UN report: ‘hellish existence’ for women and girls in South Sudan

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan issued a report on widespread and systematic conflict-related sexual violence perpetrated by all armed groups across the country. According to the research, rape and sexual violence have been used as an instrument to reward and entitlement for youth and men participating in the conflict. The aim is to disrupt to the maximum the fabric of communities, including through their constant displacement. The Commission advanced that the government and military leaders will be held responsible for the failure to prevent these acts, or the failure to punish those involved.

The Chair of the UN Commission, Yasmin Sooka, declared that the systematic use of women's bodies as “spoils of war” is “outrageous and completely unacceptable”. In addition, Ms. Sooka urged authorities to take immediate action to stop men in South Sudan from viewing the female body as 'territory' to be exploited.

The report also describes women often bearing children as a result of rape, and notes that in many cases, survivors have contracted sexually transmitted infections including being infected with HIV. Following rape and pregnancy, women are often abandoned by husbands and families, and left destitute. Some of those raped while pregnant have suffered miscarriages.

According to the commission, the political elite’s failure to deal with security sector reform, and to provide for the basic needs of the armed forces, contributes to a permissive environment where South Sudanese women are viewed as currency. With near-universal impunity for rape and sexual violence, perpetrators avoid accountability. The Commission welcomed the recent measures taken by the government to address sexual violence in conflict, including establishing a special court and holding military justice proceedings, affirming; nevertheless, these measures remain inadequate considering the scale and extent of crimes.

The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan is an independent body mandated by the UN Human Rights Council, and first established in March 2016. It is mandated to investigate the situation of human rights in South Sudan, and to report the facts and circumstances of human rights violations, including by clarifying responsibility for violations that are crimes under national and or international law.

For the full report, please visit the website.