Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 4th April. UN Commission on Human Rights inquiry in South Sudan on Monday presented its latest report stated that tackling impunity will be critical to end pervasive violence and horrific human rights violations and abuses in South Sudan which names individuals warranting investigation.
The report by the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan details how perpetrators of the most serious crimes including widespread attacks against civilians and extrajudicial killings go unpunished, with senior Government officials and military implicated in serious violations.
Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the independent expert group said “Over several years, our findings have consistently shown that impunity for serious crimes is a central driver of violence and misery faced by civilians in South Sudan.”.
She added “So, we have taken the step of naming more of the individuals who warrant criminal investigation and prosecution for their role in gross human rights violations,”.
South Sudan, the world’s newst and youngest country has seen unrest for nearly a decade, although a 2018 Peace Agreement sought to end the violence.
UN Commission has been monitoring the human rights situation since March 2016.
Its latest report is based on investigations in six states, and in the neighboring region, over the past 12 months.
Members had presented the main findings to the Council last month, but the full report provides greater detail on “emblematic situations and sites of human rights violations” during this period, such as widespread attacks against civilians, including killings, rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence, as well as mass displacement.
The Commission found that the Government of South Sudan has announced special investigation committees into several situations, not one has led to any form of accountability.
The Government and military personnel implicated in these serious crimes remain in office.
Commissioner Andrew Clapham said that “Once again, hundreds of South Sudanese shared with our Commission their experiences of being subjected to a range of human rights violations. Their suffering is immense. The State continues to fail in its duty to protect civilians, and to ensure accountability for violations “
“We call upon the authorities to properly investigate alleged perpetrators of serious crimes, no matter their rank or office, and to establish and strengthen the justice mechanisms for holding them accountable.”
The report identifiesd Unity State Governor Joseph Monytuil, and Lieutenant General Thoi Chany Reat of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces as the individuals warranted criminal investigation in relation to State-sanctioned extrajudicial killings carried out in Mayom in August 2022.
The Commissioner in Koch County, Gordon Koang, is among persons identified as being responsible for leading widespread attacks against civilians in Leer in February and April 2022.
The Commission’s findings identify other individuals warranting further scrutiny or investigation in relation to human rights violations in Warrap State, Upper Nile State, northern parts of Jonglei State, and the Equatoria states.
Commissioner Barney Afako said “breaking the grip of impunity” can only be realized if the authorities recommit and adhere to the values and promises in the peace agreement.
“Political leaders are accountable to the people of South Sudan, and must therefore ensure that civic space for discussion is protected if the country’s first electoral and constitution-making processes are to be credible and positively impactful,” he said.
The report assessed justice systems and initiatives in South Sudan, the use of military courts and ad hoc inquiries.
It addressed thematic human rights issues, including the use of children in the armed forces and in armed groups, conflict-related sexual violence, and the virtual disappearance of civic space in the country.
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