentenced to death by hanging in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal State in June for the alleged murder of six farmers in Farajallah in December 2012.
They also expressed concern on governors of Lakes, Warrap and Unity states conference in June which resolved that cattle rustling activities should incur ‘the death penalty for criminals’ and apply the ‘death penalty for refusal to pay blood compensation.’