Situation of Human Rights in South Sudan

A/HRC/RES/34/25No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 4Human rights situations that require the Council's attention, published in 2017.

What other versions does this mandate have?

7 versions · 2016–2021

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/46/23

2021A/HRC/RES/46/23Situation of human rights in South SudanLatestCompare with previous version
2020A/HRC/RES/43/27Situation of human rights in South SudanCompare with previous version
2019A/HRC/RES/40/19Situation of human rights in South SudanCompare with previous version
2018A/HRC/RES/37/31Situation of human rights in South SudanCompare with previous version
2017A/HRC/RES/34/25Situation of human rights in South SudanCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

13 topics

Accountability Commissions of Inquiry Conferences Gender-Based Violence Human Rights Human Rights Violations Internal Security Peace Agreements Report Preparation Sex Crimes South Sudan Technical Cooperation Transitional Justice

What does this mandate say?

28 operative paragraphs

Condemns the ongoing violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law in South Sudan, including those involving targeted killings of civilians, ethnically targeted violence, rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, the widespread recruitment and use of children, arbitrary arrests and detention, alleged torture, arbitrary denial of humanitarian access and attacks on schools, places of worship, hospitals and United Nations and associated peacekeeping personnel, by all parties, also condemns the harassment and violence directed at civil society, human rights defenders, humanitarian personnel and journalists, and emphasizes that those responsible for violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law must be held accountable;

Condemns in the strongest possible terms the widespread sexual and gender-based violence, including rape and gang rape, which can be used as a weapon of war, and the impunity for such violence, by all armed groups;

Demands that all actors put a halt to all violations and abuses of human rights and all violations of international humanitarian law, and strongly calls upon the Government of South Sudan to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Notes with appreciation the report of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan,1 and the recommendations contained therein;

Recognizes the important role of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, chaired by former President Festus Mogae, to support the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan and its ceasefire provisions, and urges all parties and international partners to engage constructively with the Commission and other bodies created by the Agreement;

Also recognizes the important role played by the African Union High Representatives for South Sudan in support of an inclusive process for national dialogue and the implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, and urges all parties and international partners to constructively engage with the African Union Commission, the African Union High Representative for South Sudan, as well as other bodies created by the Agreement;

Stresses that perpetrators of violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, including any that amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity, should be held accountable;

Calls upon the Government of South Sudan to investigate all violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law and to hold those responsible to account, while affording fair trial protections to the accused and supporting victims and protecting potential witnesses before, during and after legal proceedings;

Urges the Government of South Sudan to take steps immediately to protect the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association in accordance with its international human rights obligations, and to, among other things, ensure that members of civil society organizations and the media can operate freely and without intimidation;

Strongly urges all parties to end and prevent violations and abuses of human rights committed against children, and calls upon all parties to end immediately the unlawful recruitment of children and to release all children that have been unlawfully recruited to date;

Recognizes the important role that women, including South Sudanese women, play in building peace, and calls for the protection and promotion of the rights of women, their empowerment and participation in peacebuilding, conflict resolution and post-conflict processes, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) of 31 October 2000 and subsequent resolutions on women, peace and security, including Council resolution 2242 (2015) of 13 October 2015;

Emphasizes the need for the Government of South Sudan to ensure the participation of women during all stages and in all structures envisaged in the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan;

Supports the establishment of transitional justice institutions, and urges the speedy establishment of an independent hybrid court by the African Union Commission to investigate and prosecute those responsible for violations or abuses of international human rights and international humanitarian law, where applicable, and/or applicable South Sudanese law, and calls upon all parties to cooperate fully in the implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, including chapter V thereof;

Notes with appreciation that the Government of South Sudan has cooperated with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the special procedures of the Human Rights Council and the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan in the fulfilment of its mandate, including by authorizing travel to and within the country and providing meetings and relevant information, and calls upon the Government to continue to cooperate fully and constructively with and to provide unhindered access to them, as well as to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and the Regional Protection Force, once it is in place, and regional, subregional and international mechanisms on the ground;

Reaffirms the importance of the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, with continued emphasis on the need to establish the facts and circumstances of alleged violations and abuses of human rights with a view to ensure that those responsible are held to account, and welcomes the recommendations made by the Commission on ending impunity and ensuring accountability;

Decides to extend the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, composed of three members, for a period of one year, renewable as authorized by the Human Rights Council, with the following mandate:

To monitor and report on the situation of human rights in South Sudan, and to make recommendations to prevent further deterioration of the situation with a view to its improvement;

To determine and report the facts and circumstances of, collect and preserve evidence of, and clarify responsibility for alleged gross violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes, including sexual and gender-based violence and ethnic violence, with a view to ending impunity and providing accountability, and to make such information available also to all transitional justice mechanisms, including those to be established pursuant to chapter V of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, including the hybrid court for South Sudan, once established in cooperation with the African Union;

To report on the factual basis for transitional justice and reconciliation;

To provide guidance on transitional justice, including accountability and reconciliation and healing, as appropriate, and – once the Government of South Sudan commits to cooperating with the African Union on establishing the hybrid court for South Sudan – to make recommendations on technical assistance to the Government to support accountability, reconciliation and healing;

To engage with the Government of South Sudan, international and regional mechanisms, including the United Nations, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, the African Union, including by building upon the work of its Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan and its African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, including the Partners Forum, the Chair of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission and civil society, with a view to providing support to national, regional and international efforts to promote accountability for human rights violations and abuses;

To make recommendations on technical assistance and capacity-building, as appropriate, including to law enforcement institutions, on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including on addressing sexual and gender-based violence;

Reiterates its request to the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, in response to the twenty-sixth special session of the Human Rights Council, and as soon as feasibly possible, working with the wider United Nations system, to suggest priority recommendations for the Government of South Sudan to consider how to end sexual and gender-based violence, urges relevant United Nations actors to assist in such implementation as appropriate, and urges the Government to appoint a special representative on sexual and gender-based violence;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to provide the full administrative, technical and logistical support necessary to enable the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan to carry out its mandate;

Reiterates its request that representatives of the Office of the High Commissioner, the African Union, the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other stakeholders, as appropriate, be invited to discuss the situation of human rights in South Sudan and the steps taken by the Government of South Sudan to ensure accountability for human rights violations and abuses in an enhanced interactive dialogue at the thirty-sixth session of the Human Rights Council;

Requests the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan to participate in the enhanced interactive dialogue mentioned in paragraph 19 above, and to present a comprehensive written report, in an interactive dialogue, to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-seventh session;

Requests that the report of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan be submitted to the Human Rights Council and then shared with the African Union and all relevant organs of the United Nations;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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