South Sudan ‘attacking’ journalists and activists who criticise the state

(Photograph: Samir Bol/AFP/Getty Images)

South Sudan is suppressing journalists and rights activists by intimidation, surveillance and data harvesting, according to a new report from the UN commission on human rights in South Sudan^[1], which warned that the clampdown on freedoms could hamper the country’s ability to conduct credible elections in 2024.

The 57-page report^[2], released on Thursday, includes accounts of nearly 100 state-sponsored human rights violations including intimidation, harassment, violence, arbitrary detentions and torture, as well as sexual violence against female reporters. The commission said the reports were corroborated by its independent investigations.

“The state is attacking journalists, activists and even ordinary citizens – anybody who dares to discuss issues that the authorities may deem either sensitive or critical of their positions,” said the commissioner Barney Afako. “[This] treatment severely undermines the prospects for peace and democratisation in South Sudan^[3].”

The report details invasive surveillance and interference of media and civil society activity by the country’s National Security Service, including demands by security authorities for detailed information on any meetings and workshops held by these groups, and lists of people participating.

The report found that security officers were often present at such meetings and in newsrooms across the country, where they monitor and suppress information critical of the government. The commission said independent media outlets were not exempt and reported incidents of cyber-attacks and website blocking.

“The intention and effect of these attacks is to block access to critical information and to stifle public debate and discussion,” said Afako, adding that opposition leaders also reported needing consent to hold public assemblies. South Sudan’s government spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

South Sudan is gearing up for an election in December 2024 – the first since it gained a hard-fought independence from Sudan in 2011. The South Sudanese had high hopes for their new state, but it slid into a prolonged civil war between factions loyal to the country’s president, Salva Kiir, and the opposition leader, first vice-president Riek Machar, which played out along ethnic lines.

In 2018 the leaders signed a peace deal that ended hostilities but peace remains fragile, and important reforms under the agreement have stalled, including plans for an independent judiciary and a new constitution.

The UN commission has cautioned that the government clampdown on media, civil society and critics is stifling freedom of speech and assembly before the elections, and mirrors tactics used during the regime in Khartoum, when the country was still part of Sudan.

Morris Mabior^[4], a South Sudanese critic of the government, was abducted from his home in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in February and taken into their custody in Juba, where he reportedly remains. No proceedings have been brought against him.

“It is a tragic irony that in an independent South Sudan, the liberators who are now in government, are intolerant of public scrutiny, of critical views, and political opposition … this is antithetical to democratic governance and processes which South Sudanese are aspiring towards,” Afako said.

The UN says many reporters and activists it interviewed practised self-censorship and avoided important public interest stories. Investigations into the lack of transparency^[5] in the management of the country’s oil wealth were particularly sensitive, as were stories that scrutinise government action in the humanitarian crisis facing the country, where roughly 76 % of thepopulation is estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance.

In recent years South Sudan has also faced record flooding^[6] that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Activists told the Guardian said the shrinking civic space was concerning and that they often worried for their lives and security. “Any person who is vocal enough can get tortured or killed. These cases are not new to us,” said Paul Deng*, an activist in exile.

The commission called on the South Sudan government to end harassment of journalists, rights defenders and civil society groups and to increase oversight of its security services.

It said action on the peace deal, including judicial reform and constitution-making, was urgent, cautioning in its report: “Holding elections without addressing security concerns, creating an enabling environment, and completing the technical arrangements risks compounding grievances and fuelling further violence.”

*Name changed to protect identity

References

1. ^{^} UN commission on human rights in South Sudan (www.ohchr.org)
2. ^{^} 57-page report (uploads.guim.co.uk)
3. ^{^} South Sudan (www.theguardian.com)
4. ^{^} Morris Mabior (www.hrw.org)
5. ^{^} lack of transparency (www.crisisgroup.org)
6. ^{^} record flooding (southsudan.crisisgroup.org)