New York (UNA/QNA) – The United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan expressed its concern about the deteriorating situation in Jonglei State, South Sudan.
The United Nations warned that recent developments greatly increase the risk of mass violence against civilians and undermine the peace agreement.
The committee – formed by the UN Human Rights Council – explained that public statements by leaders and others exercising effective command and control, coinciding with the mobilization of forces, represent a dangerous escalation at a time when the political foundations of the peace process are severely weakened.
The committee held criminally responsible those who fail to prevent or punish crimes that they knew about, or should have known about.
She stressed that the current escalation is not isolated, but rather part of a broader political breakdown resulting from continued violations of the peace agreement and the erosion of leadership discipline in an already tense and ethnically divided environment.
The committee called on all parties to immediately cease inflammatory rhetoric and troop mobilizations in order to de-escalate tensions. It also urged regional and international partners to urgently re-engage to preserve the peace agreement and to press South Sudan's leaders to return to the political path they had committed to.
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