‘South Sudan’s Leaders, Fuelling Violence, Obstructing Peace, and Perpetuating Gross Human Rights Violations’

© WFP/Eulalia Berlanga | Displaced South Sudanese people arrive at a camp in Upper Nile State. (file)

(UN News)* — The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan presented its latest report to the Human Rights Council on 28 February 2025 in Geneva, detailing widespread violations, including extrajudicial killings, forced recruitment of children and systematic sexual violence.

Despite South Sudan winning independence over a decade ago and repeated commitments to peace during years of civil war, the Commission found that the same patterns of abuses persist, often implicating high-ranking officials.

“It is unconscionable that so many years after its independence, political leaders continue their violent contestations across the country and are abjectly failing the people of South Sudan,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission.

Extreme ethnic violence

The report described the situation in Tambura, where armed forces and militias inflicted extreme violence along ethnic lines in 2024, reigniting tensions from the 2021 conflict.

Political elites at both local and national levels have actively fuelled this violence while remaining in power despite past crimes.

The Commission also raised alarms over the “Green Book” law introduced in Warrap State in 2024, which authorizes extrajudicial executions for suspected cattle raiding and communal violence.

Address corruption

South Sudan’s leaders agreed in September 2024 to extend the transitional political arrangements by two years, citing funding constraints.

The Commission’s report noted that the government generated $3.5 billion in revenue between September 2022 and August 2024, while essential institutions – such as courts, schools, and hospitals – remain underfunded and civil servants go unpaid.

“Financing essential services and rule of law institutions requires an end to the corruption. The theft of national wealth robs citizens of justice, education, and healthcare,” said Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández.

“Without addressing this systemic looting, no peace agreement will ever translate into meaningful change,” he added.

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, they are not paid for their work and serve in an independent capacity.