South Sudan: Extend UN investigations, stand ready to take further action
Ahead of the UN Human Rights Council’s 61st session, more than 120 civil society organisations, including Civil Rights Defenders, urge States to adopt a strong resolution on South Sudan, extending the mandate of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (CHRSS).
As South Sudan slides deeper into violence, repression and impunity, civil society warns that the country is facing credible risk factors for atrocity crimes and renewed large-scale conflict. The letter warns of a sharp deterioration in the country’s human rights and security situation, marked by widespread violence against civilians, sexual and gender-based violence, arbitrary arrests, shrinking civic space, and near-total impunity.
With credible risks for atrocity crimes and renewed fears of large-scale conflict, the organisations stress that the CHRSS remains the only mechanism preserving evidence for future accountability. Civil society therefore urges the Human Rights Council to extend the Commission’s mandate in full and to signal clearly that it stands ready to act decisively to prevent further deterioration and protect lives.
