Proceeding with general elections while key opposition leaders remain under prosecution risks destroying South Sudan’s fragile peace framework, United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Barney Afako has warned.
Speaking from Juba, Afako stated that prosecuting primary peace partners, most notably First Vice President Dr Riek Machar, who remains under house arrest facing treason charges, fundamentally unspools the 2018 peace agreement.
Afako warned that holding elections without broad political consensus shifts the country away from power-sharing and back toward armed confrontation.
The commission emphasised that unilateral decisions by the ruling administration threaten to disenfranchise millions of displaced citizens and dismantle key transitional goals, including the creation of a unified national army and oversight bodies for oil revenue management.
–ChannelAfrica–
