South Sudan: New Unity Government Must Not Make The Same Mistakes And Reform Security Service

Following the formation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity in South Sudan, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa, Deprose Muchena said:

“During more than six years of conflict, civilians in South Sudan have been displaced, raped, maimed, tortured and killed. Security forces, including the intelligence agency, and armed groups including those allied to both President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar have committed atrocities with impunity.

“Since 2013, the authorities have failed to investigate and prosecute crimes under international law in relation to the conflict. They also failed to amend the 2014 National Security Service Act and reform the security service leaving the abusive institution to operate unchecked.

“For accountability and justice to be done, this government must recommit to working with the African Union to set up the hybrid court agreed to in previous peace agreements and ratify the requisite laws to make it operational. It must also amend the National Security Service Act to rein in the overly-powerful agency, which has arbitrarily detained and tortured hundreds of people since the crisis began.”

Since the peace agreement was signed in 2015, South Sudanese authorities have blocked the establishment of the Hybrid Court of South Sudan (HCSS).