Advancing Human Rights in South Sudan

A/HRC/RES/61/2No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 2Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, published in 2026.

What other versions does this mandate have?

5 versions · 2022–2026

2026A/HRC/RES/61/2Advancing human rights in South SudanLatestCompare with previous version
2025A/HRC/RES/58/1Advancing human rights in South SudanCompare with previous version
2024A/HRC/RES/55/1Advancing human rights in South SudanCompare with previous version
2023A/HRC/RES/52/1Advancing human rights in South SudanCompare with previous version
2022A/HRC/RES/49/2Advancing human rights in South Sudan

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

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 topics

Commissions of Inquiry Human Rights South Sudan Technical Cooperation Transitional Justice

What does this mandate say?

27 operative paragraphs

Welcomes and expresses its appreciation to the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity for its continued cooperation 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 their mandates, including by authorizing travel to and within the country, facilitating meetings and providing relevant information;

Also welcomes and expresses its appreciation to the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity for its continued cooperation with the Human Rights Division of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, and acknowledges its readiness to receive the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan in 2026, allowing the Commission to hold meetings with a range of actors, including victims and witnesses in various locations, and also with senior government representatives;

Notes with concern the obstruction by the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, including restrictions on troop rotations and repatriations and interference with contingency planning, stresses that continued constructive cooperation between the Transitional Government and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan is essential to sustaining peace and stability and facilitating safe and timely humanitarian access, and therefore calls upon the Transitional Government to cooperate fully and constructively with and to give complete and unhindered access to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and to regional, subregional and international mechanisms on the ground;

Notes with appreciation the ongoing cooperation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity with the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and welcomes the field visit undertaken by the Peace and Security Council of the African Union to Juba in August 2025;

Welcomes the laws establishing the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing and the Compensation and Reparation Authority, and calls upon the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to fully operationalize these laws in a transparent, inclusive and victim- and survivor-centred manner, including through adequate budgetary and resource allocations and safeguards for the independent and meaningful participation of civil society, with the support of the African Union;

Notes with regret that many elements of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan that are critical to guaranteeing an enduring and sustainable peace in South Sudan and promoting accountability for victims of human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law remain mostly unimplemented;

Notes with concern that no progress has been made in establishing the Hybrid Court for South Sudan, and urges the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to work with the African Union to establish this institution without further delay;

Calls upon the parties to the conflict to take decisive steps demonstrating the political will to achieve urgent and tangible progress on implementation of the Revitalized Agreement and other efforts to further promote and strengthen the protection of human rights, tackle persistent impunity for violations and abuses, prevent further violations and abuses of human rights and ensure accountability for violations of international humanitarian law and related crimes;

Calls upon the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to make meaningful and sustained progress under the Revitalized Agreement without delay and to take additional, related steps to develop its own capacity to investigate allegations of human rights violations and abuses, international humanitarian law violations and related crimes and to hold those responsible accountable, while also adopting effective measures to protect and support witnesses, victims, human rights defenders and others involved in trials for crimes related to human rights violations and abuses, international humanitarian law violations and related crimes;

Commends the vital role played by human rights defenders, women, including women peacebuilders and women human rights defenders, youth, the media and civil society organizations in promoting human rights, and recalls the importance of promoting the inclusive, equitable and non-discriminatory participation in governance, constitution-making and electoral and transitional justice processes of all parts of society, including minorities and persons in vulnerable situations;

Expresses its deep concern at further restrictions to democratic and civic space in South Sudan, including powers given to the National Security Service to arrest and detain individuals, with or without a warrant, repeated reports of harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrest and enforced disappearance of and other attacks, committed with impunity, against human rights defenders, members of civil society organizations, media workers and humanitarian workers and other individuals, as well as undue restrictions on the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, online and offline, and to the freedom of peaceful assembly and of association;

Urges the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to promote, protect and respect political and civic space in accordance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, particularly by creating an enabling environment for free and fair elections, reversing powers given to the National Security Service through the National Security Service Act 2014 (Amendment) Bill 2024 and ensuring that no citizen is detained without a warrant or harassed;

