JUBA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan on Wednesday urged the East African country's leaders to use the two-year extension of the transitional period of the government to implement critical pending tasks in the revitalized peace deal.
During the period before the next general elections due in December 2026, the leaders should consolidate peace, uphold human rights protections, and transform the country, said the UN human rights body.
Yasmin Sooka, chair of the commission, said the challenges to a peaceful transition to democracy are not insurmountable if South Sudan implements the revitalized peace agreement as it was envisaged. "However, the delays and unwillingness to compromise reflect the preoccupations of a predatory elite most concerned with remaining in power, and enriching themselves from the country's vast oil and other wealth," Sooka said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
The UN commission said South Sudanese leadership's failure to pursue peace has resulted in a dire humanitarian crisis, hunger and food insecurity, and the displacement of more than 4 million South Sudanese both in the country and across the region.
The basic needs of 9 million people in South Sudan are unmet, equating to around three-quarters of the population, while the humanitarian assistance levels are insufficient, with vulnerable women and children most profoundly affected, the UN body said.
It noted that despite the last two-year extension of the peace deal in August 2022, most critical tasks remain unimplemented, including the comprehensive unification of armed forces and their deployment, development of a permanent constitution, establishment of rule of law and transitional justice mechanisms, and credible electoral arrangements.
Barney Afako, a commission member, said the East African country cannot afford to continue with business as usual. "Its political leaders must finally and urgently invest in delivering tangible democratic, protection, and human rights outcomes," Afako said.
He said South Sudan is also at the front line of the climate crisis, with flooding and drought deteriorating widespread deprivations and prolonged displacement.
The country's transitional government on Sept. 13 announced the postponement of national elections and extended the transition period by two years after failing to meet key provisions of the peace agreement.
This is the second time the country, which gained independence in 2011, has postponed elections and extended a transition period that began in February 2020. Under the revitalized peace deal signed in 2018 to end the civil war, the government was supposed to be dissolved on Sept. 22 and hold elections in December. ■