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Following the adoption of a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council, fully renewing the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (“the Commission”), the Director of Amnesty International for Eastern and Southern Africa, Deprose Muchena, said:
“We welcome the Council’s decision to renew the Commission, which is a vital mechanism in the context of past and ongoing serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and the near total impunity in the country .
“The Commission plays an invaluable role in documenting serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. It contributes to the fight against impunity by collecting and retaining evidence for future prosecutions and by clarifying alleged responsibilities for crimes under international law and other human rights violations.
“However, it is unfortunate that some states have attempted to block the renewal of this vital mechanism. Last year, the Council clearly agreed that any initiative to end the mandate of the Commission would only be accompanied by demonstrable progress on the ground. Such progress cannot now be claimed by any stretch of the imagination.
“Some states have sought to shield South Sudan from further scrutiny by calling for a vote on the resolution and presenting a competing resolution. However, given that both resolutions were adopted by the Human Rights Council, these efforts have only resulted in requiring more – rather than less – consideration of the situation in the future.
“South Sudan must take urgent action to end ongoing human rights violations and abuses and continue to cooperate with the Commission as it continues its important work.”
Background
In March 2016, the Human Rights Council established the South Sudan Human Rights Commission and mandated it to collect and store evidence of human rights violations and related crimes. The Commission is also responsible for providing technical assistance to the Government of South Sudan to implement a holistic transitional justice program. The Commission has compiled files on 111 people allegedly involved in violations and under the responsibility of a command or superior and who should be investigated and prosecuted.
Since 2016, the resolution renewing the Commission has been adopted by consensus, and South Sudan is one of the few States to cooperate with a mechanism put in place to address its human rights situation. This year, however, South Sudan has pledged to reject the renewal of the mechanism. The resolution was adopted by 20 votes in favor, 16 against and 11 abstentions.
In its most recent report, the South Sudan Human Rights Commission noted “a massive escalation in violence perpetrated by organized tribal militias” over the past year, fueled by the inability of signatories to implement the 2018 peace agreement. Amnesty International documented a series of extrajudicial killings, forced displacement, torture and destruction of civilian property by the government and former opposition forces between April and June 2020 in Central Equatoria State, southwest of the capital Juba.
Since the conflict broke out in December 2013, government and opposition forces have committed crimes under international law and human rights violations, including rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture , forced starvation, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and forced displacement of thousands of people. Yet impunity remains the norm.
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