The human tragedy that has occurred in South Sudan since mid-December 2013 has been widely reported. In brief, a political struggle in South Sudan’s dominant political party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, erupted at a party conference on December 15 in the capital of Juba. The struggle immediately turned into a fast-spreading conflict along ethnic lines. Despite two agreed upon ceasefires, large-scale military operations and ethnic killings continue on all sides. Schools, hospitals, churches and mosques have been targeted, and civilians, including women, children and the elderly, have been brutally murdered.

The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative has conducted an assessment to examine existing and potential justice, accountability and reconciliation measures that could respond to the current conflict in South Sudan. The following report sets forth the main findings of the assessment and concludes with a detailed set of recommendations that describes an integrated strategy providing for mechanisms that can investigate and prosecute perpetrators, establish the truth about how violations occurred and advance reconciliation efforts in the country.