CCHR Provides Research on South Sudan Constitutional Process

For Sarah Bosha, LL.M. ’13, completing the CCHR graduate program brings with it a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of international human rights law and international peace building.

At the request of the Catholic Relief Services office in Juba, South Sudan, The Center for Civil & Human Rights has begun a summer research project to provide expert analysis on a number of comparative legal questions relevant to that country‘s constitutional development process. Ms. Bosha, a Zimbabwean lawyer, is providing research assistance to the project.

Working alongside NDLS faculty, Ms. Bosha will focus her research on specific topics. “I am conducting comparative research on issues to do with post-conflict reconstruction and particularly the phenomena of war veterans and the post-conflict society,” she explained. “ I am also looking at issues of citizenship and the potential threat of statelessness in the new South Sudan, exploring what international law norms exist to address the issues and how the constitutions of other post-conflict states address these areas.”

The project is expected to provide resources to faith-based actors, including those linked to the Catholic Church, to support engagement in discussions around the new Permanent Constitution. For Ms. Bosha, the importance of the research is clear. “We are closely examining the importance of the state’s obligation to respect, promote and protect human rights through a strong constitution. The strength of the constitution and its level of compliance with international human rights norms and practices will influence the state institutions especially the legislative bodies – on the types of laws they pass.”

Co-sponsored by the Program on Constitutional Structure and by the Kroc Institute‘s Catholic Peacebuilding Network, the research project is scheduled to be completed in August of this year.