South Sudan’s organized forces continue to commit human rights violations with relative impunity.
Amnesty International makes the charge in its 2013 report.The rights watchdog said “critical gaps in national legislation undermined the protection of human rights, including the absence of an adequate legal framework to regulate the National Security Service.”
It added that the environment for national and international media workers remained challenging with security forces harassing and arbitrarily detaining journalists and radio presenters, and confiscating equipment.
Amnesty said violations perpetrated by the army and police forces, including extrajudicial executions, beatings, torture, sexual violence against women and looting during Jonglei’s disarmament campaign was largely unaddressed by the government.
It denounced that security forces including the SPLA, National Security Service and Police Service harassed, arrested, tortured and ill-treated people, including UN and NGO staff.
Amnesty noted that attacks against East African workers in South Sudan also increased.
It added that the Government is holding four members of armed opposition groups in detention without access to justice.