UN warns over state threats to South Sudan Activists

UN says threats against civil society activists in South Sudan violate the revitalised peace agreement signed in 2018 to end five years of conflict.

The UN Commission on Human Rights says it has noted “with alarm and dismay the ongoing threats, harassment and intimidation” of human rights defenders, journalists among others.

It says credible threats by the state’s National Security Services (NSS) on the lives of the activists had forced them to flee the country.

It noted that the NSS had continued to harass colleagues and families of the activists – many of whom played a key role in the country’s peace and justice processes.

The UN commission says bank accounts of the activists, and those of the non-government organisations they lead, are among those recently blocked on government orders.

“The State’s targeting of high-profile human rights defenders will have a chilling effect on civil society, and will discourage public participation and corrode confidence in the important processes of transitional justice, constitution making and national elections.”  It said.

South Sudan’s government has not commented on the latest UN report.

BBC /Shakirat Sadiq