JUBA, South Sudan — The South Sudan Human Rights Defenders Network (SSHRDN) says it has recorded an increase in reported human rights violations, including intimidation, unlawful arrests and prolonged detention without due process.

The group says it expects to release its latest figures in October.

Speaking during a commemoration of the International Day of Democracy in Juba, SSHRDN representative James Bidal said violations were being reported at different levels, including gender-based violence, conflict-related sexual violence and abuses targeting human rights defenders.

“On the trends of human rights, there are violations that are happening at different levels, from GBV cases to conflict-related sexual violence, then to the continuous incidences that are directed towards human rights defenders, like harassment, intimidations, and also the unlawful arrests that tend to mount into prolonged detention without a deep process of the law,” Bidal said.

“These are incidents that we continue to receive and sometimes some of the arbitrary arrests are not taken to the due process of the law. We find that someone can be detained and sometimes released without charges,” he added.

Bidal said the group had also documented cases involving political actors, including restrictions on political participation and incidents affecting opposition figures.

“Our Judiciary system is not functional and we are yet anticipating to have more of these incidences happening,” he said.

“We have realised that there are number of cases that were documented and those cases involve human rights defenders and we have also extended to political actors measuring restriction on political participation and also incidences that are directed to opposition political actors.”

Bidal said the report, which is expected in October, will contain recommendations for the government, the National Elections Commission, the Political Parties Council and the international community.

“We are now working on writing the report which will be released probably in October with some key recommendations and it comes at the right time when elections is not done then there are those to the government, there are those to the Electoral Commission, there are those to the political parties council and to also the international community,” he said.

Adut Christina Salva, Executive Director of the South Sudan Women Empowerment Network, said human rights defenders also face violations while carrying out their work.

“So many violations being done to us. That means our rights are not respected, despite the fact that we are fighting for the rights of others,” Salva said.

“We’ve seen our fellow human rights defenders going through domestic violence, in GBV cases, but they come and they pretend they smile with bruises on their faces because why? They are fighting to protect their jobs. They are also fighting to protect the work that they do. But it’s on rare cases that we get to see those signs,” she added.

Meanwhile, Jacob Bul Bior, co-founder of the Anataban Arts Initiative and a member of the South Sudan Civil Society Forum, called for greater freedom of expression ahead of the elections.

“We are at a critical time where we want to exercise our right to vote in an election and choose leaders,” Bul Bior said.

“But if we are unable to express ourselves and provide a political platform for people to express and say their political manifestos on how they want to lead us, then we are lying to ourselves to say that we’re going to have an election,” he said.

Bul Bior said citizens should be free to choose their leaders based on their views and political platforms.

“People should be speaking freely and people should have the right to choose who they want to be their leader in regards to what these political leaders are saying. Are they appealing to the aspirations of Junubin or are they just looking at their interest in getting to power or staying in power?” he said.

The International Day of Democracy is observed annually on September 15. This year’s commemoration in South Sudan was held under the theme, “Bring Human Rights into Focus.”