United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Mr. Carlos Castresana Fernández said the population in South Sudan is defenseless against the human rights abusers and lacks protection, as the institutions needed to prevent and punish crimes are deprioritized and under-resourced by the State.
In a press statement, Commissioner Carlos Castresana said victims and their family members told the UN Human Rights Commission that they are traumatized by the abductions and disillusioned at the lack of support to return their loved ones who are missing or held hostage.
According to Commissioner Carlos, addressing the lack of functioning rule-of-law institutions is urgent, as is the need for an independent referee who can peacefully resolve possible electoral disputes.
The UN Human Rights Commission said South Sudan’s leaders must carefully navigate the conclusion of the country’s political transition to achieve durable peace and prevent violence and gross human rights violations, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said today.
The Commission announced on Monday 19 February after concluding its 12th visit to South Sudan.
On her part, the Chairperson of the UN Human Rights Commission, Yasmin Sooka said establishing a unified national army and transitional justice processes to deal with the past and the root causes of the conflict is indispensable.
“Our investigations have found that the violence and gross human rights violations continue with impunity, with women and children being the main target of these crimes. Critical security arrangements, and an independent justice system supported by constitutional processes provided under the Revitalized Agreement, are essential to avoid a return to conflict following elections,” Yasmin said.
These processes under the 2018 Revitalized Agreement lay the foundations for sustainable peace and human rights protection, yet none is even close to completion, even though the transitional arrangements conclude following the elections planned for December 2024.
“South Sudan’s leaders must end the political and local conflicts and contestations that have brought so much pain and suffering to the people, and invest in State and nation building grounded in respect for diversity, and the protection of human rights,” another Commissioner Barney Afako also said.
In the capital Juba, the Commissioners held discussions with the President, the first vice President, senior cabinet ministers, and legislators. They engaged with civil society, victims and survivors, human rights defenders, and journalists. They also met with the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, the United Nations Country Team, and diplomats from the African Union and its member states, the ‘Troika’ of Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the European Union.
The Commissioners then traveled to the Greater Pibor Administrative Area and Jonglei State. There, women and children continue to be abducted in violent attacks along ethnic lines, carried out by heavily armed militias. Many abductees are held hostage, subjected to forced marriage, and suffer brutal abuse, rape, and sexual slavery.
Last year, some of the abducted women and children were put on display like goods in a market and sold. The Commission interviewed women who had been in captivity for more than four years, separated from families and their children. A dysfunctional criminal justice system enables perpetrators to operate with impunity. Ransoms negotiated by authorities and paid to abductors do not deter these crimes; rather they act as an incentive for further abductions.
Yasmin Sooka said South Sudan’s ratification of human rights treaties is important, adding that, implementing the obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights would open civic and political space, and orient State institutions toward protecting civil society actors and journalists, rather than repressing them.
The Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan is an independent body mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council. First established in March 2016, it has been renewed annually since. Its three Commissioners are not UN staff, they are not renumerated for their work as Commissioners, and they serve independently in their capacity as experts. They are supported by a Secretariat based in Juba, South Sudan.
The Commission is mandated to investigate the situation of human rights in South Sudan and to make recommendations to prevent a deterioration of the situation, with a view to its improvement. The Commission is also mandated to determine and report the facts and circumstances of human rights violations and abuses, including by clarifying responsibility for crimes under national and or international law. The Commission’s findings are informed by independent interviews conducted with victims and survivors of human rights violations, as well as witnesses, service providers, and related experts and stakeholders.
