RES/34/25 Situation of human rights in South Sudan

GE.17-05495(E)



Human Rights Council Thirty-fourth session

27 February–24 March 2017

Agenda item 4

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 24 March 2017

34/25. Situation of human rights in South Sudan

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Guided also by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African Charter on

Human and Peoplesʼ Rights and relevant human rights treaties,

Emphasizing that States have the primary responsibility for the promotion and

protection of human rights,

Recalling the twenty-sixth special session of the Human Rights Council, including

Council resolution S-26/1 of 14 December 2016 on the situation of human rights in South

Sudan, and Council resolution 31/20 of 23 March 2016, in which the Council established

the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, and all other previous Human Rights

Council and Security Council resolutions and President’s statements on South Sudan,

Deeply alarmed by the statements made at the twenty-sixth special session of the

Human Rights Council, including the statement of the Commission on Human Rights in

South Sudan that the conflict and violence in South Sudan could destabilize the entire

region, the statement of the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of

Genocide that there is an ongoing, serious threat of renewed violence and a strong and

imminent risk of violence escalating along ethnic lines, with the potential for genocide, in

South Sudan, and the statement of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human

Rights that killings, sexual violence, ill-treatment, abductions, forcible recruitment and the

looting and destruction of homes and villages are taking place on a massive scale across

many parts of the country,

Welcoming that the Government of South Sudan has committed to cooperating with

the Office of the High Commissioner, the special procedures of the Human Rights Council,

the universal periodic review and the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan in the

fulfilment of its mandate,

Noting the initial steps taken by the Government of South Sudan towards a National

Dialogue, and strongly encouraging a transparent and inclusive political process as a means

towards achieving lasting stability in South Sudan,

Noting with appreciation the report of the Commission on Human Rights in South

Sudan1 and the recommendations therein, including those on ending impunity and ensuring

accountability, and deeply concerned about the findings of warning signs and indicators,

including the dehumanization of others through hate speech, economic volatility and

instability, starvation, the killing of and attacks against civilians, forced displacement and

the burning of villages in South Sudan,

Welcoming the joint report of the Office of the High Commissioner and the United

Nations Mission in South Sudan of January 2017 and the recommendations contained

therein, and deeply concerned about the finding that there are serious and ongoing gross

human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law,

including those that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, that were

perpetrated by all parties to the conflict, including the direct targeting of civilians along

ethnic lines and the extreme violence against women and children,

Deeply concerned by the allegations of human rights violations and abuses in the

reports of the Secretary-General and the interim report of the Panel of Experts on South

Sudan established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2206 (2015),2

Noting with grave concern the conclusions of the report of the African Union

Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan of 15 October 2014,

Recalling all relevant decisions and communiqués of the African Union and the

Intergovernmental Authority on Development, including the joint declaration of the African

Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the United Nations of 29

January 2017, which reaffirmed their continued and collective commitment in the search

for lasting peace, security and stability in South Sudan, and the African Union Peace and

Security Council communiqué of 26 September 2015, which, inter alia, reaffirmed the

commitment of the African Union to combating impunity, reiterated condemnation of the

violence and abuses committed by armed actors in South Sudan, and agreed to the

establishment of an independent hybrid court pursuant to the Agreement on the Resolution

of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, and in this regard encouraging its speedy

establishment,

Concerned by ethnically motivated incitement to hatred and violence by all sides,

reports of targeting of civilians based on ethnicity, and sexual and gender-based violence

becoming increasingly widespread,

Calling upon all parties to fully implement the Agreement on the Resolution of the

Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan and to conclude a permanent ceasefire,

Deeply alarmed at the escalation of violence in the Equatoria region, which has

resulted in increased flows of refugees into neighbouring countries and renewed violence in

the former States of Unity and Upper Nile,

Deeply alarmed also that more than 16,800 structures have been destroyed in the

southern Equatoria region since September 2016, in an indication of violence committed in

or around civilian areas,

1 A/HRC/34/63.

2 S/2016/963.

Expressing grave concern about the 20 February 2017 declaration of famine in parts

of the former Unity State, as well as mass displacements within South Sudan and outside

the country, noting that the humanitarian crisis is caused primarily by conflict, commending

humanitarian agencies for their continued assistance to the affected populations, and

recalling the need for all parties to the conflict to allow and facilitate, pursuant to United

Nations guiding principles of humanitarian assistance, including humanity, neutrality,

impartiality and independence, the full, safe and unhindered access of relief personnel,

equipment and supplies and the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance to all those in

need, in particular to internally displaced persons and refugees,

Condemning in the strongest terms all attacks against humanitarian personnel and

facilities that have resulted in the death of at least 70 humanitarian personnel since

