Hybrid Court Delay Betrays South Sudan's Victims of Airstrikes

South Sudan's crisis deepens with relentless violence since early 2025 across Upper Nile, Jonglei, Central Equatoria, and Western Equatoria, involving government forces, opposition SPLA-IO, and militias. Airstrikes like the December 29 attack near Lankien, which wounded 12 civilians near an MSF facility, market, and airstrip—one fatally—and the December 3 bombardment of a Nyirol school injuring a student, underscore the human cost. Juba's forced child and adult recruitment plus arbitrary arrests of opponents, journalists, and activists reflect entrenched impunity, as 9.3 million people need assistance and 7.7 million face acute food insecurity amid Sudan's refugee influx of 1.2 million.​

Escalating Violence and Impunity

The Hybrid Court for South Sudan (HCSS), mandated by the 2015 peace agreement and 2018 Revitalized Agreement (R-ARCSS), aims to prosecute crimes since 2013, including killings, rape, sexual violence, child recruitment, and displacements. 

“It is taking long because the formation of the Hybrid Court is not in our hands. It is the AU that is supposed to give us the terms and conditions for the enactment of the law,” 

highlights procedural hurdles blocking progress despite 2024 parliamentary approval of transitional justice laws like the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing (CTRH) and Compensation and Reparation Authority (CPRA). Aerial and ground attacks from April to July 2025 displaced 300,000 and killed hundreds, destroying infrastructure in a nation at a "turning point" with collapsed trust and Riek Machar's house arrest.​

Human Rights organizations decry this as a betrayal of airstrike victims, where domestic courts fail complex war crimes, leaving civilians exposed. The AU's sequential approach prioritizes CTRH and CPRA first, as 

“These mechanisms are interdependent and must be implemented sequentially,” 

tying HCSS to financial and logistical readiness despite a May 2023 conference and recent roadmaps. Delays, nearly a decade long, coincide with elections postponed to December 2026, amid unimplemented security and constitutional reforms.​

Policy Failures Fuel Atrocities

Impunity from stalled HCSS perpetuates cycles, enabling current abuses like explosive weapons in populated areas. 

“The delay in establishing the hybrid court has severely impacted victims, many of whom continue to suffer from trauma, displacement, and loss without any acknowledgment. Justice is not about punishing perpetrators. It is about recognition, healing, and ensuring non-recurrence,” 

captures the human toll, as 

“The entire responsibility for establishing the hybrid court of South Sudan lies within the transitional government of national unity, which has deliberately obstructed progress.”

 Human Rights Watch notes South Sudan's truth and reparations bills stemmed from civil society pressure but insists “much more remains to be done to ensure credible processes to advance justice and uphold victims’ rights, notably setting up a hybrid court,” amid AU hesitation despite its unilateral authority.​

Policy gaps extend to aid access and sanctions, with HRW urging the AU Peace and Security Council on January 19 to end civilian attacks, ban explosives in populated zones, ensure humanitarian corridors, sanction abusers, retain the UN arms embargo, and launch HCSS. 

“South Sudan’s regional and international partners should ensure a comprehensive truth and justice process that would address systemic and entrenched impunity,” 

reinforces calls for holistic accountability. South Sudan's representative frames detentions as "criminal accountability" while affirming peace cooperation, yet low trust post-2018 accord collapse hinders progress.​

Regional Inaction and Humanitarian Crisis

The AU's 

“This is a process. It has huge financial implications” 

rationale clashes with urgency, as 

“There is a legal dictum that justice delayed is justice denied,” 

but optimism persists: 

“But history shows that justice, even if delayed, will eventually be realized.” 

“Good things take time, but South Sudanese must continue demanding their rights and holding authorities accountable,” 

urges continued pressure, though half-hearted commitment raises doubts after 2016 draft statute and 2017 MOU stalls. OHCHR's November 2024 push for revived HCSS efforts alongside commissioner selections highlights ongoing policy inertia.​

9.3 million in crisis reflect broader fallout, with food insecurity and displacement surging from 2025 violence. Global advocates stress AU empowerment to act independently, noting transitional justice gaps erode election legitimacy and peace buy-in. 

“We must implement the peace agreement in our own way and in our own time,” 

defends government pacing, but victims suffer eroded recognition and healing.​

Urgent Path to Justice

Hybrid Court delays amid airstrikes betray South Sudan's vulnerable, emboldening perpetrators as President Kiir's unilateral moves undermine the 2018 pact. AU's January 19 meeting presents a policy pivot; inaction risks escalation toward 2026 polls.

Comprehensive Human Rights mechanisms—prosecutions, truth-telling, reparations—are vital for non-recurrence, yet sequential delays and resources obstruct. International resolve must enforce HCSS operationalization, transforming betrayal into accountability for healing a fractured nation.

Source: https://impactpolicies.org/news/757/hybrid-court-delay-betrays-south-sudans-victims-of-airstrikes