AU Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan Addis Ababa, Ethiopia P. O. Box 3243 Telephone: +251 11 551 7700 / +251 11 518 25 58/ Ext 2558 Website: http://www.au.int/en/auciss Original: English FINAL REPORT OF THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON SOUTH SUDAN ADDIS ABABA 15 OCTOBER 2014 1 Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... 3 ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER I ..................................................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER II .................................................................................................................. 34 INSTITUTIONS IN SOUTH SUDAN .............................................................................. 34 CHAPTER III ............................................................................................................... 110 EXAMINATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND OTHER ABUSES DURING THE CONFLICT: ACCOUNTABILITY ......................................................................... 111 CHAPTER IV ............................................................................................................... 233 ISSUES ON HEALING AND RECONCILIATION ........................................................ 234 CHAPTER V ................................................................................................................ 274 CONCLUSION: ........................................................................................................... 275 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................... 275 ANNEXURES .............................................................................................................. 305 2 | P a ge ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The report of the Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan had the benefit of support and insights from a wide variety of individuals and organizations. It is very important to point out from the onset that the Commission enjoyed the immense support of the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the Commissioner for Peace and Security, H.E. Smail Chergui and the Commissioner for Political Affairs, H.E. Aisha L. Abdullahi, who in various ways put at the disposal of the Commission the necessary resources required for the execution of the fact-finding work it was tasked with. The Commission wishes to thank from the outset, the Governments of the Republic of Uganda, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Republic of Sudan and Republic of Kenya and in particular, President Yoweri Museveni, President Hassan Omer al Bashir and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn for given the Commission the opportunity of sharing their insights on the South Sudan situation. At the same time, the Commission thanks former President Thabo Mbeki and the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel for Sudan and South Sudan for the useful contribution made to its fact- finding work. Lastly, the Commission wishes to thank the government of South Sudan and SPLM/IO for their cooperation and commitment to ensuring the safe passage of members of the Commission on the ground despite various constraints. The Commission conducted interviews on a largely not-for-attribution basis and we therefore thank all those who gave so generously of their time in what were sometimes very difficult circumstances in a country facing complex state and nation building challenges. In this regard, the Commission would like to specifically, thank former Special Representative of the Secretary General, Madam Hilde Johnson and her interim successor, Mr Raisdon Zenanga and their team for the immense support provided to the Commission in the course of its work in South Sudan. The Commission would also like to register its appreciation to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Office, Office of the Special Adviser of the Secretary General of the United Nations on the Prevention of Genocide and United Nations Women which all supported the investigative aspects of our fact-finding work. The Commission wishes to thank these offices for the technical back-stopping provided to the Secretariat and hopes that this cooperation and collaboration will continue into the future. The Commission would also like to recognize the institutional support and assistance of various international organizations, international non- governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations in South Sudan and the South Sudan academia. In particular, we want to recognise the following organizations, the African Union, the African Union Commission, the African Union Peace and Security Council, the African Union High Level Implementation Panel on Sudan and South Sudan, the African Union Liaison Office in South Sudan, Diplomatic Corps Resident in South Sudan, the United 3 | P a ge Nations, the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, the United Nations Development Programme, UN Women, the UN Office to the AU, the World Health Organization, UN OCHA, UNICEF, the Inter- Governmental Authority on Development — Mediators, IGAD — Monitors, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Rescue Committee, Medicines Sans Frontieres, the South Sudan Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Abuses, South Sudan Council of Churches, South Sudan Business Chamber, South Sudan Peace Coalition, South Sudan Women for Peace, South Sudan Bar Association, Sudd Institute, Ebony Center for Strategic Studies, University of Juba Department of Peace