Emphasizes the need for the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to create the conditions necessary for the planned elections in 2026 to be free, fair and conducted through an inclusive and credible process, with full respect for human rights and the rule of law, as well as for the open and inclusive participation of all actors, including the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, before and during the election period, and calls upon the Transitional Government to provide all the resources necessary to the National Elections Commission, the National Constitutional Review Commission and the National Political Parties Council in order to achieve tangible progress in preparing for elections, including with the support of the regional and international community where relevant;

Welcomes the report of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan and its presentation to the Human Rights Council during the enhanced interactive dialogue held at its present session, while expressing concern at the findings in the report and at its overall assessment regarding the current situation of human rights on the ground, and encourages the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity, all parties to the conflict and other actors to engage with the Commission with a view to implementing the recommendations made in the report and to respect their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law in all circumstances;

Calls upon the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to tackle the impunity and economic crimes driving conflict and human rights violations and abuses, to implement the core provisions of the Revitalized Agreement and to prioritize the prevention of human rights violations and abuses, including by holding perpetrators of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence to account and ending the recruitment and use of children in armed forces and groups in violation of applicable international law;

Takes note of the additional conference room papers published so far by the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, strongly encourages the Commission to share future conference room papers with the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity in a timely manner in advance of publication, and encourages continued information-sharing and dialogue with the Transitional Government as appropriate;

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, to collect and preserve evidence of and to clarify responsibility for alleged violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes in South Sudan, and notes that, given that the Hybrid Court for South Sudan, the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing and the Compensation and Reparation Authority have yet to be fully functionally established, as called for in chapter V of the Revitalized Agreement, there remains a need for a mechanism for the monitoring of, reporting on and collection of evidence regarding alleged violations and abuses of human rights in South Sudan;

Notes the relevance of the work of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan to the mandate and functions of the chapter V mechanisms, once they have been established in accordance with the Revitalized Agreement, welcomes the passage of legislation establishing two of the transitional justice mechanisms and urges the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to fully operationalize both in a transparent manner, encourages ongoing consultation and engagement with civil society and victims on legislation and the selection of commissioners for the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing, and urges the Transitional Government to establish the Hybrid Court for South Sudan, in cooperation with the African Union, without delay;

Decides to extend the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, composed of three members, for a further period of one year;

Requests the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan to present a comprehensive report on the situation of human rights in South Sudan to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-fourth session, to be followed by an enhanced interactive dialogue, which should also include the participation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and civil society, and that the report and an easy-to-read version of it be made available on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner in an accessible format;

Also requests the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan to present its latest report, in combination with an oral update on its work, to the General Assembly at its eighty-first session, followed by an interactive dialogue;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to provide all the administrative, technical and logistical support and personnel necessary to enable the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan to carry out its mandate, and in particular to support the Commission’s investigative and evidence-collection functions, including, inter alia, the use of computer software, forensic investigation capabilities and access to witness and victim protection and support services, including psychosocial support services;

Requests the Secretary-General to provide all the resources necessary to enable the Office of the High Commissioner to provide the administrative, technical and logistical support necessary for the implementation of the provisions of the present resolution;

Requests the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan to work collaboratively with the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity and the African Union, including its Peace and Security Council, the Intergovernmental Authority for Development, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and its Country Rapporteur for South Sudan, relevant organs and subsidiary bodies of the United Nations, and other relevant national and international judicial and law enforcement institutions, as well as other key regional stakeholders, on the issue of human rights in South Sudan, including by sharing its reports and recommendations, exchanging other information and offering briefings as appropriate;

Urges international and regional partners to continue to coordinate their support for the timely implementation of all outstanding provisions of the Revitalized Agreement, including technical resources and predictable funding mechanisms;

Calls upon States and other stakeholders to continue to support efforts to further improve the situation of human rights in South Sudan by providing additional technical assistance and capacity-building to the country, with a focus on the operationalization of transitional justice provisions as agreed to in the Revitalized Agreement, including the chapter V institutions, and calls upon the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to take meaningful steps that enable technical assistance to be effective;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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