17 January 2014 - The conflict in South Sudan could now be assessed as an internal armed conflict, UN Assistant-Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Šimonovic said at a press conference in Juba today.

“In a legal sense, it means besides violation of human rights and potential crimes against humanity, we can also speak about war crimes and international humanitarian law applies to the conflict,” he said, concluding a four-day visit to assess human rights in the war-torn country.

Many crimes had been identified, including mass and extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detention, sexual violence and use of children in armed conflict, Mr. Šimonovic said. He added that a report on preliminary findings by the UNMISS Human Rights Division would soon be released.

Addressing causes of the conflict, the UN official said a breeding ground for escalation of hostilities was to be found in “historical remnants of previous conflicts in this country”.

“(There are) many similarities with conflict in 1991. There was some peace achieved, but this was not sustainable peace because there was no accountability for crimes committed,” he said. “… It is very important that this time there is accountability for crimes committed.”

Mr. Šimonovic said it was clear from preliminary findings that both sides were involved, although initial investigations were still taking place,

“What started as a political struggle degenerated into increasingly violent and ethnic conflict,” he said. “What was striking was the completely different narratives and views, with each group believing that perpetrators are coming from the other side.”

Mr. Šimonovic commended the decision by the African Union to set up an international commission of inquiry, describing it as a first step to establish accountability. He added that the South Sudanese government’s undertaking to investigate crimes was also welcome and expressed hope that this would be objective.

“When talking to government interlocutors as well as anti-government armed groups, my message was quite clear,” he said. “It is that there is a command responsibility making political as well as military leaders responsible not only for crimes that were ordered by superiors, but also for not preventing and not punishing crimes if they were committed.”

He also emphasized that recruiting child soldiers was a violation of international law and that those involved would be held accountable.

Mr. Šimonovic, who met with internally displaced people in Juba, the Unity State capital Bentiu and Jonglei capital Bor, said the conflict had caused untold suffering for thousands of civilians. One month of conflict in South Sudan had set the country back a decade, he added.