France and the European Union are calling for a hold on capital punishment in South Sudan as the world celebrates the day against death penalty.
France, together with the European Union, considers the application of the death penalty to be a fundamental violation of human rights and there is no clear evidence that the death penalty is useful to fight crime, the French Embassy said in a press release.In South Sudan, there are 181 prisoners sentenced to death and most prisoners in death row do not know of the right to legal aid.
The Ministry of Justice said only six prisoners have received Government legal aid since 2006 when the legal aid system was put in place.
France says the abolition of the death penalty in South Sudan requires great leadership and significant public advocacy.
Given the widely recognized challenges of ensuring the right to a fair trial in South Sudan, France calls for an immediate moratorium on the death penalty in South Sudan.
Recently the Comboni Family in South Sudan called for a end to executions and the abolition of the death penalty in the Permanent Constitution Bill of Rights.