JUBA — The United Nations-backed panel of investigators has alleged in a new report that several officials in South Sudan are fueling violence in the country.
The 24-page report presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Friday documents how political and military elites continue to fuel violence and instability in the country.
“It is unconscionable that so many years after its independence, and despite their peace commitments, political leaders continue their violent contestations across the country and are abjectly failing the people of South Sudan,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission.
Sook revealed that the investigation conducted in 2024 implicated government officials and military officers of committing serious human rights violations.
“Sexual violence persists both in and outside conflicts, even as senior officials continue to endorse extrajudicial killings, and the forced recruitment and abduction of boys and girls into combat or sexual slavery continue unchecked,” she said.
She said the report revealed that conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) remains systematic, brutal, and widespread, with survivors reporting a lack of access to critical reproductive and psychological healthcare.
“The testimonies of children forced into combat or held as sexual slaves underscore a systemic failure to protect South Sudan’s future generation. These acts constitute grave violations of international law, yet the perpetrators continue to operate with impunity,” she said.
Barney Afako, a member of the UN Commission, said the repetition of these human rights violations is deeply connected to pervasive impunity and lack of accountability in governance.
Afako said the failures to properly direct the country’s national wealth toward establishing credible institutions and systems contribute to instability.
“This is why in many of our recommendations, in addition to a focus on human rights law, we return to the institution-building commitments in the Revitalized Peace Agreement.”
Carlos Castresana Fernández, a member of the UN Commission, called on the government to eradicate corruption.
“Financing essential services and rule of law institutions requires an end to the corruption. The theft of national wealth robs citizens of justice, education, and healthcare. Without addressing this systemic looting, no peace agreement will ever translate into meaningful change,” said Fernández.
He said the government’s tacit endorsement of these killings further inflames tensions.
“We documented multiple instances where Green Book provisions were selectively applied to settle scores, undermining fragile community relations,” he said.
“The Green Book must be overruled immediately. Warrap’s judiciary requires urgent funding and support, or violence will remain the default form of justice.”
The report describes the situation in Tambura, where, in 2024, armed forces and militias inflicted extreme violence against civilians along ethnic lines, deepening the unhealed traumas and divisions stemming from the 2021 conflict.
Local and national political elites are implicated in pursuing violent, divisive politics; many have retained public and military offices despite past violations and have not faced accountability for their crimes.
The report also examines the introduction in 2024 of the “Green Book” state law in Warrap, which purports to authorize extrajudicial killings by firing squad for suspected cattle raiding and intra-communal violence.
The commission found that this law has entrenched a culture of lawlessness, implicating senior officials and the state government in gross human rights violations.
I would like to appreciate human rights experts for making this report before Human Right Commission in Geneva. South Sudan has become one of the lawless countries in the world that needs the attention of international community. As a citizen of this country, I call upon UN Security Council to sanction those elites and military commanders fueling violence in this country.
I would like to appreciate human rights experts for making this report before Human Right Commission in Geneva. South Sudan has become one of the lawless countries in the world that needs the attention of international community. As a citizen of this country, I call upon UN Security Council to sanction those elites and military commanders fueling violence in this country.