South Sudan’s political leaders must address the impunity and corruption that fuel gross human rights violations or risk jeopardizing the country’s political transition, the UN Commission on Human Rights has said.
In its latest report, the Commission stated that investigations in 2024 identified the same patterns of gross violations in the same locations, often implicating the same public and military officials.
“Sexual violence persists both during and outside conflicts, even as senior officials continue to endorse extrajudicial killings. The forced recruitment and abduction of boys and girls into combat or sexual slavery continue unchecked,” the 24-page report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva said.
“It is unconscionable that so many years after independence, and despite their peace commitments, political leaders continue to engage in violent contestations across the country, abjectly failing the people of South Sudan,” the report quoted Yamin Sooka, the Chair of the Commission, as saying.
Drawing primarily on the Commission’s independent investigations in South Sudan throughout 2024, alongside engagements with authorities, open-source information, and forensic evidence, the report reveals how political and military elites continue to fuel violence and instability.
It describes the situation in Tambura, Western Equatoria, where, in 2024, armed forces and militias inflicted extreme violence against civilians along ethnic lines, deepening the unhealed traumas and divisions stemming from the 2021 conflict.
The report notes that although local and national elites were implicated in pursuing violent, divisive politics, many have retained public and military offices despite past violations and have not been held accountable for their crimes.
“Our investigations revealed that conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) remains systematic, brutal, and widespread, with survivors reporting a lack of access to critical reproductive and psychological healthcare. The testimonies of children forced into combat or held as sexual slaves underscore a systemic failure to protect South Sudan’s future generation. These acts constitute grave violations of international law, yet the perpetrators continue to operate with impunity,” Ms. Sooka emphasized.
Commissioner Barney Afako was quoted as saying: “The repetition of these human rights violations is deeply connected to pervasive impunity, the lack of accountability in governance, and the failure to properly direct the country’s national wealth toward establishing credible institutions and systems.”
The parties to the Revitalized Agreement last September agreed to a further two-year extension of its transitional political arrangements, commencing this week.
“This extension must not be squandered or become just another excuse for delaying political transition. Instead, it must be used to implement the core outstanding elements of the Revitalized Agreement, including the commitment to adopt a permanent constitution, which offers a blueprint for sustainable peace and stability,” Mr. Afako said.
The report also examined the introduction last year of the “Green Book” state law in Warrap, which purports to authorize extrajudicial killings by firing squad for suspected cattle raiding and intra-communal violence. The Commission found that this law has entrenched a culture of lawlessness, implicating senior officials and the State Government in gross human rights violations. It further inflames tensions, as ‘Green Book’ offences are selectively applied to prosecute certain sides in intra-communal conflicts. With only one judge appointed for the entire state and inadequate funding, Warrap’s judiciary is crippled, leaving victims without justice and fuelling cycles of retaliation.
During their visit to South Sudan last week, the three Commissioners met with survivors of human rights violations.
In her statement to the Council, Ms. Sooka highlighted these engagements, echoing concerns from civil society and international partners over the entrenched repression and lack of political will to break cycles of gross human rights violations. The Commissioners also underscored the government’s longstanding neglect of essential institutions, including courts, hospitals, schools, and welfare services.
The Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan is an independent body mandated by the UN Human Rights Council. First established in March 2016, it has been renewed annually since. Its three Commissioners are not UN staff and serve independently in their capacity as experts. They are supported by a Secretariat based in Juba.