Author: Aditi Agarwal, Student at Jindal Global Law School
ABSTRACT
Despite its independence, South Sudan remains embroiled in a state of war that is now being fought on a national scale. With constant attacks being launched in the state, citizens are bearing the bulk of the damage and suffering far more casualties than the parties involved. Being a party to all four Geneva Conventions as well as Additional Protocols, South Sudan is mandated to comply with the provisions provided under International Humanitarian Law for non-international armed conflict, one of them being prohibition of targeted attacks on the civilian population, including individual civilians. Applying the law as provided under Article 3 common and Additional Protocol II, it can be concluded that the armed conflict between the state forces and the rebels in the state have resulted in serious violations of the same. To ensure that such occurrence does not take place in the future, it becomes imperative that the violators from both sides are made accountable and adequate measures are taken to ensure protection of the citizens.
