The South Sudanese government says it is opposed to the appointment of
a special rapporteur to monitor and report on human rights in South Sudan.
A draft proposition to appoint the human rights rapporteur was recently
submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva by the Troika countries and
the European Union.
The sponsors of the draft resolution also support the release of a
report by the African Union Commission of inquiry on South Sudan, saying its
publication is necessary to ensure that such violence against civilians cannot
be undertaken with impunity.
The unreleased report allegedly names those responsible for
atrocities, starting with the mass killing of unarmed ethnic Nuer civilians in the
capital city Juba in December 2013, which led to factions of anti-government forces (mainly Nuer) retaliating against ethnic Dinka people in Bor, Jonglei state.
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| Tens of thousands of thousands of people (seen above) are seeking protection at UN camps |
In a report about the human rights situation released on Tuesday 30
June, the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) accused the South Sudanese army of
committing widespread human rights abuses, including the alleged gang-raping
and murder of women and girls, as well as the murder of boys and young men.
The level of brutality reported by witnesses included forced
castration of boys who were then left to bleed to death, pairs of boys tied
together who then had their throats cut, and young girls burned alive.
UNMISS head, Ellen Margrethe Løj, has called on the SPLA to allow UN
human rights investigators to access the sites of the alleged atrocities but
says UNMISS soldiers are continuously denied.