Take Action Now: Contact the joint FCO-DFID Minister for Africa, James Duddridge, MP, and urge him to leverage the information from the Sentry report on South Sudan to take action and focus on networks including those where British citizens are reportedly associated with senior government or military officials responsible for human rights violations or abuses in South Sudan.
Tell UK to Address Connections to Human Rights Violations and Corruption in South Sudan
The South Sudanese politicians and military officials ravaging the world newest nation did not act alone. In 2019 The Sentry published a groundbreaking investigative report exposing individuals and businesses in the United Kingdom, Asia, United States and elsewhere linked to profiteering and corruption that touches nearly every economic and government sector of the hijacked state of South Sudan. These companies, financial institutions, and corrupt individuals from all over the world are fueling and profiting from armed conflict in South Sudan.
Policymakers in the United Kingdom can target these corrupt networks through the use of powerful financial tools such as sanctions and anti-money laundering measures. Strong actions backed by robust enforcement that target entire networks, including international facilitators, and focus on spoilers undermining peace can help shift incentives away from pillage and plunder and in the direction of peace and good governance. In March 2020 the UK issued a National Crime Agency alert regarding illicit finance risks in South Sudan, and further action could help continue this shift.