FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SSHRO Publishes Inaugural Report on Human rights violations in South Sudan

Pretoria, 13th May 2017– The South Sudan Human Rights Observatory (SSHRO), an independent rights body, has released its first publication on human rights abuses in South Sudan. The report documents the egregious violations against civilians that took place in the month of April, where 473 alleged cases of killings were received and investigated by the network. These killings took place across several towns in South Sudan with the majority of these civilians having gun wounds on their backs, or bodies that were burnt beyond recognition.

According to several sources who were interviewed cited within the report, the violations range from unlawful detention of individuals to mass rape of women and children as young   as the age of seven. The majority of the reported rape cases were allegedly carried out at the instigation of, instructed by or with the consent or acquiescence of someone in authority. In addition, these acts of rape were used for the purpose of intimidation, degradation, humiliation, punishment, control and destructions.

‘This is the first local, active and systematic efforts by volunteers to collect, document and verify nation wide information about human rights violations in South Sudan. Such monitoring is important to shed light on trends of violations, recommend timely corrective measures and hold perpetrators to account’ said Dr. Miamingi, one of the volunteers.

The nature and scope of violations documented in the report indicates clearly that the Government of South Sudan has failed to meaningfully exercise its positive obligation to show diligence in preventing or responding to the violations and SSRHO therefore recommends it should immediately cease and desist orders to all security sectors to ensure similar violations do not occur in the future.

Download PDF Press Release on Human rights violations in South Sudanand The Inaugural Report

 

About SSHRO

South Sudan Human Rights Observatory (SSHRO) is a network of South Sudanese and non- South Sudanese volunteers from different backgrounds with different expertise who are joined together and driven by a desire and commitment to document, report on and disseminate reliable and usable information about human rights violations in South Sudan.