Mr. President,
We thank the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for their report and update on the delivery of technical assistance to the Government of South Sudan.
We are alarmed by dramatic further deterioration of the situation in recent weeks notably in Upper Nile state. Government forces have carried out multiple attacks on civilian areas, and, as reported by UNMISS, on occasion reportedly using barrel bombs containing “highly flammable accelerants […] causing significant casualties and horrific injuries, especially burns, including to women and children.”
They have arrested and detained opposition leaders and imposed further restrictions on civil space, threatening further detentions of activists and opposition who express concern about the situation in Nasir.
We are also concerned by the increase in hate speech online with ethnic undertones, and concerning rhetoric by the government itself.
The situation clearly requires continued robust engagement by this Council. The Office’s reports, and those of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, repeatedly underscore a lack of political will by the government to tackle the underlying causes of a deteriorating rights landscape, despite years of technical assistance.
Should the Government continue to seek technical assistance through this Council, they should demonstrate a basic commitment to human rights including by:
- Immediately halting airstrikes on civilian areas, in particular the use of indiscriminate air-borne explosives;
- Immediately revealing the fate and whereabouts of all detainees and ensuring their due process rights, including by bringing them before a properly constituted and impartial court.
- Ensuring the implementation without delay of institutional reforms provided for in the peace deal including establishing transitional justice mechanisms, such as working with the African Union on a realistic timeline for the establishment of the Hybrid Court.
Given the escalation of the crisis during this session, we appeal to all members of this Council to support the consensus adoption of draft resolution L.6, renewing the mandate of the Commission and, should a vote be called, to vote in favor.
Thank you.
