26, Feb 2018 | CJP Team

The Guardian reported that investigators from the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan say they have singled out more than 40 military officials from South Sudan who could be accountable for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes. The findings stem from several hundred witness interviews, satellite images, and almost 60,000 documents that date back when the country’s civil war began, in December 2013. The commission’s report outlines “appalling instances of cruelty against civilians who have had their eyes gouged out, their throats slit or been castrated,” saying that such incidents took place in 2016 and 2017, in five major battles between government forces and rebels. Commission member Andrew Clapham said the report also discusses “a clear pattern of ethnic persecution, for the most part by government forces who should be pursued for crimes against humanity”. A spokesman for South Sudan’s foreign ministry said the government would prosecute anyone responsible. However, there have been few instances of South Sudanese government and military officials being prosecuted for crimes committed against civilians.