UN expresses grave concern over abduction of women, children in Greater Jonglei

The visiting members of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan on Friday expressed deep concern over reports on the rise in abduction of women and children in Jonglei State and neighboring Pibor Administrative Area.
Members of the UN  Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (CHRSS) Benny Afako (Left), Yasmin Sooka (Middle) and  Carlos Castresana Fernandez (Right) address journalists in Juba on Friday.

By Awan Achiek

The visiting members of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan on Friday expressed deep concern over reports on the rise in abduction of women and children in Jonglei State and neighboring Pibor Administrative Area.

They said that the abducted women and children are subjected to sexual slavery and forced marriages.

“We travelled to Bor and Pibor and we noted an increased proliferation of abduction and while abduction is not a new phenomenon in South Sudan, the increase and impact on women and children is deeply troubling,” Yasmin Sooka, the chairperson of the Commission said during press conference in Juba.

Sooka said that male family members of the victims have often been killed.

She noted that some of the victims are trafficked by their abductors, adding that these atrocities are carried out by armed groups and members of the armed forces.

“The Commission documented many testimonies of many women being abducted with their release being accomplished by payment of ransom to the abductors following intervention,” she said.

She disclosed that the women spoke about being auctioned off with their children as if they were slaves and sold to different individuals.

“The Commission interviewed children and family members who were being separated and who are also being held hostages and families spoke particularly, women about their pain in not being able to escape with their children,” Sooka said.

She urged the government to hold the perpetrators of child and women abduction accountable.

“The perpetrators of this abduction need to be held accountable given the demand and payment of ransom constitutes corruption and criminal collision and abduction itself amount to serious international crime,” Sooka said.

Barney Afako, a member of the Commission urged the government to invest more efforts in addressing child and women abduction in Greater Jonglei.

“What is very clear from narratives we are hearing is that the situation has deteriorated because more communities have become involved in this combination of cattle rusting and also abducting children,”  Afako said.

 He said that the situation has taken a different dimension where mothers are abducted alongside their children.

“In fact, one of the things we were hearing was that local and national authorities should do a lot more to follow up and trace those places where children are being held,” Afako added.

Carlos Castresana Fernandez, a member of the Commission attributed the rise in abduction to the lack of functioning judiciary to tackle the crime.

“Yesterday (Thursday), we visited Jonglei, South Sudan’s largest state where there is no high court judge in place, making prosecution of rape and murder impossible,” Castresana said.

Castresana disclosed that the persistence of widespread gender-based violence including abductions is rampant due to lack of law institutions to address them.

He stressed the need to fund judicial institutions with resources and personnel to address crimes related to child and women abduction as well as cases of human rights violations.

The experts made these remarks as they wrapped up their five-day visit to the country.

While in the country, they met government officials, survivors of human rights violations, members of civil society, jurists, UN agencies and the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

They discussed the human rights situation in South Sudan, including the Commission’s latest findings and recommendations.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *