
U.S. Embassy Juba. South Sudan: Passage of a bill to unilaterally extend the transitional government’s term (13.07.2018)













The Government of South Sudan bears the primary responsibility for protecting its People.
JUBA, South Sudan, July 12, 2018 – In South Sudan, since the start of the conflict, sexual violence has been committed on a widespread and systematic scale as a tactic of war and terror. As part of a joint United Nations – African Union solidarity visit, led by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, I visited the country from 3 to 7 July 2018. The primary purpose of my visit was to better understand the needs of survivors and vulnerable communities, as well as the nature, patterns and trends of conflict-related sexual violence. The visit also provided a critical opportunity to reinvigorate commitments made by the Government since 2014 to prevent and prosecute crimes of sexual violence, as well as to ensure the delivery of essential services to survivors.
In the course of my visit, I met with senior government officials, including the Minister in the Presidency and the Ministers of Justice, Defense and Gender; the Deputy Chief of Defense Forces; and the Inspector General of Police. I also met with religious leaders from the South Sudan Council of Churches and the Islamic Council, members of the donor and diplomatic community, as well as UN agencies and UNMISS leadership. In my meetings with civil society organizations, I was alarmed to hear about the increasing climate of intimidation in which they work, including attacks against those providing services to sexual violence survivors. I visited sites for the protection of displaced civilians in Malakal and Juba, where I spoke with women and girls who had survived sexual violence, yet continue to live in situations of acute vulnerability both inside and outside the camps.
Civilians fleeing the fighting in Unity State, which peaked between 16 April and 24 May, recounted shocking patterns of conflict-related sexual violence, occurring alongside other atrocity crimes. The testimonies I heard were horrific: men being systematically killed, the elderly and sick being burned alive, the genitals of young boys being mutilated or cut off, and women and girls being gang-raped – often to death. Rape and gang-rape are being used to pursue military and political objectives, such as clearing areas of perceived enemies, defined along ethnic and political lines. In this context, sexual violence serves as a lethal tactic of war and a “push factor” for forced displacement.
According to a report released yesterday by UNMISS and OHCHR on the indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Southern Unity State, at least 120 women and girls, including pregnant and lactating mothers, and girls as young as four-years-old, were raped and gang-raped by the SPLA and associated forces (including pro-Taban Deng forces and clan youth militia) in Koch and Leer county. Witness accounts indicate that some women and girls who resisted rape were shot. The report further documents 15 incidents of abduction involving at least 132 women and girls, for the purposes of sexual slavery and forced labor.
Women in the camps told me of the lack of food, health services, and livelihood opportunities. In order to collect firewood, women and girls need to continuously venture further beyond camp perimeters, at great personal risk. Although they walk in groups to reduce their vulnerability to attack, they are still frequently assaulted by soldiers lurking in the high grass. Yet they have few alternatives, as they cannot ask male community members for help. In the words of one woman: “Our men would get killed, whereas we only get raped”. In addition to security and basic livelihood assistance, all of the women I spoke with said that they wanted to see the perpetrators punished. Yet sexual violence is fueled and exacerbated by impunity on a massive scale.
The Government of South Sudan bears the primary responsibility for protecting its people. Indeed, Government officials I met affirmed their willingness to implement the Joint Communiqué to end sexual violence signed with the United Nations in 2014. Moreover, it is important to recall that the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, signed on 21 December 2017, lists sexual violence among the prohibited “hostile military actions”. To support the transition from prohibitions on paper to measurable progress, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) has developed an action plan to prevent sexual violence and hold perpetrators in their ranks to account. In addition, the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS) is recruiting more women, which will encourage survivors to report these crimes and seek redress, and is working to ensure the effective functioning of special protection units.
The United Nations stands ready to support the Government in these endeavors. To that end, I will deploy a team of experts to South Sudan before the end of the month, to provide technical assistance to the justice and security sector. I will also brief the United Nations Security Council on the findings of my mission, as well as the South Sudan Sanctions Committee, which includes sexual violence among the designation criteria for sanctions.
