Post-Referendum Plans Underway in Sudan

Post-referendum preparations are already underway in South Sudan.

The United Nations Integrated Referendum and Electoral Division (UNIRED) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has trained 74 four judges to handle petitions on the referendum process.

The judges were selected from all the states of South Sudan by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Sudan Justice Simon Wol Maketch.

Justice Maketch told the judges that the judiciary plays a vital role in the referendum.

“The vision of South Sudan will be fulfilled soon and you are expected to ensure the referendum process proceeds smoothly”, he told the judges when he closed the 5-day workshop at a Juba hotel.

“The faith of the credibility of the plebiscite partly lies on your hands and we will all be happy once we achieve the goal of South Sudanese”, said Justice Maketch.

The Capacity Development Specialist at UNDP/UNIRED Edith Kabui said the training covered several areas including Standards for Judicial Conduct, Ethics and Integrity among Judicial Support Staff, Report Writing and Case Data Collection, Initiation and handling of court documents and the role of the competent courts in the Southern Sudan referendum process.

“UNDP has called for the commitment of the South Sudanese leadership and the partners for the success of the plebiscite”, she said.