South Sudan’s new war is characterized by horrific attacks on civilians, often because of their ethnicity and presumed allegiances. The abuses began with widespread and systematic attacks against and killings of Nuer in the capital Juba, ethnically profiled, pulled from cars, ordered out of their homes in house-to-house searches, shot and killed, rounded up, unlawfully detained, in some cases tortured by government security forces. At the end of the first full day of this war over 200 Nuer men were massacred in a building in Juba. The conflict spread quickly with extraordinary cruelty. Opposition forces in the first half of January shot and killed civilians they found in the town of Bor, Jonglei state, leaving a town dotted with rotting corpses. In Bentiu, Bor and Malakal in Upper Nile state, both sides have conducted massive looting of civilian property and have burned markets, neighborhoods and countless homes. Human Rights Watch visited the towns of Bor and Bentiu in South Sudan earlier this month. The conflict continues, attacks on civilians continue and there has been no accountability for serious alleged crimes.
Terrified of being targeted and killed or already fleeing attacks, 1.3 million people have been forced from their homes. Fears have been raised that South Sudan could experience famine again, as in the 1990s a result of abusive tactics. South Sudanese civilians from different ethnicities have desperately sought sanctuary in UN bases, hospitals, churches and mosques and have been attacked in all of these places. UN bases have been the target of major attacks twice. In Bor in April gunmen attacked and killed dozens of people because of their ethnicity. Survivors still live in the camp, traumatized but too afraid that they will be killed, harassed or raped to leave.
There has been no real acknowledgement by either side of the scale of abuse, accountability or clear efforts to stop abuse. The peace talks have been unpromising. The Human Rights Council has a role to play and would fail the victims if it remains silent. We call on the Human Rights Council to urge UNMISS and OHCHR to engage in increased, more regular and public reporting.The Human Rights Council should also insist that accountability for crimes committed in South Sudan should be pursued, and support the work of the AU Commission of Inquiry. In the past, the Human Rights Council has not devoted sufficient attention to the situation of human rights in South Sudan. There is still time for the Human Rights Council to clearly state, as a central UN human rights body, that the abuses inflicted upon the South Sudanese are unacceptable and must end.
