Chaloka Beyani [official profile], UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), condemned [press release] recent attacks on IDPs and civilians in South Sudan Monday. Renewed violence in the capital city of Juba has resulted in the deaths [UN News Centre report] of two Chinese UN Peacekeepers, one UN national staff member and two IDPs. Beyani expressed concern at the violence that has already displaced 30,000 people in addition to the newly displaced 10,000 people in Juba. He urged the authorities to respect the broken peace agreement and called upon the parties to abide by international humanitarian law and protect civilians “in times of armed conflict.” Amid the clashes between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the SPLA in Opposition, Beyani reminded the parties that threats and attacks against humanitarian staff and the UN Mission in South Sudan are unacceptable and called on them to cease immediate acts of aggression. The Special Rapporteur lamented that the country had marked its fifth anniversary of independence “with gunfire instead of celebration.”

Human rights concerns have been widespread concerning South Sudan. In June UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed [JURIST report] shock at the increasing number of children recruited and killed in armed conflicts in several countries, including South Sudan. In May Amnesty International reported [JURIST report] that dozens of detainees in South Sudan are being held in inhumane conditions. In April six human rights organizations called [JURIST report] for the next UN Secretary-General to do everything he or she can do to protect innocent civilians whose nation faced armed conflict, including South Sudan. In March the UN Human Rights Council decided [JURIST report] to investigate allegations of human rights abuses in South Sudan.