The official launch took place at Freedom Hall on Tuesday 5 April 2022, and was addressed by H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, and H.E. Dr. Riek Machar Teny, First Vice President, and was attended by three other Vice Presidents and many other South Sudanese dignitaries and members of the regional and international diplomatic corps. 

Addressing the participants, RJMEC Chairperson Maj. Gen. Charles Tai Gituai said: “This public consultation process has been eagerly awaited by the public. Unfortunately, it has experienced delays due to funding and other constraints. It is encouraging to see this process finally take off despite these obstacles. 

“I commend the Technical Committee for the measures it has put in place in a bid to ensure that these public consultations processes to be undertaken align with international human rights standards and best practices. In addition, I urge the Technical Committee to undertake this process in a manner that upholds the letter and spirit of the R-ARCSS,” he added.

General Gituai said RJMEC expects that the Technical Committee will undertake the process in a manner that gives opportunity to the men, women, girls and boys of South Sudan to meaningfully participate and give their honest views about the kind of CTRH they wish to see established. 

“I wish to encourage the RTGoNU, including the state governments to work in partnership with each other so as to safeguard the civic space and foster an inclusive environment so that the people of South Sudan can have even more confidence engaging with this process,” he said.

“This will build the feeling of ownership to the CTRH once it is eventually established and thus make truth, healing and reconciliation an even more achievable goal.” “Now that the Committee is ready to embark on a very important phase of its work, I wish to encourage them to work efficiently and diligently to undertake meaningful public consultations and thereafter issue to the country a comprehensive report in a timely manner containing findings and recommendations that will inform the drafting of a CTRH legislation of good quality.”

The Chairperson called on the Revitalised Transitional Government to prioritise the “speedy implementation of all chapters of the Agreement in letter and spirit, as this is the promise and commitment that the parties made to the people of South Sudan, in order to ensure justice, equality, respect for human rights and the rule of law, as stipulated in the preamble of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan.”