The ratification by South Sudan’s legislative assembly of two international covenants requiring states to protect and respect the human rights of their people has been welcomed by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

This week, 165 members of the South Sudan Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) voted unanimously to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and their respective First Optional Protocols without reservations.

UNMISS commends the TNLA for its unanimous decision to ratify and looks forward to the President’s signing of the covenants and their subsequent lodging with the United Nations Secretary-General.

UNMISS has been working closely with the TNLA and its committees to progress the signing of these covenants since 2015. The Mission’s human rights and rule of law teams have provided technical support and expertise throughout the process as well as facilitating workshops and public consultation on the covenants.

The ICCPR and ICESCR are among nine core United Nations human rights treaties and give legal force to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The ICCPR requires states to protect and respect their citizens’ civil and political rights, such as the right to political participation, equality, freedom of thought, religion and expression and freedom from torture and other inhuman treatment.

The ICESCR is crucial to enabling people to live with dignity and covers important areas of public policy such as the right to work under fair and just conditions and an adequate standard of living as well as access to social security, health and education.