S. Sudan citizens 'deliberately starved' by warring parties: UN - Hunger is being used as a weapon - Fighting left 380,000 dead and forced 4 million to flee

Hunger is being used as a weapon in South Sudan's six-year-old conflict, the [UN] report says

S.Sudan citizens 'deliberately starved' by warring parties: UN

Report by AFP by FRAN BLANDY

Dated 20 February 2020

South Sudan's government forces and other armed groups have "deliberately starved" civilians by denying aid access and displacing communities, a United Nations rights probe said Thursday.

In a report issued two days before a deadline to form a unity government, the three-member commission looked into abuses from the signing of a peace deal in September 2018 to December 2019.

The panel delivered a damning indictment of "predatory and unaccountable elites" and the suffering of civilians after six years of conflict.

"Today in South Sudan, civilians are deliberately starved, systematically surveilled and silenced, arbitrarily arrested and detained and denied meaningful access to justice," it said.

As President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar met in Juba to discuss outstanding obstacles to the power-sharing government, the report slammed the process as beset with delays and bickering, and "lack of political will".

"Political elites remained oblivious to the intense suffering of millions of civilians for whom they were ostensibly fighting," it said.

Ongoing recruitment of child soldiers by both government forces and rebel groups, bloody localised conflicts which left hundreds dead, sexual violence and theft of public funds continued unhindered by the latest peace process, the commissioners found.

"The Commission notes with grave concern that beyond climate-induced factors, both government forces and armed groups have pursued policies responsible for the starvation of the population in Wau and Unity State" in the north of the country.

"The denial of humanitarian access and displacement brought about by unlawful tactics have significantly exacerbated famine in different parts of the country, depriving hundreds of thousands of civilins of vital needs, including access to food."

During the period reviewed by the commission, some 6.35 million people -- 54 percent of the population -- were facing severe hunger.

- Major challenges -

South Sudan's conflict broke out in December 2013 after a dispute between Kiir and his former deputy and longtime rival Machar.

The fighting has left some 380,000 dead and forced four million to flee their homes.

The September 2018 peace deal is the latest effort to end the conflict and push the two men to govern together -- an experiment which has twice previously ended in disaster.

Sticky issues of state borders and security arrangements remain with just two days to the deadline, which has already been pushed back twice.

However even if the unity government is formed, the UN report highlights the massive challenges facing the country -- which only achieved independence in 2011 -- going forward.

Across the country, local ethnic conflicts far removed from the national peace process left 531 dead between February and May 2019 alone, and fighting continues today against holdout rebel groups in the Equatoria region, the report said.

Meanwhile, graft has robbed the state of precious resources.

"Corruption has made several officials extremely wealthy at the expense of millions of starving civilians," said the report, which found millions of dollars in tax collections had been diverted and disappeared.

Both the government and armed groups continued to recruit children during the period reviewed, with 19,000 children believed to be enlisted.

Additionally, some 2.2 million children did not attend school and 30 percent of schools remain closed.

View Original: https://news.yahoo.com/sudan-citizens-deliberately-starved-warring-parties-un-104700741.html

S. Sudan: UN rights experts see little headway on peace deal amid spike in local-level violence

UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan:  “The lack of progress in establishing transitional justice mechanisms...is delaying accountability and reparation – Commission member Barney Afako”

Article from and by UN.org

Dated Friday 23 August 2019

South Sudan: UN rights experts see little headway on peace deal amid spike in local-level violence

A United Nations expert group looking at human rights in South Sudan said on Friday that it is “deeply concerned” that, although the overall armed conflict has waned, there has been little progress in adhering to the peace agreement that guided the country thus far.

Photo: Child Soldiers are released in South Sudan in July 2019 as the country's efforts towards peace continue. Credit UNMISS\Nektarios Markogiannis

“Civilians with whom we spoke still raised numerous concerns that they feel are barriers to sustainable peace,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, reporting from Juba on the panel’s seventh field mission, currently under way through 29 August and which includes South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya.

During their visit, the three Commissioners listened to South Sudanese women, men and children express numerous concerns, including the localization of conflict linked to land, resources, and cattle; and inefficiencies in implementing the Revitalized Peace Agreement, which, signed by the warring parties in September 2018, has been commended as a significant development toward the dawn of peace.

Photo: The UN Commission on Human Rights in Sudan (from left) Yasmin Sooka, Chair, Andrew Clapham and Barney Afako (2018), by UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan /Twitter screen grab

They are also worried about deteriorating living conditions for the internally displaced, security and the continued shrinking space for civic engagement, among many other concerns.

“Despite the numerous challenges we heard, we were encouraged by the fact that committees composed of military and civil actors have been formed to improve civil-military relations and support local justice and reconciliation in Yei River state, where civilians could raise dispute resolutions,” said Commissioner Andrew Clapham.

