South Sudan Human Rights Commission decries being undermined

An official of the South Sudan Human Rights Commission (SSHRC) said the institution’s constitutional independence is being undermined by some individuals who neither respect the commission nor listen to its advisory role.

The main mandates of the South Sudan Human Rights Commission (SSHRC), under the 2011 Transitional Constitution, are to advise the government on human rights issues, monitor human rights, investigate violations, inspect detention centers, and raise awareness on human rights issues.

However, the Commission has hardly been noticed in the public domain and there are no reports of the commission’s work on the country’s human rights situation since it was reconstituted in 2018.

Over the years, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has predominantly been the primary body reporting and publishing information about human rights violations in the country.

In an interview with Eye Radio’s Sundown Show on Thursday, the Commission’s Coordinator, James Idroy said, some individuals he did not name, refuse to listen to advise from the institution.

“We advise them to allow the human Rights Commission to be independent, we also advise them to listen to human rights because the Commission is supposed to be listened to,” Idroy said.

“This is the area, when people listen, then we are independent and when people don’t listen to our advice, this is the problem. We are independent by the law. The question is now on individual levels. Other people listen, they respect us and other people do not and this is the problem.”

The Commission is currently constrained by funding, and its staff including the top leadership said they are operating from their houses after being evicted from their offices following an accumulation of rent arrears.