South Sudan
South Sudan
Current and Past Recommendations to the UN Security Council (Monthly Action Points)
In its discussions of the situation in South Sudan, the Council must continue to advance efforts to implement the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS). Reports from the ground in South Sudan indicate widespread and ongoing sexual violence in IDP camps as well as local communities. There is a vast dearth in gender disaggregated data in UNMISS reporting, and further gender expertise and training of UNMISS personnel must be prioritized in 2015 as called for in OP 20 of SCR 2187 (2014). Over the course of the next several months, the Council should ensure the representation and voices of South Sudanese women are integrated throughout peace processes. Relatedly, the Council should continue to insist on the need for accountability for grave human rights violations and abuses, including rampant accounts of sexual violence, in the South Sudan conflict. Further, the Council should consider the possibility of imposing an arms embargo on the parties to the conflict in order to halt the supply of weapons to individuals and groups who have committed serious violations of human rights, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including sexual violence. Both the monitoring teams charged with implementing the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, as well as the forthcoming report by the African Union Commission on Inquiry, may offer critical reporting on the extent of these atrocities. Council members are urged to monitor these reporting instruments and take the lead in ensuring any information released is not suppressed.