JUBA – The UN Human Rights Council has expressed serious concerns over South Sudan’s human rights situation, particularly in light of the government’s decision to extend the transitional period by two years.
The council, according to a senior government official, highlighted the increasing powers granted to the National Security Service (NSS), which many fear could worsen the human rights landscape in the young nation.
South Sudan’s minister of justice and constitutional affairs, Ruben Madol, briefed journalists on Wednesday at Juba International Airport after returning from Geneva, where he attended the Council’s 57th regular session.
He said the meeting expressed disappointment with South Sudan’s national security law, which permits arrests without a warrant, and the extension of the transitional period.
Madol noted that during the session, the Council raised several human rights issues, specifically regarding the controversial national security law. He pointed out that while many participants expressed concern, most acknowledged South Sudan’s challenging circumstances.
“The United Nations Mission in South Sudan gave a very constructive report about the situation in the country, and we as well on behalf of the government gave oral statement in which we touch issues like extension of the transitional period, issues about mobile courts, military tribunal, special court dealing with intercommunal violence and gender-based violence,”
The month-long session of the UN Human Rights Council concluded last Friday, with nations presenting their reports on human rights situations and political developments. Madol said he gave a report on South Sudan’s situation, which has drawn widespread concern.
President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar extended the transitional period—first established in 2020 under the 2018 revitalized peace agreement—by an additional two years in September.
This extension means the transitional period will now end in February 2027, with elections scheduled for December 2026, two months before the new deadline.
The decision to prolong the transitional phase has sparked further concerns, particularly after the transitional parliament passed a controversial security bill on July 3, granting the NSS sweeping powers.
The new law allows the NSS to monitor, detain, interrogate, and arrest suspects without requiring a warrant.
The bill automatically became law after President Kiir, who was required either to sign or return the legislation to parliament within 30 days, took no action, allowing it to pass by default.
