Individuals whose opinions were perceived as critical of the Government or the reputation of the country and who cooperated with the United Nations by attending meetings, sharing information on human rights violations, and facilitating access of UNMISS to affected populations
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2018-100-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2018
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 6.87699189999999
Longitude: 31.3069788
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- South Sudan
- From Region
- UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
- Assistant Secretary-General
- UN Peace Operation / Political mission
- Dates of prior UN action
- February 2018; 21 July 2017
- Type of record
- General situation addressed
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
individuals whose opinions were perceived as critical of the Government or the reputation of the country and who cooperated with the United Nations by attending meetings, sharing information on human rights violations, and facilitating access of UNMISS to affected populations
- Engagement with UN body
- UN Peace Operation / Political mission
- Dates of engagement
- Unclear
- Type of attempted engagement
- Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials
- Submission of information to UN
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- Unclear
- Reprisal information
instances of restrictions imposed by national authorities, including the National Security Service and pro-government forces as well as among the personnel of Central and State administration, against individuals whose opinions were perceived as critical of the Government or the reputation of the country and who cooperated with the United Nations by attending meetings, sharing information on human rights violations, and facilitating access of UNMISS to affected populations
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Unclear
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- Yes
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- Yes
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 1
- In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
- 2019
- Follow up information provided in SG report 0
In the 2018 report of the Secretary-General, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and OHCHR reported instances of restrictions by national authorities against individuals whose opinions were perceived as critical of the Government or the reputation of the country and who cooperated with the United Nations (A/HRC/39/41, paras. 67–68 and Annex I, paras. 100–102). 156 During the reporting period, UNMISS received reports of at least eight incidents, including arbitrary arrests, detention, and acts of intimidation and harassment. For instance, former detainees who were being released from detention facilities, were ordered not to share information with the United Nations on their experiences during their detention. 97. National authorities continued to target individuals and organizations perceived as sharing information regarding possible human rights violations or specifically contributing to UNMISS public reports. The perpetrators were identified among the elements of the South Sudan National Security Service, pro-Government forces and personnel of State administration. As a result, growing self-censorship is reported. 98. In March 2019, Security Council Resolution 2459 (2019) strongly condemned obstructions of UNMISS by the Government of South Sudan and opposition groups, including severe restrictions on freedom of movement and constraints on the Mission’s operations, and requested UNMISS to continue reporting violations of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the Government and the UN. In particular they requested UNMISS to continue to compile monthly the access denials/blockage of UNMISS patrols with UNMISS human rights officers attempting to visit or access areas where violations of human rights may have occurred, and obstructions of UNMISS human rights officers to police stations/detention facilities and similar Government establishments where human rights violations are reported. 157
- Followup Trends 0
- Deterioration/further reprisals
- Did the government respond? 0
- No
- Was this case followed up by a UN body? 0
- UN Security Council