JMEC Chief of Staff, Amb. Behanu Kebede accompanied by JMEC’s thematic advisors briefed the Commissioners on the status of the implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict of South Sudan (ARCSS) and on the JMEC Chairperson H.E. Festus Mogae’s engagements with the parties to the Agreement and other estranged groups, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member countries, Troika (USA, UK and Norway) and the United Nations, aimed at restoring peace in the country.

The officials who arrived in the country on Sunday were Chairperson of the Commission, Yasmin Sooka and Commissioner Dr. Godfrey Musila.

The Commission was established by the UN Human Rights Council through resolution 31/20 of 23 March 2016 for a period of one year, to monitor and report on the situation of human rights in South Sudan and make recommendations for its improvement.

The Commission is also required to engage with other international and regional mechanisms, including the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), the United Nations, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, the African Union and its African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and civil society, with a view to providing support to national, regional and international efforts to promote accountability for human rights violations and abuses.

In addition to its existing tasks to monitor and report the situation of human rights in South Sudan, it is now mandated to determine and report the facts and circumstances of alleged gross violation and abuse of human rights.

The Commission reports to the Human Rights Council in March 2018, which will be shared with General Assembly and the African Union.