An Open Letter to Justin Trudeau, P.C.,M.P., Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Liberal Party.

April 20th, 2017

Hon. Justin Trudeau, M.P.
Parliament of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6

Re: An Open Letter to Justin Trudeau, P.C.,M.P., Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Liberal Party.


Dear Hon. Trudeau:

I write on behalf of the more than 1.5 million South Sudan refugees who have fled the violence caused by the senseless civil war in their country. The refugee situation is fast becoming one of the worst, the modern world has ever witnessed. The conflict and unprecedented violence rages on in South Sudan, continuing to cause suffering to millions to suffer. As of February 2017, the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees has registered more than 1.5 million refugees who fled South Sudan into the neighboring countries. Details of the 1.5 million refugees who are as follows:

• Uganda (800,000)
• Ethiopia (350,000)
• Sudan (310,000)
• Kenya (89,000)
• Democratic Republic of Congo (68,000)
• Central African Republic (5,000)

These numbers continue to increase by the day and yet the host countries are already feeling the weight of caring for the millions of extra people in their midst, at a time when they are unable to continue helping these refugees without additional assistance. With no political solution in sight, the conflict in South Sudan is likely to worsen this year, with no peace or stability in sight for those who have fled their homes, and no reprieve for the countries that host them.

As a concerned member of your constituency, I am appealing to you on behalf of these millions of South Sudanese refugees and the local communities hosting them in the various countries, and urge you, as my Member of Parliament, to take action. Canada has a long-standing tradition of responding to humanitarian crisis around the world since its creation as a nation. I am proud that my country has served the needs of refugees world-wide, and that Canada is a leader in protecting defenseless populations worldwide. To continue this tradition of welcoming those fleeing persecution, Canada cannot turn its back on the South Sudanese refugees, in light of one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history.

We also request that Canada help with the resettlement of the South Sudanese refugees once again. This response to South Sudanese refugees is necessary and urgent in order to help the host countries whose infrastructures are feeling tremendous pressure due to the millions of refugees in their midst.

What could be done?

• With the support of donor countries, the United Nations should establish a trusteeship to restore peace and order in South Sudan, and call for General Election in three years
• The trusteeship body should establish governance system based on a federal model, and Institute for Federalism at University of Fribourg should be the institution to oversee the establishment and management of the federal model
• Deployment of additional UN Peacekeeping Force in Equatoria, Western Bahar Al-Ghazal States and other parts of South Sudan
• The previous government public officials including Machar and Kiir who served from 2005-20017 should not seek or should not be permitted to seek public office for minimum period of ten years
• With the support of the international community the United Nations General Assembly should refer incriminated SPLA and senior government officials to International Criminal Court (ICC) for further investigations
• Western countries should impose targeted sanctions on specific government officials
• The UN should establish Tribunal Courts in South Sudan to persecute land grabbers and return the land to their rightful owners.
• The UN should establish the Hybrid Court recommended in ARCSS for trying individuals alleged of committing crimes against humanity
• The UN and EU should support Hybrid Court with legal experts as well as financially
• Humanitarian assistance should be delivered to refugees in Uganda, DRC, Kenya, Sudan and CAR




Thanks for your interest in South Sudan, Justin Laku,Sr.