The UN rights office has claimed that Pro-government militias in South Sudan are continuing to allow soldiers to rape women as payment.
A report described the country as “one of the most horrendous human rights situations in the world”.
The report documents the systematic use of sexual and gender-based violence by Government forces and associated militia.
The scale of sexual violence is shocking: in a five-month period, from April to September the UN recorded 1300 reports of rape in Unity State alone. Credible sources told the assessment team that militia and government forces are being allowed to rape women in lieu of wages – an agreement called “do what you can, take what you can.”
One woman described how, during the attack on her village in Koch, a county in Unity State, in October, Government soldiers killed her husband.
They then tied her to a tree and forced her to watch as her 15-year-old daughter was raped by at least 10 soldiers.
“One of the most notable impacts of the continued sexual and gender-based violence … is the fear and paralysis it has instilled in the community,” the report states. “Women are in a state of permanent insecurity.
One displaced woman noted ‘Women are suffering a lot. When we go to town, we may fall into the hands of soldiers, be raped and abandoned; those who try to resist will be killed.’”
The report recommends UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein request the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on the country. In addition that a Hybrid Court that was part of the peace agreement signed in August 2015 be set up without delay.
“The lasting and only viable solution to protect and promote human rights in South Sudan is to dismantle the apparatus of violence and holding to account those responsible for the immense suffering of the population,” the report stated.
