Letter to the UN Human Rights Council on the Human Rights Situation in South Sudan
5 min readTo Permanent Representatives of Members of the UN Human Rights Council
Excellency,
The undersigned South Sudanese, African and international non-governmental organizations are writing to appeal to your Government to urgently support the convening of a Special Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) on the deteriorating human rights situation in South Sudan.
In light of the upsurge of violence that has left thousands of civilians dead, the Human Rights Council must use its mandate to “address situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations, and make recommendations thereon” to respond to the situation. The UN High Commissioner for the Human Rights, Navi Pillay, at the end of her recently concluded mission to the country, stated that South Sudan is on the verge of catastrophe. The dire and deteriorating situation in South Sudan cannot remain unaddressed and deserves the Council’s immediate attention.
A special session will enable the Council to receive without delay a briefing on the findings of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights and the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, and to decide on the most appropriate response to prevent further violations and abuses, in line with the Council’s mandate. It will allow the Council to be briefed on the gravity of the ongoing crisis, to address the urgent needs for protection of civilians, and to enhance the engagement of the Human Rights Council on the situation in the country.
Serious human rights violations during current conflict
Since the outbreak of conflict on 15 December 2013, South Sudan has faced a dramatic rise in the level of violence and human rights violations and abuses. Soldiers from both parties to the conflict have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law that constitute war crimes, including widespread targeting and killing of civilians, often because of their ethnicity, and massive pillage and destruction of civilian property, according to non-governmental organizations which have documented the situation.
Fighting in the capital Juba on 15 December 2013, which first erupted among soldiers in the Presidential Guard, was immediately followed by acts of killing, torture and unlawful arrests targeted at individuals of the Nuer ethnicity. The hostilities rapidly developed into a full-blown armed conflict, spreading to the town of Bor, where ethnic Dinka were targeted and killed by opposition forces, and to the towns of Bentiu and Malakal where forces from both sides carried out massive destruction of civilian property and unlawful killings. Large swathes of Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile states have been directly affected by fighting that has been accompanied by large scale looting and destruction of civilian property including of dozens of humanitarian and medical facilities.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) human rights investigators reported that hundreds of civilians were killed on the basis of their ethnicity or nationality when the SPLA in Opposition forces captured Bentiu town on 15 and 16 April 2014. Hundreds more were wounded and thousands displaced following the violence. Scores were killed or injured when an armed mob, some in security uniforms and others in civilian clothes, attacked the UNMISS base in Bor on 17 April. These are only the latest in a series of ethnically targeted attacks.
There is evidence of the use of cluster bombs during the current conflict. Credible allegations have been made that both sides have used child soldiers. Targeted killings of civilians, looting, and destruction of civilian property by both government and opposition armed forces in locations across the country have contributed to the displacement of over 950,000 persons within South Sudan, with a further 290,000 people having fled to nearby countries, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
We welcome the adoption by the Human Rights Council during its 25th session of a Presidential Statement on South Sudan. However, the Council can and must do more to prevent further serious human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country and to ensure that there is no impunity for the crimes already committed.
In the past, the South Sudanese government has acknowledged concerns over the human rights situation in the country and asked for support in addressing challenges. As highlighted by the recent visit of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide in South Sudan, the current crisis makes an urgent intervention all the more necessary. We therefore urge your Government to support the convening without delay of a Special Session of the Human Rights Council.
We thank you for your attention,
· African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS)
· Amnesty International
· Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
· Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
· Child Soldiers International
· Citizens for Peace and Justice (CPJ)
· CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation
· Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
· Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO)
· Conectas Direitos Humanos
· Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre (DRDC)
· East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project
· Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)
· Greater Upper Nile, Bahr El Gazahal & Equatoria Youth Association (GUBEYA)
· Human Rights Watch
· International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
· International Service for Human Rights
· Kenya Human Rights Commission
· Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme
· South Sudan Law Society (SSLS)
About Post Author
lamjok7@gmail.c
By Lam Wuor
Subject: Humanitarian Catastrophe and massacre in South Sudan,
Ethnically motivated violence continued in the years succeeding independence, The mass killings in south Sudan quickly spread from juba to the rest of the country, On December 15, 2013 until now, the south Sudanese regime, led by Salva kiir has instigated the war against his own citizen, targeting the Nuer ethnic in juba and elsewhere in the country. Since then, his admiration sponsoring violence has spread to engulf much of South Sudan states. The continuing multiple atrocities amount to at least crimes against humanity. This, in and of itself, is alarming. According to the views of the accountability to safeguard now is the time to protect the targeted population.
