JUBA/GENEVA, 4 February 2022 – Members of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan will on Monday begin their ninth visit to South Sudan.
From 7 to 12 February, Yasmin Sooka (South Africa), Chair of the Commission and Barney Afako (Uganda),* the two Commissioners taking part in the mission, are expected to meet with key Government ministers, members of civil society, religious leaders, diplomats, entities monitoring the 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement, UN agencies and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). As part of these meetings, they will discuss steps and support necessary to implement transitional justice mechanisms under the Revitalised Agreement, following a related Conference hosted by the Commission in December 2021 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Commissioners will hold a press conference on Friday 11 February 2022 at 9h00 at the UNMISS Headquarters in Tomping, Juba (Juba Conference Room).
The Commission will present its report on the human rights situation in South Sudan to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2022, in Geneva.
Background on the Commission
The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan is an independent body mandated by the UN Human Rights Council. It was first established in by March 2016.
The Commission is mandated to investigate the situation of human rights in South Sudan, and to determine and report the facts and circumstances of human rights violations and abuses, including by clarifying responsibility for violations and abuses that are crimes under national and or international law. To assist in addressing impunity in South Sudan, the Commission is also mandated to collect and preserve evidence, and to make this available to transitional justice mechanisms, including the hybrid court for South Sudan that is to be established under Chapter 5 of the Revitalised Peace Agreement of 2018.
*The third Commissioner is Andrew Clapham (United Kingdom).