UN Human rights council member states accuse South Sudan of violations

June 22, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudan is under fire from powerful member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which accused the new country of serious violations of human rights.

The acting spokesman of the government and telecommunications minister, Madut Biar Yel, on Friday told the press that the recent conference on human rights in Geneva painted a ugly picture on the country.

The two-year old nation, he said, was accused of killing, torturing, arbitrarily arresting and detaining civilians including journalists in the country.

Justice minister, John Luk Jok, who returned a few days ago from Geneva where he represented and defended the human rights records of South Sudan, briefed the cabinet about what transpired in the conference, he said.

Yel further explained to journalists that the assassination of the political commentator, Isaiah Chan Abraham Awuol, was one of the many cases cited as serious violations in the Geneva conference.

Among the countries that accused South Sudan of committing gross abuses was the United States of America, which the new country saw as its closest ally among the powerful members of the UN.

Officials in South Sudan while acknowledging the prevalent of human rights abuses blamed the situation on the weak institutions in the country.

Seen as a fragile state, the UN body on the eve of independence on 8th July 2011 passed the resolution 1996, for deployment of 10,000 peacekeeping forces to the country, known as the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

The strongly renewed mandate under chapter 7 gave the green light to the forces to protect civilians under imminent threat.

The mandate also calls for crosscutting interventions including support to peace initiatives, build governance, foster economic development, and promote the rule of law and justice, among others.

However, the effectiveness and positive impact on the situation by such a mission in South Sudan remains to be seen.

The chief of UNMISS, who serves as the special envoy of the UN secretary general, also renders periodical reports to the UN Security Council on various issues in South Sudan including on the human rights situation.

During the Geneva meeting, South Sudan was voted in to join the UN Human Rights Council in November this year.

(ST)