South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Jenifer James
The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has issued a stark warning regarding the recent two-year extension of the transitional government, asserting that this decision will likely exacerbate the country’s already dire human rights crisis.
The Chairperson of the Commission Yasmin Sooka, said in a statement on Wednesday that the recent extension of the transition period which is part of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement, delays crucial elections and stalls necessary actions to uphold human rights and promote lasting peace.
“Since independence in 2011, South Sudan’s unelected leaders have continued to entrench impunity for systematic and gross human rights violations, fuel insecurity, and deliberately thwart efforts to democratize the country,” said Sooka.
She noted that South Sudan’s leaders have failed to fulfill their obligations of addressing civil, political, and socio-economic rights which is a core obligation of all governments.
Sooka said that the challenges to a peaceful transition to democracy are not insurmountable if one implements the Revitalized Peace Agreement as it was envisaged.
“However, the delays and unwillingness to compromise reflect the preoccupations of a predatory elite most concerned with remaining in power, and enriching themselves from the country’s vast oil and other wealth. A flagrant disregard for the plight of their own citizens is a testament to unaccountable leaders not having the political will to respect and protect human rights,” she disclosed.
Sooka said that South Sudanese across the country face incredible economic and social hardships, adding that they shared with the Commission their deep sense of betrayal and helplessness due to the leaders having already saddled current and future generations with unsustainable levels of debt to foreign entities, undermining popular aspirations for prosperity, peace and democracy.
“In the six years since the Revitalized Peace Agreement was adopted, the main political parties have had sufficient time to implement its key provisions. But they have squandered the goodwill and practical advice of the African Union, IGAD and the international community, as well as the desperate hopes of citizens,” said Sooka.
Commissioner Barney Afako observed that South Sudan faces a maelstrom of interlinked crises, adding that damage to one of the oil export pipelines, linked to war in Sudan, has significantly reduced national revenue at a time when South Sudan hosts hundreds of thousands of newly displaced persons, including Sudanese refugees.
Afako said that the country is also at the frontline of the climate crisis, with both flooding and drought adding to widespread deprivations and prolonged displacement.
“In the face of these multiple challenges, South Sudan cannot afford to endure more business as usual. Its political leaders must finally and urgently invest in delivering tangible democratic, protection and human rights outcomes,” he said.
Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández, noted that the latest two-year extension envisages ‘austerity measures’ in a context where most civil servants are already unpaid, while schools, health clinics and courts are not even receiving their woefully inadequate budget allocations.
“The vast theft of national revenue and its criminal diversion continues even with the interruption to oil exports this year. South Sudanese want to see where their national revenue is going. They want to see the resources supporting services essential to building a democracy, such as reliable law enforcement and administration of justice institutions, to address conflicts, violence and corruption, and resolve disputes through adjudication,” said Fernandez.
Earlier this month, lawmakers submitted two bills to President Salva Kiir that would enable the establishment of a Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing alongside a Compensation and Reparation Authority, as envisaged under the Revitalized Agreement.
The Commission observed that the delay by South Sudanese leadership to pursue peace has resulted in a dire humanitarian crisis, characterized by extreme hunger and food insecurity, and the displacement of more than four million South Sudanese both in the country and the region.
On Saturday 21 September, the Transitional Constitution was amended, to incorporate the extension of the transition period for another two years.
