JUBA – South Sudan’s government on Wednesday condemned a draft UN human rights report as “political interference,” calling it inaccurate and unreflective of the country’s progress.
The UN Human Rights Commission on South Sudan will release its assessment of the country’s rights situation on Friday as it prepares for its first elections since independence in 2011.
The report is expected to highlight ongoing risks of violence and human rights violations.
Addressing a press conference in Juba, Foreign Ministry official Antony Kon said the draft report’s descriptions of widespread abuses, political repression, and sexual violence do not align with improvements on the ground.
“Much of the report is unrealistic. It has nothing to do with the facts,” Kon said, adding that the report was written from a non-African perspective.
Kon argued the report ignores government efforts to implement the 2018 peace agreement, citing progress on security arrangements, transitional justice institutions, and legal reforms.
He said the report undermines South Sudan’s sovereignty.
Justice Ministry official Lawrence Loro Kamilo said the Commission overstepped its mandate by focusing on governance issues and disputed specific allegations of sexual violence in the report.