and Development Studies, South Sudan Media. The Commission is very grateful to its Secretariat under the overall direction of the Legal Counsel of the African Union, Professor Vincent O. Nmehielle. The Commission acknowledges the following members of the Secretariat: Mr Olabisi Dare, Head of Humanitarian Affairs, Department of Political Affairs of the AUC as Executive Secretary; Dr Dawit Toga, Political analyst ; Mme. Simone Ouattara, Senior Programme Officer; Mr Adewale Iyanda; Legal Officer; M. Boitshoko Mokgatlhe, Senior political officer; M. John Ikubaje, Political officer; Mr Bonaventure Cakpo Guedegbe, Regional Desk Officer; Ms Lulit Getachew, Administrator; Dr. Godfrey Musila, Senior Researcher Dr Shakiratu Sanusi, Consultant, Research and Report Writing; Mr. Jose D. Dougan- Beaca, Chief Investigator; Dr. Ahmed Makata, Forensic Pathologist; Dr Segaran Ramalu Naido, Forensic Pathologist; Mr. Deo Mbuto, Investigator; Mr. Kitila Katala Mkumbo, Investigator; Ms Lucy Minayo Lugalia, Investigator; Ms Renifa Marypetra Madenga, Investigator; Sexual and Gender Based Violence, Ms Shuvai Nyoni, Gender Expert and Legziabher Beyene, Legal Intern. The Commission would also like to thank members seconded by other AUC Departments: Bureau of the Chairperson, Bereau of the Deputy Charperson, Department of Peace and Security, Department of Political Affairs, the Directorate of Women, Gender and Development and the Directorate of Information and Communications, the Directorate of Administration and Human Resources and the Directorate of Finance Budgeting and Accounting. 4 | P a ge ABBREVIATIONS CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement AU African Union AUC African Union Commission AUPSC African Union Peace and Security Council UN United Nations UNSC United Nations Security Council UNMISS United Nations Mission in South Sudan UNHCHR United Nations High Commission for Human Rights UNDP United Nations Development Programme WHO World Health Organization IGAD Inter-Governmental Authority on Development ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IRC International Rescue Committee GOSS Government of Southern Sudan GRSS Government of South Sudan AUCISS African Union Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan ACHPR African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights FAS Femmes Africa Solidarité KII Key Informant Interviews FGD Focus Group Discussions IDPs Internally Displaced Persons SPLA Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army SPLM Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement SSNPS South Sudan National Police Service SSR Security Sector Reforms DDR Disarmament Demobilisation and Reintegration SSNLA South Sudan National Legislative Assembly CBO Community Based Organisation FBO Faith Based Organisation CSO Civil Society Organisation POC Protection of Civilians SPLM/IO Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement — In Opposition NIAC Non-International Armed Conflict SGBV Sexual and Gender Based Violence NCO Non-Commissioned Officer SSLA South Sudan Liberation Army NCP National Congress Party NLC National Liberation Council TCSS Transitional Constitution of South Sudan NCRC National Constitutional Review Commission NCC National Constitutional Conference TGNU Transitional Government of National Unity CODS Chief of Defence Staff CODS SRRA South Sudanese Relief and Rehabilitation Association 5 | P a ge CANS Civil Administration of the New Sudan SSDDRC South Sudan Disarmament Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission NDDRC National Disarmament Demobilisation and Reintegration Council SSDDT Security Sector Development and Defence Transformation IGP Inspector General of Police IHL International Humanitarian Law NGO Non Governmental Organisation GPAA Special Administrative Area for Pibor known as the Greater Pibor Administrative Area NSCC New Sudan Council of Churches 6 | P a ge CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 7 | P a ge CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION 1. As part of its response to the crisis in South Sudan, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 411th meeting held at the level of Heads of State and Government, in Banjul, The Gambia, on 30 December 2013, mandated the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan (AUCISS). In the said communiqué, the PSC requested: […] the Chairperson of the Commission, in consultation with the Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and other relevant AU structures, to urgently establish a Commission to investigate the human rights violations and other abuses committed during the armed conflict in South Sudan and make recommendations on the best ways and means to ensure accountability, reconciliation and healing among all South Sudanese communities. Council requests that the above‐mentioned Commission submit its report to Council within a maximum period of three months.1 2. In specific terms, the AUPSC Communiqué mandates the AUCISS:2 a) To investigate the human rights violations and other abuses committed during the armed conflict in South Sudan; b) To investigate the causes underlying the violations; c) To make recommendations on the best ways and means to ensure accountability, reconciliation and healing among all South Sudanese communities with a view to deterring and preventing the occurrence of the violations in future ; and d) To make recommendations on how to move the country forward in terms of unity, cooperation and sustainable development; e) To submit a report within a maximum period of three (3) months. 