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This deterrent step, western countries feel, will undermine open political and civil space ahead of the country’s elections
The U.S. and other Western governments criticized a controversial security bill in South Sudan that would allow the government to detain people without warrants. This deterrent step, western countries feel, will undermine open political and civil space ahead of the country’s elections.
The security bill was passed by parliament on July 3. Political analysts feel that it will threaten the ongoing peace talks. Moreover, such a piece of legislation may lead to arbitrary arrests ahead of the country’s first-ever elections in Dec. 22. President Salva Kiir has 30 days to approve or veto the law.
Nine Western envoys, including representatives of the U.S. and Britain, said recently that the signing of the bill would constitute a significant step away from the opening of political and civic space. The diplomats said South Sudanese should have the right to participate freely in political and civic expression without fear of arbitrary arrest or intimidation by security personnel.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller said that the transitional government in South Sudan must act with urgency to create an environment in which the people can express their views openly and without fear. Enactment of this law would further degrade political and civic space in South Sudan, he further added.
The new law is acting as a drag in the ongoing talks between the government and opposition groups that were not part of a 2018 peace agreement that ended the five-year civil war in which nearly 400,000 people died.
U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan chair Yasmin Sooka said the security bill should be returned to legislators to work on amendments that align with the government’s commitment to scrap this institution’s arrest powers, which are systematically abused and unlawful.
The Commission has reported human rights violations by South Sudanese security agencies that include illegal detentions during which victims have been tortured, with many having died in detention.
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In February, South Sudan acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This includes protection from arbitrary arrest and detentions and requires that anyone arrested or detained be brought promptly before a judge. But the country, which is Eastern Africa’s youngest nation, has a fragile judiciary.
