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 an 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 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.
During the Geneva meeting, South Sudan was voted in to join the UN Human Rights Council in November this year.
US CRITICISM TO SOUTH SUDAN
On Wednesday 19 June Larry André, Director of the Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan at the U.S. State Department , briefed the U.S. House of Representatives on the human rights situation in South Sudan
He told the lawmakers that democracy in the world’s newest state is extremely fragile. He underlined that lately the American administration has been concerned that disputes among its leaders have increased ethnic tensions and could spark a violent conflict within South Sudan.
“South Sudan leaders must find ways of working out their differences peacefully openly transparently in well understood democratic fashion both within their party and their nation more generally.
He said that in Jonglei there have been “credible reports” of widespread human rights abuses by both rebels and by South Sudan military.
He further emphasized that Washington encourages Juba government to end human rights violations, provide accountability for past abuses and ensure that the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has full unfettered access to all areas of its operations and is able to fulfil its mandate to protect civilians.
“With assistance of UNMISS, the government can build local support for reconciliation and development. These issues we fear are part of a larger pattern of abuse that are described in some length at US State department report”, he said.
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 cross-cutting 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.
(ST)