UN Warns of South Sudan’s Political Collapse, Urges Urgent Global Intervention

“The ceasefire is not holding, political detentions have become a tool of repression, and government forces are using aerial bombardments in civilian areas,” Afako told delegates.

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has sounded an urgent alarm before the UN General Assembly, warning that the country’s fragile political transition is on the brink of total collapse amid escalating conflict, repression, and corruption.

In a stark address to the General Assembly’s Third Committee, which focuses on social, humanitarian, and cultural affairs, Commissioner Barney Afako said that the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement — once hailed as South Sudan’s roadmap to stability — is now “falling apart.”

Peace Agreement Unravelling Amid Renewed Conflict

“The ceasefire is not holding, political detentions have become a tool of repression, and government forces are using aerial bombardments in civilian areas,” Afako told delegates. “All indicators point to a slide back toward another deadly war.”

Armed clashes are reportedly spreading across the country on a scale not seen since 2017, when the last ceasefire was signed. The Commission reported that political rivalries, ethnic divisions, and local grievances have merged into a combustible mix of violence and instability.

Since March, over 370,000 people have been displaced, while 2.5 million refugees now live in neighbouring countries. Inside South Sudan, nearly two million people remain internally displaced, and the conflict continues to spill across borders.

Humanitarian Catastrophe Driven by Political Failure

“The suffering of South Sudan’s people is not collateral damage — it is the direct consequence of political failure,” said Yasmin Sooka, the Chair of the Commission. “Women are being raped, children are being forced into combat, and entire communities are living in fear. This is a war on the people — man-made and preventable.”

Sooka accused South Sudan’s leaders of dismantling the peace process and warned that renewed violence could plunge the country into its worst humanitarian crisis since independence in 2011.

The Commission’s latest report to the Human Rights Council, published in February and updated for the Assembly, outlines gross human rights violations, including arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, and sexual violence. The government has failed to deliver on its 2024 promise to revoke the National Security Service’s powers of arbitrary detention; instead, opposition leaders have been arrested and accused of instigating conflict.

Corruption and State Capture Fueling the Crisis

Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández described corruption as a central engine of South Sudan’s conflict, not a byproduct.

“Billions in oil revenues have been siphoned off while the population starves,” he said. “Hospitals have no medicines, schools have no teachers, and soldiers go unpaid while elites enrich themselves through opaque contracts and off-budget deals. Corruption is killing South Sudanese.”

The Commission’s September paper, “Plundering a Nation: How rampant corruption unleashed a human rights crisis in South Sudan,” revealed how elites have captured the state, diverting oil wealth into private hands. This systemic looting, it argued, has directly contributed to conflict and deprivation by funding militias and eroding public institutions.

Impunity and the Collapse of Governance

The Commission warned that impunity for political and military elites remains a major obstacle to peace. Rule of law institutions are underfunded and politicized, while human rights defenders and journalists face persecution.

“Peace will not come through words or handshakes,” Sooka said. “It will come through concrete action — ending impunity, protecting civilians, and building institutions that serve people, not power.”

The Commission urged the UN, the African Union, and regional partners to take coordinated action, including expediting the establishment of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan, a long-promised judicial mechanism designed to prosecute war crimes and human rights violations.

A Call for Global Leadership and Accountability

South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, emerged from civil war in 2018 under the Revitalized Peace Agreement, but delays in implementing key reforms — including security sector unification, constitutional drafting, and elections — have reignited tensions.

The Commission emphasized that international engagement must move beyond statements to real pressure on South Sudan’s leaders to uphold the peace deal and protect civilians.

“South Sudan’s people cannot endure another collapse,” Sooka said. “Justice and accountability must not remain deferred promises. The international community must act — or risk watching another preventable tragedy unfold before its eyes.”