South Sudan: UN report on atrocities should 'jolt the world into action'

UN findings include accounts of soldiers castrating men, gang-raping women and forcing children to watch their mothers being raped

Responding to today’s UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan report detailing horrific human rights violations committed by soldiers in South Sudan, Seif Magango, Amnesty International’s East Africa Deputy Regional Director, said:

“The report’s findings of yet more acts of shocking brutality - including men being castrated, women gang-raped, children forced to watch their mothers being raped, and boys forced to rape their family members - should jolt the world into speedy action to address the horrific human rights violations that have continued unabated for four years of conflict in South Sudan.

“They demonstrate the critical need to establish the Hybrid Court for South Sudan and to renew the UN Commission on Human Rights’ mandate, which is due to expire in March.

“The human rights catastrophe in South Sudan must remain firmly on the world’s radar if a solution is to be found.”

The report is a culmination of months of research by UN investigators into gross human rights violations and abuses in South Sudan.

Amnesty has previously documented cases of sexual violence in the conflict in South Sudan, including in a report in July 2017.