Protection should be given to people at risk of abuses in South Sudan as priority, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has said.

Zeid Ra’ad Hussein made the call to the leadership council in Geneva on Wednesday.

The people at stake, Hussein says, are mainly women and children who are often sexually assaulted and raped in conflict situations.

According to Zeid, 70 percent of women at one protection of civilians’ site in Juba reportedly suffered sexual assault.

He called on the Human Rights Council to use all possible means to discourage violence and to expose those responsible and advocate for their accountability.

“With the beginning of the dry season South Sudan teeters on the brink of a disaster,” said Hussein.

“Weather conditions mean armed groups, militias and bandits can roam more swiftly across the landscape and there is a high potential for clashes between the government and fighters on multiple fronts.”

Hussein also urged the Council to call on South Sudanese to refrain from hate speech, acts of violence and other indicators of human rights violations.

He called upon the African Union to quickly establish the hybrid court envisaged under the Peace Agreement, with a strong focus on command responsibility for atrocities, including conflict related sexual violence and ethnically based violence.