The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is urging the authorities and concerned actors to prevent forced disappearance in South Sudan.
This came during the forum where senior Government officials, NGOs representative and families of missing persons participated on Tuesday in Juba. It called the government and all actors to clarify the fate of the missing family members
According to ICRC, over 5,700 cases of the missing person recorded in South Sudan since 2011.
The ICRC head of delegation in Juba, Pierre Dorbes, says the government has a primary role to prevent forced disappearance and provide accurate information about missing persons.
“It’s the state authorities that bares the primary responsibility to clarify the facts and where about of missing persons, they need to address the needs of these families and prevent the absurd disappearance of people in the future,” Dorbes said.
South Sudan’s government condemned the absurd disappearance in the country. The Vice President for the Gender and Youth cluster, Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior encourages families of the missing persons to have hope, while the government and its partners work closely to address the matter
“I would like to tell those families who suffered under the weight of so many unanswered questions that, they are not alone. I would like to reaffirm our commitment to working with ICRC, National, and international NGOs, and line ministries to ensure more is done,” Nyandeng asserted.
On Tuesday, ICRC organized a one-day panel discussion to mark the International Day of Disappearancewhich is commemorated on 30th August.