By Deng Ghai Deng and Kei Emmanuel
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has strongly criticized the recent two-year extension of the transitional government.
The extension, formalized on the 21st of September through an amendment to the Transitional Constitution, is seen as a significant setback in the implementation of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Commission highlighted that the extension not only delays elections but also defers critical actions on human rights and peace.
“Since independence in 2011, South Sudan’s unelected leaders have continued to entrench impunity for systematic and gross human rights violations, fuel insecurity, and deliberately thwart efforts to democratize the country,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission.
Sooka emphasized that addressing civil, political, and socio-economic rights is a fundamental duty of any government. However, South Sudan’s leaders have consistently failed to meet these obligations.
“The challenges to a peaceful transition to democracy are not insurmountable if one implements the Revitalized Agreement as it was envisaged. However, the delays and unwillingness to compromise reflect the preoccupations of a predatory elite most concerned with remaining in power and enriching themselves from the country’s vast oil and other wealth,” she added.
The Commission’s statement underscores the dire humanitarian crisis in the country, marked by food insecurity, and the displacement of over four million people.
The Commission noted that the South Sudanese people face severe economic and social hardships and feel deeply betrayed by their leaders.
The UN Commission’s critique comes at a time when the international community is increasingly concerned about the prolonged instability and lack of progress in South Sudan.
The extension of the transitional government is seen as a move that compounds the already dire human rights situation in the country.
The Commission noted that despite the last two-year extension of the Revitalized Agreement in August 2022, most critical tasks remain unimplemented, including the comprehensive unification of armed forces and their deployment, development of a permanent constitution, establishment of rule of law and transitional justice mechanisms, and credible electoral arrangements.
All these are the minimum requirements for good governance, to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights to prevent further violations, as well as being the pathway for South Sudan’s durable recovery from devastating conflict, it added.
Commissioner Barney Afako observed that “South Sudan faces a maelstrom of interlinked crises. Damage to one of the oil export pipelines, linked to war in Sudan, has significantly reduced national revenue at a time when South Sudan hosts hundreds of thousands of newly displaced persons, including Sudanese refugees.”
He noted that South Sudan is on the frontlines of the climate crisis, facing both flooding and drought, which are causing widespread suffering and prolonged displacement.
In light of these numerous challenges, Afako said South Sudan cannot continue with business as usual, urging that political leaders must prioritize and promptly invest in achieving tangible democratic, protective, and human rights outcomes.
“The latest two-year extension envisages ‘austerity measures’ – but this is in a context where most civil servants are already unpaid, while schools, health clinics and courts are not even receiving their woefully inadequate budget allocations,” stated Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández.
“The vast theft of national revenue and its criminal diversion continues even with the interruption to oil exports this year. South Sudanese want to see where their national revenue is going. They want to see the resources supporting services essential to building democracy, such as reliable law enforcement and administration of justice institutions, to address conflicts, violence and corruption, and resolve disputes through adjudication,” he added.
With a dysfunctional justice system, commissioner Carlos said the denial of the right of access to justice perpetuates impunity to the detriment of the most vulnerable groups, including women subjected to endemic sexual violence, and children abducted into enslavement or armed violence,
The UN Human Rights Council also criticized the government’s failure to establish the Hybrid Court, a mechanism designed to hold leaders accountable for crimes against humanity.
The Council condemned the government’s adoption of the National Security Service Bill, which grants excessive powers to the security services and threatens citizens’ rights.
The members of the Commission urge the African Union, IGAD and the international community to continue their support to South Sudan and to hold the country’s leadership to account for the implementation of the outstanding tasks linked to the transition.
It also urges that the processes that remain are transparent, and provide opportunities for public participation in all their aspects, guaranteeing the safety and security of all.
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 remunerated for their work as Commissioners, and they serve independently in their capacity as experts.