SSHURSA WELCOMES RULING OF THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA AGAINST PLANNED DEPORTATION OF DONG SAMUEL LUAK AND AGGREY IDRIS
Press Release: for immediate release; 27 January 2017
January 27, 2017 (SSNA) — The South Sudan Human Rights Society for Advocacy(SSHURSA) welcomes the ruling made on 27 January 2017 by the High Court of Kenya, that human rights lawyer Dong Samuel Luak and Aggrey Idris should not be deported to South Sudan as planned by the Kenyan security. The two men were abducted on 23 January 2017. SSHURSA appeals to the High Court to closely monitor and ensure that its decision is respected and the two men are immediately set free without any further encumbrances.
Kenya is state party to many international and regional human rights and refugee conventions. Under the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Kenya should adhere to the good faith principle and should not allow its security to abuse freedoms and human rights of persons under its protection and to which it has pledged to protect. Kenya should therefore, abide by its obligations under the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and the 1969 Organisation of African Unity (African Union) Convention Governing Specific Aspects of Refugees as well as other international and regional human rights instruments.
SSHURSA continues to call on President Uhuru Kenyatta to take drastic measures against his errant security agents who are involved in conniving with the South Sudanese security machinery to use Kenya as a ground to extend human rights abuses.
SSHURSA also urges Kenyan human rights organisations, regional and international human rights institutions and the rest of the international community which have been standing up for the two men to continue putting pressure in preventing the possible deportation. The High Court ruling is in line with the international human rights law and should be used to urgently set the two men free. SSHURSA further calls upon Kenyan human rights institutions and personnel to urge their government not to condone Kenyan soil being used as an extensional ground for South Sudanese security agents to abuse human rights and rule of law as is in South Sudan.
SSHURSA is a nongovernmental and non-political human rights organisation founded on 5th June 2007. Its head office is in capital Juba and its coordination offices in other states of South Sudan. Its vision; a democratic, peaceful, human rights and rule of law abiding South Sudan. It areas of focus are in human rights education and monitoring, constitution, rule of law, transitional justice and peacebuilding among others. For more information on this press release or about SSHURSA, Contact us through E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: +211955912237 or visit our website at: www.sshursa.org.