The UN human rights chief has urged the African Union to quickly establish the hybrid court for South Sudan to investigate and prosecute those bearing criminal responsibility for the atrocities in the conflict-ravaged country.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Hussein, told the Human Rights Council on Wednesday during its 26th special session.
“The knowledge that accountability structures exist and will be deployed against the perpetrators of mass atrocities can have real preventive impact,” Hassan said.
The hybrid court, which will combine elements of both domestic and international law and be composed of personnel from South Sudan and abroad, was envisaged in the peace agreement signed by warring parties in August 2015.
Hassan said that the tribunal should have a strong focus on command responsibility for atrocities, including conflict related sexual violence and ethnically based violence.
He noted that the people of South Sudan had by now endured three full years of wanton conflict.
“Killings, sexual violence, ill-treatment, abductions, forcible recruitment and the looting and destruction of homes and villages are taking place on a massive scale across many parts of the country.
“Many fear conditions are in place for the conflict to take on a stronger ethnic dimension and escalate into massive and generalised violence,” he said.
Regarding sexual violence, he said that gang rape on such a scale was not the act of a few “rogue elements” as the authorities frequently imply.
He said all armed actors in the country appeared to be responsible, urging close examination by relevant mechanisms of issues of command responsibility within both Government forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).
“With the beginning of the dry season, South Sudan teeters on the brink of disaster,” he said.
Hassan explained that weather conditions meant unidentified armed groups, militia and bandits could roam more swiftly across the landscape and there was high potential for clashes between Government forces and armed group fighters on multiple fronts.
“Many South Sudanese have lost faith in the peace process, but when some local leaders have intervened to halt hate speech, this has led to decreasing threats of violence.
“In other words, there may still be some space for consequential action to pull the country back from a worst-case scenario, and this Council has the opportunity for real impact,” he said.
The human rights chief urged the 47-member body to use all possible means within its power to discourage violence and push for peaceful dialogue in South Sudan.
Adama Dieng, UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, also briefed the Council on his recent visit to the country.
He said what he saw and heard confirmed his concerns that there was a strong and imminent risk of violence escalating along ethnic lines, with the potential for genocide.
“With the stalling of the implementation of the peace agreement, all of the ingredients exist for a dangerous escalation of violence.
“There is both motivation and the means,” he warned, calling on the international community and the AU to take robust measures to address the situation.
“Genocide is a process; it does not happen overnight. And because it is a process, and one that takes time to prepare, it can be prevented.
“There are steps that should be taken now, without delay,” he said.
The Chairperson of the Council-mandated Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, Yasmin Sooka, also delivered a statement.
At the meeting, the Council adopted a resolution condemning the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in South Sudan by all parties.
Convening a special session requires the support of one-third of the 47 members of the Council.
A letter requesting Wednesday’s session by a core group of States reads: “a special session is needed because of the importance and the urgency of this situation”. (NAN)