FILE - Cattle keepers walk with their cows during a seasonal migration of their cattle for grazing near Tonj, South Sudan on Feb. 16, 2020. Violence among cattle keepers spiked as they migrated their cattle , crossing paths with opposing clans.
GENEVA - South Sudanese civilians are caught in a perfect storm of ongoing suffering and misery. The U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan reports the country's humanitarian crisis is being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and floods, as well as the highest levels of food insecurity and malnutrition in a decade. This, on top of escalating violence and rampant human rights violations.
Commission Chair Yasmin Sooka says in one of the regions most at risk, Jonglei and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, nearly two million people are kept in thrall by tens of thousands of well-armed fighters.
She said boys are abducted and forced to fight, and militia groups have razed entire villages, and murdered or displaced thousands of civilians.
"All of the warring groups target women and girls, using them as chattels, and treating them as the "spoils of war," she said. "Last year, hundreds of women and girls were abducted, they were raped and gang-raped, and sexually enslaved or forcibly married off."
Sooka said crimes of a similar magnitude and horror are occurring throughout the country. The conflict in Central Equatoria is driven by competition for territory and access to lucrative gold mines, she said, while competition over land and cattle is fueling the violence at the local community level.
She noted that hardly any of the provisions of the 2018 Peace Agreement have been implemented despite the formation of the revitalized government in February of last year. Nor have the Hybrid Court and Truth and Reconciliation Commission been established.
Sooka said the lack of accountability for gross human rights violations entrenches impunity, builds resentment and deepens ethnic divisions and violence.
"The commission therefore urges the government as a sign of good faith to sign without further delay, the memorandum of understanding with the African Union, which will pave the way for the Hybrid Court and the other transitional justice mechanisms to be established," she said.
South Sudanese Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ruben Madol Aroi doesn't deny the problems facing his country but said the government has been putting measures in place to promote human rights. He downplayed the extent of violence, saying the security situation is calm despite some sporadic intercommunal clashes in parts of the country.
Aroi said a gender-based violence court has been established and perpetrators have been convicted, and a resolution has been signed to start the process of establishing three transitional justice institutions.
Newer articles:
- UNSC adopts documents on South Sudan, Central African Republic, Somalia, Libya - 13/03/2021 00:59
- South Sudan rebel groups left out of 2018 deal commit to rejoin govt - 13/03/2021 00:57
- ‘Ghost’ confident as Stars take on South Sudan - 12/03/2021 22:16
- No Suspects Arrested in Deadly Inter-communal Attack in South Sudan - 12/03/2021 20:54
- UN mandates South Sudan force to prevent return to civil war - 12/03/2021 15:42
Older news items
- Urgent need to tackle a deteriorating humanitarian catastrophe in South Sudan - 12/03/2021 08:00
- South Sudan: Logistics Cluster - Concept of Operations, March 2021 - 12/03/2021 03:55
- HRW Statement – Interactive Dialogue with the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan - 12/03/2021 03:20
- South Sudan Granted Partial Access to Jirongo’s Bank Accounts - 09/03/2021 02:50
- Mission Cry delivers hope to South Sudan - 08/03/2021 21:04
Latest news items (all categories):
- The Collo Kingdom Remains Underdeveloped: Five Hundred Years Later! - 03/02/2025 12:57
- Attack on South Sudan cattle camps kills 35 - 03/02/2025 12:46
- في صفقة مثيرة.. الإمارات تشتري نفط الجنوب في باطن الأرض لمدة 20 عامًا - 03/02/2025 12:42
- South Sudan: Can oil production save the economy? - 30/01/2025 19:27
- 20 oil workers and crew die in South Sudan plane crash - 30/01/2025 19:20
Random articles (all categories):
- Investigative report: South Sudan's military leaders - money laundering, corruption red-flagged - 27/05/2020 15:35
- Five confirmed cholera deaths in Sudan since August 28 - 14/09/2019 01:51
- Kiir appoints The Citizen newspaper commentator as his press secretary - 28/11/2013 05:10
- South Sudan Yet to Realize Much at Stake over Higlig Attack: Nafie - Sudan Vision - 16/04/2012 22:56
- UK teacher jailed over teddy row - 29/11/2007 23:51
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 67682 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22360 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21558 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 19210 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19199 times