South Sudan Human Rights Monitor

This report is based on the work of internationally trained local monitors, on the ground in South Sudan, working for a national human rights organization. Both these monitors and the organization must remain anonymous given the present security concerns. The information reported meets the threshold for initiating an investigation between 1 January 2021 to 30 April 2021. There is a reasonable basis to believe that the following incidents occurred.

Introduction

Civilians in South Sudan continue to be displaced and suffer from widespread human rights abuses and crimes, including sexual and gender-based, political, and ethnic violence. These human rights violations and crimes have been ongoing since the beginning of the conflict in South Sudan. During this reporting period, local monitors working anonymously in Juba, Torit, Yei (Equatoria Region), and Rumbek and Tonj ( Bahr el Ghazal Region) have detailed at least 102 human rights abuses and crimes against civilians, including incidents of rape, threat to life, looting or pillaging, sexual violence, killing, torture, abduction, ill-treatment, forced disappearance, forced displacement, arbitrary arrest, and detention. This Newsletter addresses incidents recorded by local monitors from January 1 to April 30, 2021.[1] Since the last report, the local monitors faced challenges with mobility and accessing witnesses because of the global COVID-19 pandemic[2] and related travel restrictions and lockdowns instituted by the South Sudanese government.

Almost half way to the transitional period, limited progress on the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement has been registered. While largely the progress has been around the formation of the national and sub-national government, some key milestones such as the operationalization of the recently reconstituted National Legislative Assembly, the drafting of key legislation, and planning for the transitional security arrangements are yet to be implemented.[3] The humanitarian situation in South Sudan remains dire as intercommunal violence, the COVID-19 pandemic, and seasonal floods continue to worsen the already volatile situation. According to the U.N. Secretary-General December 2020 Report, livelihood pressures and economic struggles from the COVID-19 pandemic are leading to an increase in economically motivated violence, including heightened sexual and gender-based violence targeting young girls and forced child marriage.[4] Furthermore, as documented by the local monitors, tensions between the government and opposition forces persist, armed youth group and violence against civilians is ongoing, and serious human rights violations continue to cause suffering.

Read full report here: South Sudan Human Rights Monitor Newsletter.