Full .pdf statement
See the full debate on UN WebTV with LRWC and IBAHRI joint statement at 23:52
Organization: Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada
Item: Item 6: Adoption of Universal Periodic Review outcomes for South Sudan
Date: 30 June 2022
Speaker: Temisan Boyo
Oral Statement to the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council from Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), and the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute, NGOs in special consultative status
South Sudan must implement Universal Periodic Review commitments
Mr. President,
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada and the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute welcome South Sudan’s support of UPR recommendations[1] to accede to the Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances, and to investigate all enforced disappearances and bring perpetrators to justice.
We are concerned by continued reports of arbitrary arrests, detentions, and enforced disappearances of human rights defenders by security forces in South Sudan. We recall the abduction and disappearance of human rights lawyer Dong Samuel Luak and opposition politician Aggrey Idri in 2017, for which no investigation was conducted, and no one has been held accountable.[2] Dozens of abductions and enforced disappearances, as well as a wave of extrajudicial executions, were reported in 2021,[3] and arbitrary arrests and detentions have continued unabated, including targeting women human rights defenders.[4]
The UPR process is effective only if States fulfill their UPR promises in timely ways that comply with international law. We call upon South Sudan to:
- Promptly accede to the Convention on enforced disappearances and ensure that its implementing legislation complies with international law
- Investigate all unlawful detentions, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and torture, and hold to account those responsible.
[1] UN OHCHR, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: South Sudan, Addendum: Views on conclusions and/or recommendations, voluntary commitments and replies presented by the State under review, A/HRC/50/14/Add.1, 1 June 2022
[2] UNSC, Final report of the Panel of Experts on South Sudan submitted pursuant to resolution 2428 (2018), S/2019/301, 9 April 2019
[3] Action 54, South Sudan et al. “Joint Letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council: Extend the mandate of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan”, 11 February 2022, https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/02/11/joint-letter-united-nations-human-rights-council#_edn18
[4] ISHR, “Release Sudanese women human rights defenders immediately”, 25 January 2022, https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/call-for-immediate-release-of-sudanese-women-human-rights-defenders/
