Parties criticize peace monitors’ reports of sexual violence

The parties to the revitalized peace agreement have questioned the credibility of the report published by Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism CTSAMVM.

According to the peace monitors, soldiers committed sexual violations and atrocities against women and girls in the upper Nile state between February and April.

The parties refuted the claim and described the report as fake and rubbished due to the lack of names for those who gave their testimonies over being raped and sexually assaulted.

Maj. Gen. Bior Leek, a Senior Representative of the Former Detainees (FDs) at CTSAMM, claimed inaccurate reports that don’t reflect government effort in investigating some of the allegations.

He says the reports that lack information cannot bring justice because the victims are unknown.

“I read the report last night. The number of victims reported by the CTSAMVM is 320, which is a big number. You can’t imagine 320 can be raped,” said Bior.

The representative of SPLM in Opposition, Dr. Chuol Ruey, says it’s unfortunate that sexual gender-based violence continues to rise instead of decline since the peace accord was signed.

“The CTSAMVM leadership has to do a serious follow-up on this matter because it is the one dominating most of the reports we are reading, and why it should continue this way,” said Chuol.

Brig. Gen. Samuel Chan Mut from the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) encouraged the peace monitors to avail names of the victims affected.

“Give the national monitors a second chance with our headquarter secretariat to go and again evaluate the nature of this report. We will only have this report not fully investigated, and then we don’t have the victims’ names,” Gen. Chan stated.

The chairperson of CTSAMVM, Lt Gen. Asrat Denero Amad, says the report is accurate and is based on witnesses’ and victims’ accounts.

He says national monitors are always involved in the investigation and prepare the report.

“I would like to remind you that all information reported at the CTC meeting is prepared with the full involvement of our National Monitors at all levels. Our reports are circulated to the Senior National Liaison Officers for their feedback and discussed at the JMCO meetings,” Amad said

In 2019 Ceasefire Monitors reported that 240 women had been raped, which forced the government to form a committee to investigate the matter and said it was untrue.