United Nations S/2019/897 Security Council Distr.: General 22 November 2019 Original: English Letter dated 20 November 2019 from the Panel of Experts on South Sudan addressed to the President of the Security Council The members of the Panel of Experts extended pursuant to Security Council resolution 2471 (2019) have the honour to transmit herewith the interim report, submitted in accordance with paragraph 3 of the resolution The report was provided to the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015) on 1 November 2019 and was considered by the Committee on 18 November 2019. The Panel would appreciate it if the present letter and the interim report were brought to the attention of the members of the Security Council and issued as a document of the Council. (Signed) Emilio Manfredi Coordinator Panel of Experts on South Sudan (Signed) Mark Ferullo Expert (Signed) Dean Gillespie Expert (Signed) Andrei Kolmakov Expert 19-19061 (E) 221119 *1919061* S/2019/897 Interim report of the Panel of Experts on South Sudan submitted pursuant to resolution 2471 (2019) Summary More than a year after the signing of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, the selective implementation of and inconsistent international support for the Agreement have led to a dangerous stalemate. This has left millions of vulnerable and suffering civilians, across the country and in refugee camps, waiting for a political breakthrough in a deadlocked peace process that risks reversing the recent relative security and humanitarian gains. The signatories to the Agreement have not demonstrated sufficient political will, trust and urgency to compromise on outstanding issues to facilitate the legitimate formation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity. In particular, the incumbent Government has demonstrated limited willingness to compromise over issues related to the transitional security arrangements, the reunification of the army and the number of states and their boundaries. International efforts to break the impasse have been focused more on supporting face-to-face meetings between the President, Salva Kiir, and Riek Machar and on reaching an agreement on the formation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity than on finding an understanding on the narrow set of outstanding issues. To date, mediation efforts have not advanced implementation of the Agreement. Over the past year, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and Member States neighbouring South Sudan, specifically Ethiopia, Kenya, the Sudan and Uganda, have not demonstrated full and consistent engagement in the peace process. The Government, in particular, has benefited from the inconsistent approach of the region. The Government has been unwilling to allocate sufficient resources to fully implement the pre-transitional provisions, especially the security arrangements. The South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) have not cantoned their fighters or supplied sufficient forces for the necessary unified forces. Meanwhile, the Panel of Experts on South Sudan has corroborated information that in the past year the National Security Service has recruited, outside the security arrangements of the Agreement, a force of at least 10,000 fighters from communities in the former Warrap State. The Government also has pursued a strategy to split and co-opt the leadership of both signatories and non-signatories to the Agreement. The Panel has corroborated the fact that in Maiwut State the Government has taken advantage of an internal conflict within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-Army in Opposition to weaken its power base. The Government has also attempted to weaken the new alliance of non-signatories, the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance, while continuing to conduct a military offensive on the ground against one of its members, the National Salvation Front. The Government risks undermining the ceasefire with this strategy. Humanitarian access has improved after a year of relative security across many parts of the country. However, the population is yet to experience the dividends of peace. The Panel found evidence of continued human rights violations, including child recruitment in the former Unity and Warrap States, and the deliberate use of sexual and gender-based violence in the former Unity and Central Equatoria States. The political and civic space has remained closed. In particular, the National Security Service has continued to arrest members of civil society, without due process, and to detain political activists, such as Peter Biar Ajak and Kerbino Wol Agok. 2/33 19-19061 S/2019/897 Signatories have not prioritized aspects of the Agreement concerning human rights and accountability and underlying causes of the conflict, such as the competition for natural and public resources. The Government has not increased transparency and oversight in the financial management of the country’s oil and non-oil revenues. The illicit exploitation and trade of natural resources has continued. For instance, the Panel has found that the leadership of both the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition and SSPDF in areas under their control in the former Central Equatoria and Eastern Equatoria States have continued to illegally exploit and trade in timber. The region has not consistently enforced the arms embargo or the asset freeze and travel ban on sanctioned individuals. The Panel has corroborated evidence of the presence of Ugandan military forces in various areas of Yei River State, including a deployment in October 2019, which violated the arms embargo. 19-19061 3/33 S/2019/897 Contents Page Abbreviations .................................................................. 6 I. Background .................................................................... 7 A. Mandate and travel .......................................................... 7 B. Methodology ............................................................... 7 C. Cooperation with Member States, international organizations and other stakeholders ........ 7 II. Update on conflict dynamics and armed groups ......................................... 8 A. Peace implementation and armed groups .......................................... 8 B. Regional developments and context ............................................. 12 III. Arms and implementation of the arms embargo ......................................... 13 IV. Violations of international humanitarian law and human rights ............................. 13 A. Humanitarian access and food insecurity .......................................... 14 B. Recruitment of children in conflict .............................................. 14 C. Sexual and gender-based violence ............................................... 14 D. Human rights violations and accountability ........................................ 15 V. Finance and natural resources ...................................................... 16 A. Transitional Government and public resources ..................................... 16 B. Non-oil revenue collection .................................................... 17 C. Oil sector transparency ....................................................... 17 D. Case studies on the exploitation of timber by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in 19 Opposition and the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces ............................ VI. Implementation of the asset freeze and travel ban ....................................... 20 A. Asset freeze ................................................................ 20 B. Travel ban ................................................................. 20 VII. Conclusion .................................................................... 21 VIII. Recommendations ............................................................... 21 Annexes* I. Communiqué of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Council of Ministers on the 23 consultation meeting of the parties to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan ................................................................... II. Case study on internal fighting among the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-Army in 25 Opposition in Maiwut State ........................................................ III. National Security Service recruitment and training outside the pre-transitional security arrangements 28 of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan ................ IV. Serious human rights abuses that led to the standoff on 7 October 2019 at the Blue House ........ 29 V. Gold in South Sudan ............................................................. 30 * Circulated in the language of submission only and without formal editing. 4/33 19-19061 S/2019/897 VI. Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning letter of dismissal of the Commissioner General of the 32 National Revenue Authority ....................................................... VII. Participation of Gabriel Jok Riak (SSi.001) in the opening and closing of the East African 33 Community games ............................................................... 19-19061 5/33 S/2019/897 Abbreviations IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development NAS National Salvation Front NGO Non-governmental organization SPLA Sudan People’s Liberation Army SPLA-IO Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition SPLM Sudan People’s Liberation Movement SPLM/A-IO Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-Army in Opposition