3. Pursuant to the AUPSC Communiqué, the Terms of Reference (ToR) detailed in the Concept Note Relating to the Establishment of the AUCISS are to: a) Establish the immediate and remote causes of the conflict; b) Investigate human rights violations and other abuses during the conflict by all parties from 15 December 2013; c) Establish facts and circumstances that may have led to and that amount to such violations and of any crimes that may have been perpetrated; 1 AUPSC, Communiqué PSC/AHG/COMM.1 (CDXI) dated December 31 2013. 2 Concept Note on the Establishment of the African Union Commission of South Sudan 8 | P a ge d) Compile information based on these investigations and in so doing assist in identifying perpetrators of such violations and abuses with a view to ensuring accountability for those responsible; e) Compile information on institutions and process or lack thereof that may have aided or aggravated the conflict resulting in violations of human rights and other abuses; f) To examine ways on how to move the country forward in terms of unity, cooperation and sustainable development; g) Present a comprehensive written report on the overall situation South Sudan to the African Union Peace and Security Council within a period of three (3) months from the commencement of its activities. h) Make recommendations based on the investigation on the following:  appropriate mechanisms to prevent a recurrence of the conflict  mechanisms to promote national healing and cohesiveness, particularly focusing on the need for all South Sudanese communities to live together in peace;  modalities for nation building, specifically focused on building of a functional political order, democratic institutions and post-conflict reconstruction;  accountability mechanisms for gross violations of human rights and other egregious abuses to ensure that those responsible for such violations are held to account. 4. Considering the above, the Commission has interpreted its mandate to consist of four focal areas: healing, reconciliation, accountability and institutional reforms. The Commission approaches its mandate in a holistic manner. As the conceptual framework below demonstrates, the approach adopted by the Commission emphasizes the interrelatedness of the mandate areas. 5. Following consultations, the Chairperson of the AU Commission formally announced the creation of the AUCISS on 7 March 2014 at the Headquarters of the African Union. The Commission is constituted as follows: The Chairperson: i) H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of the Republic of Nigeria Other members of the Commission: ii) Lady Justice Sophia A.B Akuffo, Judge, Supreme Court of Justice and former President of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights iii) Professor Mahmood Mamdani, Professor, Executive Director, Makerere Institute of Social Research, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda and Herbert Lehman Professor of Government, Columbia University 9 | P a ge iv) Ms. Bineta Diop, President, of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) and AU Chairperson‘s Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security v) Professor Pacifique Manirakiza, Professor, University of Ottawa and Member, of the African Commission on Human and Peoples‘ Rights CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 6. Following its establishment, the Commission developed and adopted a Work Plan. The Commission subsequently developed a conceptual framework to guide its work. The conceptual framework sets out the Commission’s appreciation of its mandate including the focal areas of the commission’s inquiry as well as key concepts and terms that frame the commission’s work. These aspects include the Commission’s understanding of its mandate as it relates to: healing & reconciliation, accountability and institutional reforms. Aspects of the conceptual framework are dispersed in various chapters of this report. 7. In addition to the Conceptual Framework, the Commission also developed various policies to guide various aspects of its work. These include policies on: operational modalities; investigations; communication (includes dissemination of the Final Report); and confidentiality.3 Temporal Jurisdiction 8. The Commission had an open-ended mandate that ran from December 15, 2013, the day that armed hostilities broke out in Juba. In this regard, the Concept Note on the Establishment of the Commission provides that the Commission shall ̳investigate human rights violations and other abuses during the conflict by all parties from 15 December 2013. The other aspects of the Commission‘s mandate — reconciliation, healing and institutional reforms — are understandably not time bound. The Commission‘s mandate was originally set to end on June 12, 2014, three months from the date of its establishment on March 12, 2014, but was renewed for an additional three months. The Commission therefore had a lifespan of six months. 9. While temporally the Commission’s mandate relates to events that flow from the eruption of violence in Juba on December 15, 2013, it is the Commission’s view that the appropriate approach to our work relating to institutions as well as healing and reconciliation requires an examination of events before this date. Indeed, some respondents made the case in their statements to the Commission. In this regard, one respondent observed that: I think the four [mandate areas] are interlinked or intertwined and always when I am asked in a sentence, how do you characterize what happened on the 15th of December [2013], I say that it was a spark of accumulated 3 See Annex to this Report 10 | P a ge