December 2013, including the attack on the Terrain compound on 11 July 2016 and attacks

against medical workers and facilities, as well as the continued obstruction and extortion of

humanitarian assistance convoys and the wholesale looting and destruction of humanitarian

compounds in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, Unity and Upper Nile States and

Juba,

Emphasizing the inviolability of United Nations premises, and underlining that

attacks against civilians and United Nations premises may constitute war crimes,

Expressing grave concern at the attack on the protection-of-civilians site of the

United Nations Mission in South Sudan in Malakal on 17 and 18 February 2016, and for

the civilians who sought safety in the protection-of-civilians site that have been attacked,

killed, traumatized or displaced, and that serious damage was caused to the entire site,

including to medical clinics and schools, which were burned down and destroyed, and at

sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls exiting protection-of-civilians

sites throughout the country,

Recalling that the Government of South Sudan has the primary responsibility to

protect all populations in the country from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and

crimes against humanity,

Gravely concerned about ongoing reports of increased levels of sexual and gender-

based violence committed against women and girls and instances of conflict-related rape

and gang rape, coupled with beatings and abductions, including in July and August 2016

during the outbreak of fighting in Juba,

Expressing grave concern at the burning, looting, and wholesale destruction of

villages, the targeting of civilians and health-care facilities, and the attacks on places of

worship,

Condemning in the strongest terms the violence that broke out between the

Government and the South Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition in

early July 2016, and urging all parties to pursue the path of a peaceful resolution to the

existing conflict,

Recognizing the importance of providing timely assistance and protection to

survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, including sexual and reproductive health,

psychosocial, legal and livelihood support and other multi-sectoral services for survivors of

sexual and gender-based violence, including working with communities to reintegrate those

affected by sexual and gender-based violence, and taking into account the specific needs of

persons with disabilities,

Emphasizing the importance of good governance and the rule of law as key elements

of conflict prevention, peacekeeping, conflict resolution and peacebuilding,

Expressing concern that the situation in South Sudan continues to be characterized

by impunity,

Expressing particular concern at the severe reduction of democratic space in South

Sudan, including through the heightened restrictions on the freedom of expression and the

freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, attacks on journalists and media workers,

and the limitations on the operations of civil society, human rights defenders and the media,

and stressing the responsibility of the Government of South Sudan to address these issues in

accordance with the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South

Sudan and in the interest of fostering an open and inclusive political environment,

Recognizing that transitional justice mechanisms are important elements in a

national reconciliation process and in implementing the Agreement, including by

addressing accountability, reparations, truth-seeking and guarantees of non-recurrence,

Underlining the role that domestic, regional and international accountability

mechanisms can play in assisting South Sudan to ensure accountability,

1. Condemns the ongoing violations and abuses of human rights and violations

of international humanitarian law in South Sudan, including those involving targeted

killings of civilians, ethnically targeted violence, rape and other forms of sexual and

gender-based violence, the widespread recruitment and use of children, arbitrary arrests and

detention, alleged torture, arbitrary denial of humanitarian access and attacks on schools,

places of worship, hospitals and United Nations and associated peacekeeping personnel, by

all parties, also condemns the harassment and violence directed at civil society, human

rights defenders, humanitarian personnel and journalists, and emphasizes that those

responsible for violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international

humanitarian law must be held accountable;

2. Condemns in the strongest possible terms the widespread sexual and gender-

based violence, including rape and gang rape, which can be used as a weapon of war, and

the impunity for such violence, by all armed groups;

3. Demands that all actors put a halt to all violations and abuses of human rights

and all violations of international humanitarian law, and strongly calls upon the

Government of South Sudan to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights and

fundamental freedoms;

4. Notes with appreciation the report of the Commission on Human Rights in

South Sudan,1 and the recommendations contained therein;

5. Recognizes the important role of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation

Commission, chaired by former President Festus Mogae, to support the Agreement on the

Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan and its ceasefire provisions, and

urges all parties and international partners to engage constructively with the Commission

and other bodies created by the Agreement;

6. Also recognizes the important role played by the African Union High

Representatives for South Sudan in support of an inclusive process for national dialogue

and the implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic

of South Sudan, and urges all parties and international partners to constructively engage

with the African Union Commission, the African Union High Representative for South

Sudan, as well as other bodies created by the Agreement;

7. Stresses that perpetrators of violations of international humanitarian law and

violations and abuses of human rights, including any that amount to war crimes or crimes

against humanity, should be held accountable;

8. Calls upon the Government of South Sudan to investigate all violations and

abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law and to hold those

responsible to account, while affording fair trial protections to the accused and supporting

victims and protecting potential witnesses before, during and after legal proceedings;

9. Urges the Government of South Sudan to take steps immediately to protect

the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association in accordance with

its international human rights obligations, and to, among other things, ensure that members

of civil society organizations and the media can operate freely and without intimidation;

