Geneva/Juba, Feb 27 (.) South Sudan’s political and military leaders are systematically dismantling the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, putting civilians at grave risk of renewed conflict and mass atrocity crimes, a United Nations commission warned Thursday.
The Commission calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities, restoration and full implementation of the Revitalized Agreement, and compliance with South Sudan’s obligations under international law.
The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, presenting its latest report to the Human Rights Council, said government forces have carried out “widespread and systematic attacks against civilians, including unlawful killings, indiscriminate, disproportionate aerial bombardment of civilian homes and medical facilities,” in violation of international humanitarian law.
Last March, the President declared South Sudan would not return to war. To the contrary, we have seen an alarming regression. Government forces have since carried out widespread and systematic attacks against civilians, including unlawful killings, indiscriminate, disproportionate aerial bombardment of civilian homes and medical facilities in violation of the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution under international humanitarian law. The Commission also documented incidents of conflict-related sexual violence and the abduction and forcible recruitment of boys; conduct prohibited under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, its Optional Protocol and customary law.
“Taken together, these acts may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission.
The report details ethnic targeting, particularly of Nuer civilians, forced recruitment of boys and young men by the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), and politically motivated detentions of opposition leaders, including the First Vice President.
“Armed forces under ruling party command are now most responsible for attacks against civilians, including patterns of targeting linked to ethnicity and perceived political affiliation,” Sooka added.
Commissioner Barney Afako noted the role of high-level authorization in the attacks: “The air and ground attacks on civilians, mostly targeting opposition-affiliated areas, are part and parcel of the ruling party’s systematic dismantling of the peace agreement. South Sudan is at a dangerous crossroads.”
The UN report calls for immediate cessation of hostilities, restoration of the Revitalized Agreement, and compliance with international law. It also urges South Sudan to release opposition leaders and ensure any electoral process is credible, noting that “credible electoral processes are unrealistic in a context where civic space is repressed, conflict rages, more than three million people are internally displaced, and key opposition leaders are arbitrarily detained.”
The Commission further recommended that African union and UN member states demand compliance with the peace deal, operationalize the Hybrid Court for South Sudan, fund humanitarian efforts, and condition political support on human rights compliance.
“In our close examination of the detention and prosecution of opposition leaders, we identified serious and extensive violations of due process,” said Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández. “A fundamental issue is their detention without charge or lawyers for over five months. Another is the prejudicial statements by senior officials, and unexplained dismissals of chief justices and indeed justice ministers in the process – which indicates executive interference and may in part explain why judges never addressed the unlawful detentions. The unlawful deprivation of liberty warrants their immediate release; this should be done promptly, in accordance with applicable law.”
The report also reiterates findings in the Commission’s paper of September 2025, detailing grand corruption diverting revenues to elites, rendering government institutions unable to address basic needs and fulfill human rights. Since its publication, corruption mechanisms have further entrenched, with the corrupt and politically-connected Crawford Capital Ltd. intensifying its infiltration of government.
“Without urgent course correction, South Sudan risks state failure, further undermining regional security, and trampling the rights and dignity of South Sudanese,” Sooka said.. .