The UN human rights office called on South Sudan to stop the use of the death penalty since the country’s judicial system may not have ensured fair trials for the more than 200 people on death row.
‘We are particularly concerned about the limited access to legal representation during trials, including for people sentenced to death,’ the spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, C√©cile Pouilly, told journalists in Geneva on Friday.
She said the overwhelming majority of individuals in prison in South Sudan do not have legal representation or the right to free legal aid in serious criminal, civil, land and family matters and lack of resources hinders proper investigations and prosecutions.
‘In these circumstances, the high threshold set by international law for the use of the death penalty fails to be met,’ Ms Pouilly said.
Her comments followed reports that at least four people were hanged in South Sudan since the beginning of the month in Juba and Wau.