“Such mechanisms that facilitate communication between armed actors and civilians could be replicated in other locations where violent conflict and violations have been witnessed in the country,” he added.

Little redress for sexual violence

Apprehension over continued impunity for sexual and gender-based violence, which is still at an all-time high, was another major concern – as survivors of sexual violence remained with only limited access for redress.

In Bentiu, the Commission heard testimonies of sexual violence from women who are waiting to share their stories with an accountability mechanism.

“The lack of progress in establishing transitional justice mechanisms, including the Hybrid Court, the commission for truth, reconciliation, and healing and the compensation and reparation authority, which are to be complemented by customary and other community-centred mechanisms, is delaying accountability and reparation for these and other crimes,” said Commission member Barney Afako.

He continued, underscoring that “so long as the voices of victims and survivors are not empowered, and these mechanisms not put in place, it is highly unlikely that South Sudanese women, men, girls, and boys will be able to witness a lasting peace”.

Overcome delays

In closing, the Commission stressed the importance of overcoming delays regarding the Revitalized Peace Agreement, and encouraged the positive work being carried out by the National Constitutional Amendment Committee.

The current mission will continue until Monday, after which the Commissioners will separately visit Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya until 29 August.

The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan is an independent body mandated by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to, among other things, determine and report the facts of and clarify responsibility for alleged gross violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes, including sexual and gender-based violence, with a view to ending impunity and providing accountability.

The Commission will present an oral update on the human rights situation in South Sudan to the Council on 16 September and a comprehensive written report in March 2020.

To visit original article click here: https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/08/1044831

South Sudan army, NAS rebels clash near Juba

THE National Salvation Front (NAS), formed by ex-general Thomas Cirillo Swaka in 2017 who called for the toppling of South Sudan's President Salva Kiir’s government, said it had come under attack last Tuesday. 

NAS refused to sign a peace deal signed in September last year. While peace has largely held across the country, fighting has continued between government troops and the NAS in the Central Equatoria region, particularly around the city of Yei. 

A UNMISS report identified government forces, fighters allied to Riek Machar, Mr Kiir's former deputy who was sacked by Mr Kiir in 2013 [https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2013/07/] and rebel groups who did not sign the peace agreement, as responsible for atrocities in their quest to take territory in Central Equatoria. Full story below.

Article by AFP

Date: 24 July 2019

South Sudan army, rebels clash near Juba

Efforts to achieve lasting peace in South Sudan were dealt a blow on Tuesday when fighting broke out between government forces and militants near the country’s capital, Juba.

Security was stepped up in Juba, according to an AFP correspondent, as the clashes broke out 50 miles (100 kilometres) away in Lobonok, the first such fighting since the signing of the peace deal in September.

The National Salvation Front (NAS), formed by ex-general Thomas Cirillo Swaka in 2017 who called for the toppling of President Salva Kiir’s government, said it had come under attack on Tuesday morning.

NAS refused to sign a peace deal signed in September last year.

In a statement the NAS said it had killed eight “enemy soldiers”, which could not be independently confirmed.

“NAS command at Lobonok is expecting more attacks,” said the statement.

Lobonok is near Cirillo’s home town and has long been a stronghold for the rebel group.

The last fighting in the area took place in June 2018.

“Since morning we didn’t access our commanders on ground [in Lobonok] and we have no latest information there,” Lul Ruai Koang, South Sudan’s military spokesman told AFP.

However soldiers were deployed in Juba, carrying out more security checks than usual, said AFP’s correspondent.

Pursuit of peace

South Sudan’s government in September reached a peace deal with the main opposition unit of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement but the NAS rejected the deal.

While peace has largely held across the country, fighting has continued between government troops and the NAS in the Central Equatoria region, particularly around the city of Yei.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said earlier this month that civilians had been “deliberately and brutally targeted” in Central Equatoria since the agreement was inked in September.

At least 104 people had been killed in attacks on villages in the southern region, it said.

A roughly similar number of women and girls were raped or suffered other sexual violence between September and April, UNMISS said in its latest human rights report.

South Sudan descended into war in 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy and fellow former rebel leader Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

The conflict has been marked by ethnic violence and brutal atrocities, and left about 380,000 dead while some four million have fled their homes.

The report identified government forces, fighters allied to Machar and rebel groups who did not sign the peace agreement, as responsible for atrocities in their quest to take territory in Central Equatoria.

Under the peace deal, Kiir agreed to set up a unity government with Machar, who is to return from exile.

But this new government, initially scheduled to take office on May 12, was postponed for six months.

SOURCE: https://www.africanews.com/2019/07/24/south-sudan-army-rebels-clash-near-juba/