In South Sudan, a forgotten man-made humanitarian crisis

Nearly 70 years ago, Canadian legal scholar and jurist John Humphrey helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations, reaffirming following the Second World War the commitment of the international community to the protection and promotion of human rights worldwide.

The first article of the declaration states, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."

While there has been significant progress on human rights in many parts of the world, there is still a lot to be done globally to ensure that everyone is treated equally and with respect.

As a member of the House of Commons subcommittee on international human rights, I introduced a motion in February to study the human rights situation in the Republic of South Sudan and to provide, along with my colleagues, recommendations to the federal government based on witnesses' testimony.

South Sudan is the world's youngest country. Having declared its independence in 2011, it is only six years old. As a new nation, South Sudan faces the challenges of more than 50 years of delayed development as well as continued instability worsening a dire humanitarian situation.

The continued struggled over political power and control of resources has led to repeated severe violations of human rights, often along ethnic lines.

The current crisis traces its origins to a political rivalry between factions of the ruling party starting in 2013, when President Salva Kiir accused his vice-president, Riek Machar, along with several top party members of attempting a coup d'état.

Machar denied the accusation and subsequently called for the overthrow of the president. The ongoing conflict resulting from the political struggle and the numerous failed peace agreements has since been identified as the South Sudanese Civil War.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has determined that atrocities committed by both sides may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, with most of the civilian casualties being the result of targeted attacks based on ethnicity rather than combat operations.

Individuals have been targeted for killing, arbitrary arrest and detention, sexual violence, sexual slavery and forced marriage, in addition to a scorched-earth policy involving the destruction of homes and livelihoods.

According to a recent UN report, more than 70 per cent of women living in four protected civilian sites in Juba said they had been raped, primarily by police and soldiers who are there to provide protection.

Children have been recruited in large numbers as child soldiers and human rights activists, journalists and aid workers are often targeted by the government.

Since the deadly clashes between the government and opposition forces, South Sudan has been experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

On February 20, the United Nations declared what has been identified as an "almost entirely man-made" famine in parts of former Unity State of South Sudan. It has since then spread to other areas of the country but largely focused on the north, affecting more than five million people, nearly half the population of South Sudan.

The country is now home to Africa's largest refugee crisis and the world's third after Syria and Afghanistan, with more than 1.7 million refugees who have fled the country and 2.1 million people who are internally displaced.

Canada's humanitarian assistance to South Sudan has been ongoing for the past few years.

It has been helping to provide emergency food and nutrition, health care services including vaccination, water and sanitation, protection services and shelter for vulnerable conflict-affected populations.

Recently, Canada called on all parties to provide safe and immediate access for humanitarian workers and announced an additional contribution of $36.9 million to the UN appeal for the country, to be delivered through UN agencies and non-governmental humanitarian organizations.

A long-term solution to the crisis in South Sudan will require a political resolution and a commitment to peace from all parties. In a country where impunity is rampant, it is also fundamental to hold perpetrators of atrocities to account through avenues such as a hybrid court.

How Canada can best provide support to an inclusive peace is one of the elements the study of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights aims at clarifying.

Canada has a long history of mediation as well as peace-building and it is essential for the international community to continue to monitor and prevent further deterioration of the situation in the world's youngest country.