From December15- 17, 2013 to May 2014, the Dinkas militia in juba murdered as many as to date an estimated 6,500 men, women and children have lost their lives, mostly of the Nuer ethnic groups. Begun by dangerous Dinka nationalists in the capital of juba, the massacre spread throughout the country with staggering speed and brutality in the country through a military offensive in early December, hundreds of thousands of the Nuer were dead and many more displaced from their homes. Therefore, the leadership under Salva Kiir has created million more refugees predominantly the Nuer from south Sudan,
Satellite imagery has discovered mass graves, destroyed communities, and the indiscriminate low altitude airborne bombardment of civilian areas in jonglei state. Dependable observers continue to report methodical government shooting and killing of IDP evacuation routes to seek for safe place, Ugandan helicopter gunships foxhunting civilians as they flee their homes and wilderness to hide in bushes and a thoughtful and widespread obstruction of humanitarian aid into South Sudan throughout states such as malakal, Bentiu and jonglei states. Circumstantial evidence of offenders’ catastrophic tribal disgraces as civilians are killed and raped. It’s clear that south Sudan’s first president Salva Kiir’s policy of killing the Nuer horribly in order to make way for his tribal expansion to rule south Sudan forever, How come statements by the Presidency and other authorities in juba are always at variance with realities on ground at the theatres of conflict? We want answers not insults or empty rhetoric. On the issue of creating divisions among the people, no one does it better than a President that urges its backers to direct its people to implicate innocent Northerners in massacre they know nothing of, or one whose known official uses online sources to implicate someone it chooses to hate for no just cause. This President also encourages some of its spokespersons like Makuei Lueth to speak ill. This is the most divisive leadership in the history of this country and it also the most desperate to cling to power even at the cost of several lives of innocent citizens. Unfortunately, it is also the most useless, confused, greedy, corrupt and incompetent regime ever on the corruption mantra,
Satisfactory evidence exists for us to believe that south Sudan regime is attempting to wipe out one ethnic community in the region. Hence many local Nuer people are spontaneously targeted regardless of their true political affiliations. Hundreds of thousands of the Nuer remain trapped in Juba, the sufferers of obligatory starvation, unable to farm their land. Meanwhile in Malakal, Unity State and jonglei state, government forces has forced the population to lives with no protection because of fear with their own government. As concern citizen, I am sincerely responsibility to inform the public about the horrors crimes committed by Salva Kiir, I would suggested that increasing UN peace keepers is ways forward prevention of such brutal actions in the country. I would remind the world of humanity that Salva kiir regime has committed genocide anywhere against group of people. It is because of that responsibility I call on you to fulfill your duties as global leaders when it comes to challenging mankind. South Sudanese citizens wanted your efforts to aid the refugees who have found their way to camps in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda I must point out that as world leaders you have the moral, and authority granted by the UN’s agreed 2005 statement of the Responsibility to Protect to request delivery of aid to those inside juba UNIMMISS and elsewhere in the region .Moreover, you have to fulfilled your legal and honorable commitment to sanction violators of that agreement.
The south Sudanese regime continues to slaughter its own civilians, while denying them access to aid and in disobedience of various international treaties and conventions it has signed, not to respect the world constitutions. The Two-party Agreement signed on 9 May 2014 in Addis Ababa, the SPLM in opposition called upon the of south Sudanese to allow humanitarian access to all devastated areas in south Sudan around the same time, the Salva Kiir regime’s violated the signatory by attacking rebels in Bentiu and upper Nile in Longechuk County. Therefore, its unwise to please kiir,s regime which has committed uncountable crimes in south Sudan history . However, his recent speech in Addis Ababa signals the international community about his true color for his unwillingness to bring peace in the region “quotes I’m the president of South Sudan and I must always remain in that position as the president” Kiir said, in that statement shown to international communities that the agreements was breakable. Now the rainy seasonal is approaching so it will be very difficult for IDP to survive in such horrible situation since the president still unwilling to see the suffering of his citizens but worrying for his position only, due to the determination of the catastrophe created by their actions, the United States and UN would deliver relief directly into the war-affected areas underneath SPLM/ IN opposition control areas and those who are still in nation capital juba if UN failed to relocated them.
Furthermore, for the best interest of south Sudanese people it is unwise to allow kiir to get away this time, also I call upon the international community to dismantle juba administration to end violence in south Sudan if not the regime will continue to kill their own people. once again, the United States declines to use the resinous sanction against kiir,s regime . I strongly urge you to act now to plank off the starvation of an entire people of south Sudan. Nobody would speak louder to the south Sudan government without UN and United States’ concern for the protection of international human rights. Unfortunately, kiir said he was forced to sign the peace or jailed in Addis Ababa/ Ethiopia, how does the world judge such a person who doesn’t care for suffering of his people.
Mr. Dallaire, if your organization chooses to stand with the victims of South Sudan’s continuing campaign of ethnic cleansing, then history will harmony your respect and integrity. I am very much looking forward to hearing from each of you in regard to my letter and the offers therein.In conclusion, in solidarity with the victims, and with your unwavering experience in Rwanda genocide is urgently needed in south Sudan.
The author is the concern citizen of south Sudan). He can be reached through: lamjok7@gmail.c