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A UN RIGHTS commission in South Sudan said today there was sufficient evidence to charge at least 41 senior officers and officials with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
South Sudan’s four-year-old civil war has been characterised by extreme brutality and attacks on civilians.
But no high-ranking officials have been held to account, despite African Union (AU) promises to establish a special court to try alleged crimes.
“The court could be set up straight away and the prosecutor could begin working on indictments,” said Yasmin Sooka, chairperson of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan.
“Under the peace agreement, those indicted can no longer hold or stand for office. Ultimately this is the only way to stop the rampant devastation of millions of human lives by South Sudan’s leaders,” she said.
The commission said it had forwarded a confidential list of suspects to the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. Those named include three state governors, 33 generals and five colonels.
The report – based on 58,000 documents and 230 witness statements – is a litany of horrors and extraordinary cruelty. Some victims were beheaded, burned alive or had their throats cut, others had their eyes gouged out or were tortured.
Sexual violence was particularly prevalent with numerous accounts of gang rape and child rape, and in “cases reminiscent of Bosnia” of people forced to watch or participate in the rape of loved ones.
In one instance a 12-year-old boy was forced to have sex with his grandmother or be killed.
Men were also attacked, with some castrated and others raped.
‘Sufficient evidence’
“The Commission believes the prevalence of sexual violence against men in South Sudan is far more extensive than documented; what we see so far is likely just the tip of the iceberg,” said Sooka.
The UN commission said soldiers and officials loyal to both President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar were both responsible for crimes.
It dismissed arguments that undisciplined soldiers might be to blame saying both the government and rebel “military hierarchies functioned effectively in terms of issuance, transmission, and respect for orders”.
The commission said its investigations had focussed on incidents where it could make “the case for individual command responsibility for widespread or systematic attacks on civilians”.
The commission also found widespread looting and deliberate ethnic attacks on entire communities and villages with the “destruction of dwellings… on an industrial scale”.
“There is a clear pattern of ethnic persecution for the most part by government forces who should be pursued for crimes against humanity,” said Andrew Clapham, one of the commissioners.
Describing South Sudan’s justice system as “dysfunctional” the commission called on the AU to establish the Hybrid Court, modelled on tribunals in Sierra Leone, Cambodia and elsewhere.
“There is sufficient evidence to conclude that… the parties to the conflict are deliberately targeting civilians on the basis of their ethnic identity and by means of killings, abductions, rape and sexual violence, as well as the destruction of villages and looting. These acts constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the commission’s report said.
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There is something seriously wrong with the psyche on that continent. Basket case.
@Fabio Dillon: Yeah… widespread rape of civilians, medical experiments on prisoners, genocide… oh no wait that’s Europe less than a century ago
@KalEll: That was mainly one country though wasn’t it? Not an entire continent
@John Mc Avinue: does it matter who does it. It was done.
@KalEll: nope. Say what you want but Africa has always been a cesspit.
@Fabio Dillon: Wasn’t expecting a rational and thought through counter argument such as “Nope”, I don’t know what to say now. Touché.
@KalEll: Go live in Africa so you idiot
Africa is still a heart of darkness in many respects.
@David Sinclair: and Turkey, Syria, Bosnia, Pakistan, Myanmar, USA.
@Martin Byrne: Ya USA and Africa are same. Go live in Africa you idiot
Very difficult to read but needs to be shared. Shocking stuff. Someday I hope humanity can become a better species. Losing faith in that one unfortunately.
3 world for a reason. sick animals
@A Bhoys Life: probably the most idiotic and pathetic attempt at a troll I’ve seen all week haha. You even rushed so much to make sure you got the first comment you even messed up the first attempt haha
So when will we see trials for members of ISIS? Many have been captured and many have been “reintegrated” into societies after committing atrocities and genocide. I suspect never as they will blow the whistle.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: reintegrated? Doubt it! Put your tin foil hat back under the bed
@Bruce Van der Gutschmitzer: and they get given buggies and just leave them on the footpath instead of bringing them on the bus. And they don’t have to pay for anything in the supermarket and they get free handjobs off Teresa Mannion. It’s true, it was on snapchat
@Martin Byrne: and everyone wants a handjob off Teresa!
Absolute savages
These countries need to left to sort out their own problems. Everyone else is to blame. No progress because of colonisation and when they get independence they destroy their country. Trump is dead right to cut funding to these sh*t holes
Yeah right. How did this work out for the neighbours? The ICC put out a warrant for Omar Al Bashir in 2008 because he was a nutcase who is personally responsible for genocide and crimes against humanity. Shortly afterwards he was arrested, tried and imprisoned for life.
Ha ha, just kidding. He’s still President of Sudan ten years later, and gets to go on foreign trips whenever he likes. South Sudan won’t have the backing of the Arab League, but even so they won’t give half a toss what the UN says.
All the evidence from the child killers in Isreal and still nothing is done about it.
Yasin Omar al-Saradih, 33 was beaten to death by Israeli soldiers.
@Mick Paddy: so we can’t comment on ANYTHING ELSE EXCEPT ISRAEL?
@Mick Paddy: and you can’t even spell
@Mick Paddy: Wait a mo ——A young fellow named Paul Quinn was savegely beaten to death by the I.R.A. a few years ago!
@John Mc Donagh: Correction, savagely;
Where are these so called religious leaders ? Why do they not condemn these atrocities ? Even our own religious leaders including the Pope say little, the world is gone mad !
:(
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