The Memo: South Sudanese security compromised as controversial new bill becomes law

Occupying a substantial, landlocked space caught between the cusp of Central and East Africa lies South Sudan, an African Republic recently devastated by a civil war that started back in 2013. The conflict concluded in the spring of 2018, but its aftermath suddenly revealed the brutal reality of what had been and what remains one of the world’s greatest atrocities. With over 400,000 dead (10.6% of whom were children), four million displaced, and over six million facing impending starvation in the agricultural heartlands of the country’s south, the International Monetary Fund reported that the average household income had halved while inflation shot up a staggering 300%. 

The peace agreement was signed six years ago, and South Sudan was set to usher in a new era of civic and democratic potential. However, a controversial new law has just passed, dampening the mood of what was a hopeful political culture. This legislation permits the arrest of citizens without official warrants, meaning arbitrary arrest or confrontation by security and military personnel becomes a very real possibility. To complicate things further, President Salva Kiir Mayardit neither signed nor vetoed the law since the law was proposed in mid-July. As the nation’s constitution states that the President has 30 days to respond, this means that the bill has automatically become law. 

This has drawn global criticism from foreign state representatives (including UK diplomats in the country) and human rights groups, who have emphasised the vulnerability of the population to the ever-tightening power of the transitional government. The political progress made by South Sudan in the wake of the destitution of yesteryear now seems blighted by a bill that looks like a major step backwards. Commitments had been made to the international community to build a greater sense of legitimacy and freedom for South Sudanese citizens and, with the election still planned for later this year, it remains unclear if the situation will have worsened by then.