Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch has urged South Sudan’s parliament to revise the pending National Security Service Amendment Bill to bring to an end arbitrary arrests by the agency
Mausi Segun, Africa director at Human Rights Watch said, Parliament needs to ensure that the pending law genuinely limits the security service’s powers and strengthens oversight of the agency’s activities.
“An in-depth review and revision of outstanding gaps in the law governing the National Security Service is critical to reining in the notorious agency.”
The current National Security Service Act of 2014 gives the agency broad and unqualified powers that allow it to act with impunity, creating and sustaining a climate of repression and fear.
According to the press release, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International among other rights organisations have documented that the security agency’s broad powers have contributed to shrinking civic space.
Amnesty International regrets lacks of political will in South Sudan to address these wide spread practices.
“The agency exerts its authority without meaningful judicial or legislative oversight, agents are rarely punished for abuses, and the government lacks the political will to address these widespread practices.”
In December 2022, the justice minister recommended to the cabinet and presidency that the agency’s authority to arrest and detain suspects should be limited.
On February 22, 2023, the presidency agreed to abolish the agency’s authority to arrest and detain people, with or without a warrant.
On May 9, media reported that the bill would be presented for its first reading in parliament within two weeks, which has since elapsed.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say, the bill includes a series of positive provisions.
The South Sudanese government should order the closure of all unauthorised detention sites operated by the security agency and release detainees or hand them over to legitimate law enforcement officials for charge and fair trial, says Amnesty International.
Tigere Chagutah, Regional Director at Amnesty International’s East and Southern Africa Regional Office called on the government of South Sudan to take measures to hold officers to account for past and ongoing rights abuses.
“Authorities should ensure that security service officials, including senior officials, are held to account.”
The bill to amend the 2014 law currently before parliament was drafted by the National Constitutional Amendment Committee (NCAC) as part of the reforms initiated by the Revitalized Peace Agreement of 2018. Following lack of consensus by committee members about the agency’s authority to make arrests, the bill was referred to the Justice Ministry in 2019 and then to the presidency in April 2021 for resolution.
The bill includes a series of positive provisions, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.
It introduces guiding principles founded on a respect for human rights and prohibits torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment; and prohibits detention or confinement by security agents.
It also gives the justice minister and civilian courts a greater role in prosecuting agency officials accused of crimes. However, the bill still contains vague and broad provisions that would allow the agency to continue to abuse human rights, the organizations said.