South Sudan
This country page describes, in brief, data that TJET has compiled on regime transitions, intrastate conflict episodes, and transitional justice mechanisms. For details on the data included on this page, view the FAQ.
For South Sudan, TJET has collected information on: five amnesties between 2010 and 2018; 14 domestic trials starting between 2011 and 2020; one truth commission mandated in 2018; and one vetting policy starting in 2015.
Select any transitional justice mechanism in the table below to view a timeline in the figure.
Country Background
Democratic Transition
TJET records no democratic transitions in South Sudan between 1970 and 2020.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011. It has not had any regime transitions since it became a country in 2011. However, it suffered from a civil war from 2013 until 2018 in which forces loyal to the president fought each other for power. Although a power sharing agreement signed between the rival factions in 2018 called for elections, none have yet been held. The country is anocratic, mired in a state of perpetual corruption and war.
Violent Conflict
Based on the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, TJET records five violent intrastate conflict episodes between 2011 and 2020, involving five distinct armed opposition groups fighting against the government. One conflict episode was internationalized by involvement of external state actors.
Prior to South Sudan’s independence, Sudan suffered two periods of civil war, one from 1955-1972 and another from 1983-2005, caused by the southern region being left out of the political system. More than 2.5 million people died in these wars.
Following the second civil war, in 2005, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement and the Government of Sudan signed The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (Naivasha Agreement), which stipulated that a referendum on independence be held in six years. That referendum took place in 2011, and 98% of the South Sudanese population voted to secede. At the point, the peace agreement had achieved intermediate-level implementation overall, though the provisions on human rights and post-conflict truth and reconciliation were at best minimally implemented.
In 2013, a civil war broke out in newly independent South Sudan when President Salva Kiir dismissed Vice President Riek Machar, prompting fighting between their supporters. The country was divided along ethnic lines because Kiir is a Dinka and Machar is a Nuer, and the resultant war between the incumbent government of South Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) cost at least 300,000 lives. In 2017, civilians faced a famine, and are at continued risk of famine today. Nearly 4 million people have been displaced.
In August 2018, the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) was signed, temporarily ending the fighting. However, implementation of the peace agreement mostly stalled. Although elections were scheduled for December 2022, they were delayed to late 2023, and delayed again to summer 2024. Violence levels have again erupted, and 7 million South Sudanese out of the country’s 11 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
In August 2022, the parties to the R-ARCSS power sharing agreement agreed to extend the transitional period by two years until February 2025.
Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions. Source: UCDP Dyadic Dataset version 23.1, https://ucdp.uu.se/downloads/index.html#dyadic.
Transitional Justice Data
As of 2020, South Sudan ranks 1st out of 174 on TJET’s legacy of violence index. For a full list of country rankings over time, view the index page, and for an explanation of the index, view the Methods & FAQs page.
Amnesties
South Sudan had five amnesties between 2010 and 2018. Three were passed during ongoing internal armed conflict. Two were passed after internal armed conflict. One was part of the R-ARCSS peace agreement. One amnesty in 2015 forgave human rights violations.
Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions.
Domestic Trials
TJET has compiled data on 14 domestic prosecutions between 2011 and 2020. These include five regular human rights prosecutions of state agents, in which no one was convicted; and nine intrastate conflict prosecutions of state agents, in which one person was convicted. In two trials that involved high-ranking state agents, no one was convicted. Chapter V of the 2018 R-ARCSS called for a Hybrid Court for South Sudan (HCSS), but no such mechanisms has been created.
Click on accused records for data on convictions. Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions.
Truth Commissions
South Sudan mandated one truth commission in 2018. Chapter V of the 2018 R-ARCSS peace agreement called for the establishment of the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing (CTRH) “as a critical part of the peace building process in South Sudan, to spearhead efforts to address the legacy of conflicts, promote peace, national reconciliation and healing.” Though there has been a great deal of preparation, the legislation to establish the CTRH has not been adopted.
Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions.
Vetting Policies
South Sudan had one vetting policy, starting in 2015; TJET found no information on whether or when the policy ended. This policy provided sanctions based on past individual conduct.
Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions.
UN Investigations
South Sudan was subject to five UN investigations between 2015 and 2023. Five investigations aimed to encourage domestic prosecutions.
Data up to 2020. Hover over column labels for definitions.