Comments on the Draft National Security Service Bill of the Republic of South Sudan
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– South Sudan’s National Legislative Assembly (NLA) should amend the NSS bill to strictly limit the powers of the NSS to intelligence gathering, as envisioned by the Transitional Constitution. Powers to arrest, detain, conduct searches, seize property and use force should be explicitly excluded.
– To the extent that powers of arrest are retained in the bill, the bill should expressly provide due process rights and custodial safeguards required under the Transitional Constitution, regional and international human rights law, including: the right to be informed of the reasons for arrest and any charges brought; the right to be tried within a reasonable period of time; the right of access, without delay, to a lawyer; the right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment; and the right to freely access complaints and oversight mechanisms.
– The bill should specify permissible places of detention.
– The NLA should strengthen provisions for judicial oversight by making clear that warrants are required for all acts by NSS that have an effect on protected rights, such as making arrests (with limited exceptions, if any), conducting searches, seizing property, and carrying out communications surveillance.
– The parliament should strengthen the proposed parliamentary oversight mechanism by, for example, requiring that the NSS report to the NLA on a regular basis and by providing the NLA with the power to conduct unrestricted and unannounced visits to places of detention and to compel the production of evidence and have access to all files, premises, personnel, archives and registers, as necessary for the exercise of its oversight functions.
– The NLA should strengthen the proposed Complaints Board, by among other things, specifying a timeframe for dealing with complaints and ensuring the independence of the Board by providing that no NSS employee serve as a member.
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