UN flags executive interference in Machar’s trial as 2018 peace crumbles

JUBA – The United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has raised alarm over what it describes as executive interference in the ongoing trial of opposition leader Riek Machar and seven other co-accused figures, warning that the country’s 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement is systematically being dismantled by political and military leaders in government.

Presenting its latest findings before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Commission said South Sudan is facing a heightened risk of renewed armed conflict, mass atrocity crimes, and grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Central to its concerns is what it termed a politicized prosecution of opposition leaders, marred by due process violations and signs of interference by the executive branch.

Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández said the detention and prosecution of opposition figures revealed “serious and extensive violations of due process,” including detention without charge or legal representation for more than five months. He also cited prejudicial public statements by senior government officials and the unexplained dismissal of chief justices and justice ministers during the proceedings.

“These actions indicate executive interference,” Fernández said, adding that the judiciary’s failure to address what he described as unlawful detentions underscores the gravity of the situation. He called for the immediate release of those unlawfully deprived of liberty, in accordance with applicable law.

The Commission linked the alleged interference in Machar’s camp to a broader pattern of dismantling the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), which formally ended the country’s five-year civil war. The report, based on investigations conducted in 2025, documents what it calls a systematic erosion of the agreement’s core provisions, including security arrangements, political inclusion, and the rule of law.

Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission, warned that instead of consolidating peace, South Sudan has experienced “an alarming regression.” She accused government forces of carrying out widespread and systematic attacks against civilians, including unlawful killings and indiscriminate aerial bombardments of civilian homes and medical facilities.

According to the report, airstrikes conducted by the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), reportedly with support from Ugandan forces, have reached levels unprecedented since the pre-independence wars. Many of the bombings targeted areas declared “hostile” by the ruling party, including opposition-affiliated regions predominantly inhabited by Nuer communities.

The Commission also documented incidents of conflict-related sexual violence, abductions, and the forcible recruitment of boys and young men, particularly in Juba, where some were allegedly transported north to fight. These acts, the Commission said, may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law.

Commissioner Barney Afako described the pattern of air and ground attacks on civilians as integral to the ruling party’s systematic dismantling of the peace deal. “When leaders treat negotiated peace commitments as expendable, they create conditions in which violence flourishes. South Sudan is at a dangerous crossroads,” he said.

The Commission further noted that more than three million people remain internally displaced, while civic space continues to shrink. In such an environment, Sooka said, credible elections are unrealistic.

Calling for an immediate ceasefire and full implementation of the peace agreement, the Commission urged neighboring countries and regional actors to increase pressure on South Sudan’s leadership to halt military offensives, recommit to the cessation of hostilities, and restore respect for the rule of law.

Without urgent corrective measures, the UN body warned, South Sudan risks sliding toward state failure, with dire consequences for regional stability and the rights and dignity of its citizens.