Yasmin Sooka [Right], the chairperson of the UN Human Rights Commission, and Barney Afako [Left], UN Human Rights Commissioner during a press briefing in Juba - credit |Atem Jenifer/Eye Radio | February 11, 2022

The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has warned that holding elections without essential political, security and human rights safeguards could fuel renewed conflict and increase the risk of crimes.

In a new advisory issued on Thursday, the Commission says South Sudan is moving toward its first national elections since independence, but many of the conditions needed for a peaceful and credible vote remain absent.

The Commission says renewed armed conflict, weakened institutions, shrinking civic space, political exclusion and limited accountability are converging as the country approaches the elections.

“South Sudanese have waited 15 years to cast their first ballots as citizens of an independent state. They have the right to choose their government through free, peaceful and democratic elections. They deserve an election that gives them a voice, not one that puts their lives at risk,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission.

Sooka warned that democracy cannot be built on conflict, fear and exclusion, saying the safeguards intended to prevent a return to war are being weakened as the country moves toward the ballot box.

The Commission says 46.4 percent of the Revitalized Peace Agreement’s provisions remain outstanding, according to the government’s latest assessment. The unification of national forces is also incomplete, while armed conflict has resumed in parts of the country.

Commissioner Barney Afako warned against allowing elections to become another source of violence.

“The peace agreement was designed to take the guns out of political competition and to build systems to ensure the stability and prosperity of South Sudan. Instead, the guns are returning while the safeguards for peaceful political competition are disappearing,” Afako said.

The Commission says elections must not only be held on schedule but must allow citizens to participate freely and safely, with political opponents able to campaign and independent institutions able to resolve electoral disputes.

“An election cannot be credible simply because it is held on schedule,” said Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández. “It is credible when citizens can vote without fear, political opponents can participate freely, courts can resolve disputes independently, and institutions can constrain the exercise of power.”

The Commission has called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, restoration of transitional security arrangements and an end to the mobilisation of armed groups.

It is also urging the government and parties to the revitalized peace agreement to resume inclusive political dialogue involving the SPLM-IO faction led by Dr Riek Machar, holdout groups, civil society, women and youth.

The Commission further calls for the release of detained opposition leaders, including Dr Machar, unless they are promptly brought before an independent and impartial court in proceedings that meet international human rights standards.

It says key safeguards for credible elections should include unified and non-partisan security forces, restored civic and political space, independent electoral institutions, impartial electoral dispute mechanisms and measures to prevent hate speech and incitement.

The Commission is urging the African Union, IGAD, the United Nations and other international partners to intensify preventive diplomacy and support an inclusive political process.

It says the situation remains reversible, but warns that the window to prevent a return to the scale of violence and displacement experienced between 2013 and 2018 is rapidly closing.