Systemic government corruption and predation by South Sudan’s political elites have unleashed an immense human rights crisis that demands urgent action, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said in a report released September 16, according to a press-released by OHCHR.
The report “Plundering a Nation: How Rampant Corruption Unleashed a Human Rights Crisis in South Sudan” documents how oil and non-oil revenues get siphoned off through opaque schemes while millions lack basic services. Commission Chairperson Yasmin Sooka called corruption “the engine of South Sudan’s decline” that drives hunger, collapses health systems, and causes preventable deaths while fueling deadly conflicts over resources.
The government has received over $25.2 billion in oil revenues alone since 2011, yet systemic corruption means hardly any money reaches essential services. International donors now spend more on South Sudan’s basic services than the government itself, with the country ranking last on both the UN Human Development Index and Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. Education, public health, and justice systems remain in crisis with most civil servants underpaid or unpaid entirely.
Budget practices overwhelmingly favor political elites over citizens’ needs. Between July 2020 and June 2024, the Ministry of Presidential Affairs overspent its allocation by 584%, reaching $557 million. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry received just 19% of its allocation at $29 million, Agriculture got only 7% at $11 million, and Gender and Social Welfare received merely $3.7 million across four years.
The report highlights corruption schemes like the “Oil for Roads” program that funneled an estimated $2.2 billion off-budget into patronage networks. Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández noted three-quarters of child deaths are preventable, yet funds go to “patronage and private pockets, not medicine or clean water.”