10. Strongly urges all parties to end and prevent violations and abuses of human

rights committed against children, and calls upon all parties to end immediately the

unlawful recruitment of children and to release all children that have been unlawfully

recruited to date;

11. Recognizes the important role that women, including South Sudanese

women, play in building peace, and calls for the protection and promotion of the rights of

women, their empowerment and participation in peacebuilding, conflict resolution and

post-conflict processes, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) of 31

October 2000 and subsequent resolutions on women, peace and security, including Council

resolution 2242 (2015) of 13 October 2015;

12. Emphasizes the need for the Government of South Sudan to ensure the

participation of women during all stages and in all structures envisaged in the Agreement

on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan;

13. Supports the establishment of transitional justice institutions, and urges the

speedy establishment of an independent hybrid court by the African Union Commission to

investigate and prosecute those responsible for violations or abuses of international human

rights and international humanitarian law, where applicable, and/or applicable South

Sudanese law, and calls upon all parties to cooperate fully in the implementation of the

Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, including

chapter V thereof;

14. Notes with appreciation that the Government of South Sudan has cooperated

with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the special

procedures of the Human Rights Council and the Commission on Human Rights in South

Sudan in the fulfilment of its mandate, including by authorizing travel to and within the

country and providing meetings and relevant information, and calls upon the Government

to continue to cooperate fully and constructively with and to provide unhindered access to

them, as well as to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and the Regional Protection

Force, once it is in place, and regional, subregional and international mechanisms on the

ground;

15. Reaffirms the importance of the mandate of the Commission on Human

Rights in South Sudan, with continued emphasis on the need to establish the facts and

circumstances of alleged violations and abuses of human rights with a view to ensure that

those responsible are held to account, and welcomes the recommendations made by the

Commission on ending impunity and ensuring accountability;

16. Decides to extend the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South

Sudan, composed of three members, for a period of one year, renewable as authorized by

the Human Rights Council, with the following mandate:

(a) To monitor and report on the situation of human rights in South Sudan, and

to make recommendations to prevent further deterioration of the situation with a view to its

improvement;

(b) To determine and report the facts and circumstances of, collect and preserve

evidence of, and clarify responsibility for alleged gross violations and abuses of human

rights and related crimes, including sexual and gender-based violence and ethnic violence,

with a view to ending impunity and providing accountability, and to make such information

available also to all transitional justice mechanisms, including those to be established

pursuant to chapter V of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of

South Sudan, including the hybrid court for South Sudan, once established in cooperation

with the African Union;

(c) To report on the factual basis for transitional justice and reconciliation;

(d) To provide guidance on transitional justice, including accountability and

reconciliation and healing, as appropriate, and – once the Government of South Sudan

commits to cooperating with the African Union on establishing the hybrid court for South

Sudan – to make recommendations on technical assistance to the Government to support

accountability, reconciliation and healing;

(e) To engage with the Government of South Sudan, international and regional

mechanisms, including the United Nations, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, the

African Union, including by building upon the work of its Commission of Inquiry on South

Sudan and its African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Intergovernmental

Authority on Development, including the Partners Forum, the Chair of the Joint Monitoring

and Evaluation Commission and civil society, with a view to providing support to national,

regional and international efforts to promote accountability for human rights violations and

abuses;

(f) To make recommendations on technical assistance and capacity-building, as

appropriate, including to law enforcement institutions, on the promotion and protection of

human rights and fundamental freedoms, including on addressing sexual and gender-based

violence;

17. Reiterates its request to the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, in

response to the twenty-sixth special session of the Human Rights Council, and as soon as

feasibly possible, working with the wider United Nations system, to suggest priority

recommendations for the Government of South Sudan to consider how to end sexual and

gender-based violence, urges relevant United Nations actors to assist in such

implementation as appropriate, and urges the Government to appoint a special

representative on sexual and gender-based violence;

18. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to provide the full

administrative, technical and logistical support necessary to enable the Commission on

Human Rights in South Sudan to carry out its mandate;

19. Reiterates its request that representatives of the Office of the High

Commissioner, the African Union, the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, the

African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other stakeholders, as appropriate,

be invited to discuss the situation of human rights in South Sudan and the steps taken by the

Government of South Sudan to ensure accountability for human rights violations and

abuses in an enhanced interactive dialogue at the thirty-sixth session of the Human Rights

Council;

20. Requests the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan to participate in

the enhanced interactive dialogue mentioned in paragraph 19 above, and to present a

comprehensive written report, in an interactive dialogue, to the Human Rights Council at its

thirty-seventh session;

21. Requests that the report of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan

be submitted to the Human Rights Council and then shared with the African Union and all

relevant organs of the United Nations;

22. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

57th meeting

24 March 2017

[Adopted without a vote.]