UN rights experts warn violence against media increased in South Sudan

The frequency of attacks and violence committed against journalists and media workers in South Sudan is on the rise and has reached a critical level, two United Nations human rights experts warned Thursday.

The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye, and Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Christof Heyns, condemned the latest killing of a South Sudanese journalist, the seventh so far this year.

On Aug. 19, Peter Moi, who worked for various newspapers and media outlets in South Sudan, was shot dead in Juba by two unidentified assailants as he made his way home from work. Earlier in May, a radio journalist based in Aboko was also killed in an attack by unknown perpetrators.

Kaye said any threats or attacks were completely unacceptable and only embolden perpetrators to commit further violence against journalists with impunity, urging the country's authorities to promote a safe and enabling environment for them to perform their work independently and without interference.

Meanwhile, Heyns said political leaders had a duty to refrain from making provocative statements against journalists and government must take measures to prevent such killings and to conduct thorough, prompt and impartial investigations of all cases of summary executions of journalists in the country since the beginning of the year.

The human rights experts warned that targeting media independence produced a "chilling effect" that could deter the legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression and opinion and the right to seek, impart, and receive information.

They urged the government of South Sudan to take immediate steps to allow space for open debate and freedom of expression. Endit