17/7/2025–|Last update: 01:31 (Mecca time)
The United Nations Human Rights Commission condemned the escalation of arrests and arbitrary detention in southern Sudan.
The Commission said that hundreds of political, journalists and activists are under harassment, intimidation or detention by government security services and armed groups.
For its part, human rights organizations have warned that these practices would undermine the fragile peace process in the country.
According to testimonies of victims and eyewitnesses collected by the United Nations Human Rights Division and a mission United Nations In southern Sudan, elements of the so-called “South Sudan Defense Forces” and the National Security Agency have detained during the past months “dozens of people criticized by the government, including members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-the opposition wing.”
These arrests included detention in secret places and deprivation of communication with lawyers or family members, as well as torture and abuse practices inside the places of detention.
These arrests also affected the first vice president, a number of ministers, members of parliament and military officers, along with civilians.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan documented 94 arbitrary detention and detention that affected 391 people, including 8 women, 4 children and one girl, many of whom belong to the political opposition group during the first six months of 2025.
Human rights organizations have recorded that these arrests often take place without judicial notes or legal procedures.
Additional deterioration
In the context, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned of an additional deterioration in the human rights situation in southern Sudan.
“I am very concerned about the arbitrary nature of many of these arrests, as individuals were arrested without arrest warrants or legal procedures,” said Turk.
He added, “All detainees must be released arbitrarily and without conditions, and he stressed that the escalation of violence in southern Sudan is” severely concerned and threatens the fragile peace process in the country. “
It is noteworthy that a peace agreement was signed in 2018 to resolve the conflict in southern Sudan, which sought to end Civil war Which killed nearly 400,000 people, establishing a transitional government and enhancing reconciliation.
Despite the agreement signed between the parties to the conflict in southern Sudan, the country still faces serious challenges in government, insecurity, systematic persecution and political instability, according to human rights organizations.