South Sudan’s fragile peace prospects rest on addressing the impunity and corruption that drive human rights violations, experts tell UN General Assembly

NEW YORK (30 OCTOBER 2024) – The absence of governance and political accountability and the diversion of national resources to corruption have stalled South Sudan’s transition and led to the most recent extension of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement for South Sudan, further exacerbating an already dire human rights situation in the country, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has told the UN General Assembly today. 

“South Sudanese across all social spectrums are suffering immensely from the catastrophic deteriorating humanitarian and economic crises. They are tired of waiting for political leaders to end their obfuscation in implementing the peace agreement,” said Barney Afako, who addressed the General Assembly in New York on behalf of the Commission. “The people desperately want an accountable and responsive government that is committed to their wellbeing, and will deliver on its human rights obligations and guarantee protection for citizens.”

The Commission has expressed its concern over the latest two-year extension of the Revitalized Agreement, in September 2024, which again postponed what would be the first elections since South Sudan’s independence in 2011. 

“The crucial issue facing South Sudanese is not merely delay or lack of elections: it is the sabotage of the democratic transformation they are entitled to, and the mounting human consequences of this abject failure to protect and respond to the social and economic entitlements of citizens,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission. 

The Commission noted that the unification of armed forces stipulated in the Revitalized Agreement has still not been significantly implemented, among other key provisions, including developing a permanent constitution and establishing transitional justice institutions. Failures to implement these commitments contribute to the ongoing armed violence, conflict, displacement and human misery present across the country. The Commission’s investigations in 2024 have documented the persistence of horrific conflict-related sexual violence, the use of children in armed forces, abductions, extrajudicial killings, cattle raiding and revenge killings, and other cruel and inhumane treatment during attacks and counterattacks by belligerent groups.

“The peristent violence, which often takes on ethnic dimensions, follows a clear pattern of political competition and contestation over territory and economic resources – and is enabled by the absence of effective security and justice responses. The State’s failure to establish meaningful transitional justice measures and hold perpetrators of past and present human rights violations accountable, fosters impunity and fuels cycles of violence, by emboldening both State and non-State actors,” said Afako. 

“Justice and accountability processes are the only way to break the cycle of violence and atrocities in South Sudan,” said Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández. “Criminal accountability sends a clear message to perpetrators, and it is crucial in a country where citizens continuously suffer at the hands of conflicting parties that repeatedly commit violations. South Sudan needs strong judicial reforms matched by requisite funding so that justice actors can function effectively and impartially, without interference. At the same time, the establishment of the three transitional justice mechanisms, is essential to address the legacies of conflict and human rights violations, and to prevent their recurrence.”

While the transitional national parliament in September passed bills for the establishment of a Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing, and a Compensation and Reparation Authority, as prescribed in the Revitalized Agreement, the Government has not made moves toward establishing the Hybrid Court with the African Union, a vital component of the transitional justice process.

Corruption and systematic diversion of public funds remain rampant in South Sudan. The Commission’s investigations find that national revenues, especially from oil, continue being grossly mismanaged to benefit political elites and their patronage networks. Allocations for essential services to citizens are grossly inadequate, with international organizations left to fill the gaps, which they are unable to address given their funding and access limitations, and the vast scale of need. Most South Sudanese live with acute food insecurity, a situation worsened by the war in neighboring Sudan, which has brought a large influx of returnees and refugees in need of support. Most civil servants and members of armed forces have reportedly not received salaries for almost one year.

In the General Assembly, the Commission called upon South Sudan’s political leaders to: urgently promote a credible and participatory constitution-making process, which would be the basis for elections; promote accountability and recovery by investing in justice; stop the corruption and plunder of resources; prioritize protecting the rights of women and girls; end the repression of civic and political space; and invest in peace by ending violent political competition. UN Member States were urged to renew their support, by demanding that South Sudan take concrete, corrective steps to credibly conclude the transitional period, and to respect, protect, and fulfil the human rights of citizens.

In its resolution55/1 in 2024, the UN Human Rights Council requested the Commission to present an update to the present session of the General Assembly. Members of the Commission visiting New York will also meet senior UN officials, diplomats from the African Union and other UN Member States, and non-government organizations.

Read Commission’s full statement to the UN General Assembly here.

Background: 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.

More information about the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan can be found here. Follow the Commission on X (formerly Twitter) here.

For media queries, please contact: In Juba: Rajeev PS, Public Information Officer/Media Adviser, rajeev.puthenpurackalsunilkumar@un.org / +211912174078; Or in New York: Todd Pitman, Media Adviser for the UN Human Rights Council’s Investigative Missions, todd.pitman@un.org / +41766911761; or Pascal Sim, Human Rights Council Media Officer,  simp@un.org.