A/HRC/45/CRP.4 Persisting impunity and weak capacity for accountability at the domestic level 52. Civil society participants raised concerns regarding capacity of the judiciary, in its current state, to handle the magnitude of conflict-related violations, interference of the executive in accountability processes, and lack of independence of judicial officers. As such, impunity for conflict-related violations has continued in the absence of a HCSS or other domestic mechanisms to pursue effective investigations and prosecutions. 53. Notably, participants echoed concerns of persisting impunity for conflict-related sexual violence. Extensive documentation has been done in emblematic cases since 2013, some resulting in Government-led inquiries, but no meaningful action has been taken by the state to guarantee prosecution of perpetrators. The Terrain Hotel case is the only known prosecution of conflict-related sexual violence in South Sudan, to date. 54. Colonel Mayiel Chamtang, the lead Prosecutor in the Terrain case, informed participants that his prosecution in the military court and resulted in the conviction of 10 SPLA soldiers and NSS officers for charges of sexual violence against six foreign humanitarian workers, murder of a South Sudanese journalist, and theft and robbery during attacks against civilians in Juba in July 2016. However, civil society participants asserted that it was a confluence of political factors, including pressure from the international community and a fallout within the SPLM/A leadership, that led to the eventual prosecution and conviction of the military soldiers in the Terrain case in September 2018. 55. Participants agreed that the Terrain case confirmed that even with practical challenges, domestic accountability is feasible where political will and state support exists. However, since then, the Government of South Sudan has maintained a public stance of willingness to pursue accountability against perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence, while effectively turning a blind eye to several cases reported prior to and following the Terrain case. 56. A good governance activist, from a civil society organisation, informed participants that efforts to hold perpetrators of sexual violence committed by military forces against women and girls in Kubi village in February 2017 and Bentiu in November 2018 have stalled. Five low-ranking soldiers were arrested in 2018 for alleged involvement in the Kubi attacks following military investigations, but there has been no further progress since. Participants were informed that women in Juba protested in the hundreds and presented a petition to the Minister for Justice to demand for accountability in the Bentiu incidences. A Governmentled committee of inquiry was established by President Kiir in December 2018 to investigate these allegations. The committee submitted its report to the President in May 2009. The findings of the inquiry however have never been made public and no individuals have been charged for the related crimes. Instead, the Government issued verbal communication asserting that no rapes took place in Bentiu. 57. Paulino Wanawilla Unango, the Minister for Justice, however, reported that more than 400 conflict-related cases involving SSPDF officers had already been concluded, but had not been given the same coverage as the Terrain Hotel case. 58. The recent establishment of specialised courts for sexual and gender-based violence and juvenile justice in Juba in 2019 presents a promising opportunity to improve accountability. However, some of the civil society participants were concerned that the mandate of these specialised courts does not explicitly extend to 2013 conflict-related violations. Nonetheless, the discussions emphasised the need to consider the causes and consequences of peace time and conflict-related sexual violence in a continuum rather than as isolated concerns. Additional measures should also be established to support the rehabilitation of victims and survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, including persisting psychological trauma. 59. Participants heard from civil society presentations on the mobile courts – learning that they were re-established in 2018 with support from UNMISS and the UNDP, in collaboration with the South Sudan Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. David Deng, an independent Transitional Justice researcher on South Sudan, reported that the mobile courts have, thus far, held proceedings in more than 10 areas where protracted conflict resulted in significant neglect of the justice system and delayed trials. Mr. Deng informed participants 39