Front Line Defenders releases report on the attacks, threats and surveillance against refugee South Sudanese HRDs in advance of UN Human Rights Council vote on the renewal of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan
[Dublin, Ireland] In South Sudan, civil society activists, human rights defenders, journalists and opposition members are all equally at risk of being targeted, harassed, intimidated and even killed by South Sudanese authorities, most notably by the National Security Service (NSS) intelligence agency. Yet, even when HRDs leave South Sudan to seek refuge, there is no guarantee of safety.
No Refuge: South Sudan’s Targeting of Refugee HRDs Outside the Country, released today by Front Line Defenders, documents a broad pattern of targeting and harassment of South Sudanese refugee HRDs outside of South Sudan – especially in Uganda and Kenya.
Fourteen South Sudanese refugee HRDs spoke of the reach of the government and its abilities to find and threaten HRDs who left the country. Some of them were already HRDs in South Sudan, others started to engage in human rights work after their displacement.
The agency most closely associated with targeting HRDs is South Sudan’s National Security Service (NSS). NSS agents are believed to be stationed outside the country – often operating with the complicity of South Sudanese embassies – or to be able to move easily into countries neighbouring South Sudan to carry out their operations. The ability of these agents to operate easily and to move in and out of Kenya and Uganda, especially, raises significant questions about the role those governments are playing in exposing refugees to danger.
“There is a known area in Kampala where South Sudanese gather. There are some Sudanese shops, where you can find South Sudanese food. This area is always monitored by the NSS. This is why I don’t go there anymore,” refugee HRD.
The report documents instances of surveillance, both digital and physical; disruption of peaceful activities; attempts to kidnap and deport HRDs back to South Sudan; and the sharing of HRDs’ information with embassy personnel, for the alleged objective of targeting those activists.
“The picture painted by the research leaves no doubt. South Sudan’s NSS is able, and more than willing, to try to silence civil society even when HRDs leave South Sudan. The agency is responsible for the creation of a climate of fear and distrust among refugee HRDs in neighbouring countries,” said Adam Shapiro, Head of Communications & Visibility at Front Line Defenders.
“The NSS is reaching out to me constantly. I do not know how, but they have my phone number, and they are calling me at all times. They are trying to ‘negotiate’ with me my return to South Sudan. They know where I am, or at least how to find me: some weeks ago, I was in the hospital for some medical examinations, and a person who pretended to be a businessman came up to me, to try to convince me to go back to South Sudan,” refugee HRD.
South Sudan’s NSS, though not the only actor involved in the targeting of HRDs and refugee HRDs, is the main one responsible and the one most feared by HRDs. The NSS responds directly to South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir. Its budget comes from the Office of the President, and is supplemented by revenues coming from oil extraction. The lack of transparency of both revenue sources speak to the secrecy of the agency, and the difficulty to hold it accountable.
This report is released during the 46th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, during which the mandate of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan is up for renewal. This report complements work carried out by Human Rights Watch, detailing the illegal detention practices of HRDs and political opponents used by the NSS inside South Sudan, and by Amnesty International, which focused on the NSS’ use of illegal surveillance to target civil society, journalists, HRDs and opposition members. Together, the three organisations have provided compelling evidence and testimonies to make it clear that renewing the mandate of the Commission is imperative.
In light of the grave situation of abuses perpetrated by the NSS, and the explicit sanctioning of its activities by South Sudan’s President, Front Line Defenders calls on regional and international stakeholders in South Sudan’s peace and state-building processes to apply and maintain pressure on South Sudan’s political and military elites to stop the practice of targeting of HRDs and refugee HRDs, inside and outside South Sudan.
