The international community on Wednesday joined calls by South Sudan's opposition and rights groups to scrap legislation they fear could entrench human rights violations by a powerful state security agency.
South Sudan's transitional national legislative assembly last week approved amendments to a law that would enable the National Security Service (NSS) to continue to arrest – without a warrant – anyone accused of offences against the state.
But there are concerns that the bill – which needs to be approved by President Salva Kiir – could further restrict civil society as the country prepares for long-delayed elections.
"This would constitute a significant step away from the opening of political and civic space, which is a prerequisite for genuine and peaceful elections to take place," the embassies of several Western nations, including the US, Britain and the European Union, said in a statement.
Peace deal
"All South Sudanese should have the right to participate freely in political and civic expression without fear of arbitrary arrest or intimidation by security personnel."
The world's newest nation is scheduled, on December 22, to hold its first polls since independence from Sudan in 2011.
But key provisions of a 2018 peace deal that set out a roadmap for political transition remain unfulfilled, raising concerns that the elections may be delayed again.
Kiir, in a statement to mark the 13th independence anniversary on Tuesday, made no mention of the planned polls.
Security reform
South Sudan's opposition said the national security service needs to be reformed.
"Their mandate is very clear: collect information, analyse it, and advise the relevant authority," Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, deputy head of the Sudan People's Liberation Mo vement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), also a deputy speaker, said on Sunday.
"It is nowhere in the constitution mentioned that they can engage in armed conflict, arrest and detain without a warrant, or intimidate and harass citizens."
The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said the amendments should have opened up civic space after Juba acceded to an international rights covenant in February, but have done the opposite.
It said in a statement that the law will "entrench arbitrary detention and further repression" by the NSS, calling for it to be sent back to the assembly.
➤ Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.