The main hope and desire of the women I met during my visit, was the desire for peace. In this respect, I am encouraged by the Khartoum Declaration of Agreement between the Parties to the Conflict of South Sudan, signed on 21 June, which declares a “permanent ceasefire”. This must be respected by all sides, and should entail not only the complete silencing of the guns in South Sudan, but also the cessation of all forms of sexual violence. There is now an urgent need for sustained and sincere political will, coupled with robust mechanisms to ensure compliance with the range of commitments made by the parties to date. It is also critical that the authorities undertake an effective, prompt and impartial investigation into all alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed in the context of the recent Southern Unity operations, as well as other alleged atrocity crimes.
I commend the efforts of the United Nations and the African Union to bring sustainable peace and stability to South Sudan, and note that in an extremely challenging operating environment, UNMISS has played a critical role in the protection of civilians, and the UN country team and its partners have continued to deliver lifesaving services to women and girls affected by gender-based violence. Donors and international partners must increase their support, to enable the provision of medical and psychosocial assistance to survivors, including in remote areas, as well as technical expertise and resources for security sector reform, justice and reparations.





Civilians were targeted, with the elderly, people with disabilities and very young children killed in horrific acts of violence.
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 10, 2018 – UN Human Rights monitors have documented what appear to be deliberate, ruthless and brutally violent attacks on civilians, particularly against women and children, by Government and aligned forces, as well as armed youth in parts of Unity State in South Sudan.
A report issued Tuesday documents acts that constitute gross violations and abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law – that may amount to war crimes. The investigation has also identified three individuals who may bear the greatest responsibility for the violations committed. One of them was reportedly removed from his functions for his alleged implication in these violations.
The violence took place after clashes between the SPLA and associated forces, and SPLA-IO (RM) in Unity State culminated in a significant military operation by Government and associated forces between April and May in multiple areas in southern Unity. The military offensive was part of a broader cycle of violence in which opposition forces also carried out armed attacks resulting in civilian casualties.
The investigation by UN Human Rights monitors found that between 16 April and 24 May, at least 232 civilians were killed and many more injured in attacks by Government and aligned forces and armed youth on villages in opposition-controlled areas in Mayendit and Leer.
Civilians were targeted, with the elderly, people with disabilities and very young children killed in horrific acts of violence – some hung from trees and others burned alive in their homes, the investigation found.
Victims and witnesses described how SPLA and aligned forces would storm into villages in the early morning or around dawn, surround the village and start shooting at fleeing civilians. The attackers would then steal cattle, loot entire households and burn down houses and food stocks.
The report documents the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, with at least 120 women and girls raped or gang-raped, including children as young as four. One 20-year-old woman was still bleeding from childbirth when she was raped. Some of those who resisted were shot dead. At least 132 other women and girls were abducted.
The brutality and ruthlessness of the attackers, as described by survivors, suggests their intent was to take a “scorched-earth” approach, killing or forcibly displacing people, burning their crops and homes, punishing and terrorizing them to ensure they never return. Many fled under attack by gunfire and shelling.
“Some corpses seen by human rights monitors in villages in Northern Mayendit on 12 May exhibited bullet wounds in their backs,” the report states. “According to information received, the elderly, sick and persons with disabilities who were unable to flee, were often burnt alive, as the attackers set ablaze their tukuls with lighters.”
As a result, more than 5,000 sought sanctuary at UN protected sites in Leer and Bentiu. Another 8,000 are estimated to be hiding in bushes and swamps while 18,000 have sought refuge in Mayendit town. Humanitarian actors were also targeted. Three local aid workers were killed and facilities destroyed, leaving vulnerable people without desperately needed food, water, medicine and shelter.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called on the Government to halt all attacks against civilians, launch investigations and hold the perpetrators accountable, including those who bear command responsibility.
“The perpetrators of these revolting acts against defenceless civilians, including those bearing command responsibility, must not be allowed to get away with it,” High Commissioner Zeid said.
“There must be consequences for the men who reportedly gang-raped a six-year-old child, who slit the throats of elderly villagers, who hanged women for resisting looting, and shot fleeing civilians in the swamps where they hid. Those who ordered and facilitated these horrific crimes must be brought to account. The Government of South Sudan and the international community have the obligation to ensure justice.”
Zeid called on the Transitional Government of National Unity in South Sudan and the African Union to move quickly towards establishing the Hybrid Court for South Sudan to ensure accountability for gross human rights violations.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan and humanitarian actors are taking action on a number of fronts, including increasing the peacekeeping presence in the area, providing aid to those in need, continuing to monitor and report on human rights violations and carrying out political engagement with Government officials, commanders of both forces, and civil society.

