UNMISS human rights activities with civil society actors

Cases

Relevant SG report

From Country

Country Geolocation

Latitude: 6.87699189999999

Longitude: 31.3069788

From Region

Individual's/organization's activity: One incident took place in October and December 2021 when UNMISS Human Rights Division in Juba and Wau was requested to obtain written authorization from NSS to conduct human rights activities with civil society actors, and produce the agenda and list of participants. UNMISS engaged with the NSS who informed that there is a Directive requiring NSS to be notified of all workshops/trainings and conferences taking place in hotels for clearance, and to know content of discussions. Reportedly, the Directive does not exempt UNMISS or United Nations entities from this procedure, hence all programs of any trainings/workshops conducted by any UNMISS or any United Nations agency must be submitted in advance. Failure to do so could reportedly lead to the cancellation of the activity. As UNMISS does not share with the Government information such as agenda and/or list of participants of events it organizes, it requested for a copy of the new Directive, but to no avail.

Type of rights defended

Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?: No

Reported trigger of reprisal: One incident took place in October and December 2021 when UNMISS Human Rights Division in Juba and Wau was requested to obtain written authorization from NSS to conduct human rights activities with civil society actors, and produce the agenda and list of participants. UNMISS engaged with the NSS who informed that there is a Directive requiring NSS to be notified of all workshops/trainings and conferences taking place in hotels for clearance, and to know content of discussions. Reportedly, the Directive does not exempt UNMISS or United Nations entities from this procedure, hence all programs of any trainings/workshops conducted by any UNMISS or any United Nations agency must be submitted in advance. Failure to do so could reportedly lead to the cancellation of the activity. As UNMISS does not share with the Government information such as agenda and/or list of participants of events it organizes, it requested for a copy of the new Directive, but to no avail.

Engagement with UN body

Type of attempted engagement

Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials

Reprisal information: One incident took place in October and December 2021 when UNMISS Human Rights Division in Juba and Wau was requested to obtain written authorization from NSS to conduct human rights activities with civil society actors, and produce the agenda and list of participants. UNMISS engaged with the NSS who informed that there is a Directive requiring NSS to be notified of all workshops/trainings and conferences taking place in hotels for clearance, and to know content of discussions. Reportedly, the Directive does not exempt UNMISS or United Nations entities from this procedure, hence all programs of any trainings/workshops conducted by any UNMISS or any United Nations agency must be submitted in advance. Failure to do so could reportedly lead to the cancellation of the activity. As UNMISS does not share with the Government information such as agenda and/or list of participants of events it organizes, it requested for a copy of the new Directive, but to no avail.

Types of reprisals suffered

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