The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has released a powerful 19-minute video report that vividly illustrates the continued cycle of violence and severe human rights abuses across the country.
The video underscores the persistence of impunity, leaving countless South Sudanese victims still waiting for justice and accountability, nearly a decade after the civil war’s outbreak in 2013.
The report uses firsthand accounts from survivors to highlight the profound pain, suffering, and lasting damage inflicted on individuals, families, and entire communities. These brutal violations have torn apart the social fabric of South Sudan, with the scars of the conflict still deeply felt across the country.
Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission, expressed her devastation at the entrenched and cyclical nature of the violence, which has persisted largely due to the failure to hold perpetrators accountable.
This includes individuals with command responsibility, as identified by the Commission. “The demand from South Sudanese civilians is clear: they want justice and reparations for what they have suffered. They have waited far too long,” Sooka said.
She stressed the urgent need for a comprehensive transitional justice process, which must include criminal accountability, truth-telling, reparations, and transformative institutional reforms.
“It is essential to ensure the non-recurrence of violence and violations, and to break the ongoing cycle of suffering,” Sooka added.
The report also paints a grim picture of the ongoing challenges facing South Sudan, despite multiple peace efforts, including the 2015 Peace Agreement and the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement.
These initiatives, aimed at ending the conflict and addressing the root causes of violence, have failed to stop the relentless cycle of brutality.
Thousands of South Sudanese continue to live in fear of violence, displacement, and death, yet the individuals responsible for these atrocities remain largely unpunished or continue to hold positions of power.
Commissioner Barney Afako, a member of the Commission, noted, “The situation in South Sudan remains dire, with many perpetrators still at large or in positions of authority, making justice seem elusive.”
Afako highlighted that the civil war, which erupted in December 2013, has evolved into various forms of violence across the country, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives, displacing millions, and leaving deep emotional and social scars.
“The conflict has torn apart the country’s social fabric, and the resulting trauma continues to affect every level of society,” he said.
South Sudan remains trapped in a vicious cycle of politically driven violence, ethnic conflict, and exploitation. Elite groups continue to benefit from the widespread suffering and instability, while ordinary civilians bear the brunt of the violence.
The report outlines numerous human rights violations, including massacres, sexual violence, extrajudicial killings, abductions, sexual slavery, and other forms of abuse.
These ongoing abuses highlight the urgent need for comprehensive reforms and swift international action to hold those responsible accountable.
“The level of impunity that persists in South Sudan is not only a tragedy for its people but a moral stain on the international community as well,” said Afako.
The video report calls for urgent action from both the South Sudanese government and the international community to address the ongoing human rights violations and to implement meaningful steps toward justice and reconciliation. The Commission stresses that only through robust transitional justice mechanisms and a commitment to holding perpetrators accountable can South Sudan begin to heal and rebuild.
“The time for action is now. The victims of South Sudan’s violence have waited too long for justice,” Sooka concluded. “The cycle of impunity must be broken, and it is up to all of us to ensure that the voices of the survivors are heard and acted upon.”
As South Sudan continues to grapple with the aftermath of its devastating civil war, the UN’s call for justice, accountability, and comprehensive reform stands as a crucial reminder that peace cannot be achieved without confronting the legacies of past violence.
