A/HRC/40/CRP.1 were no cases before it in relation to the incident.1282 The Commission has been unable to confirm whether there have been any cases in the criminal system. C. Western Bahr el Ghazal State, 2018 1. Background Western Bahr el Ghazal is an ethnically mixed state which includes the Fertit, Lou and Dinka communities who have a history of conflict stretching back to the struggle for South Sudanese independence.1283 The Fertit did not initially join the SPLA when it was formed in the 1980s due to fears of Dinka domination and instead formed a Fertit militia called Qwat Salem which resulted in fighting between the two groups in the late 1980s.1284 The Khartoum government supported the Qwat Salem as a means of containing the SPLA without having to deploy their own troops, which gave rise to a common perception among Dinka that the Fertit fought and voted against independence. However, the Fertit joined the fight for independence in 1991 eventually integrated into the SPLA.1285 Ethnic tensions increased again in October 2012 when the then-Governor of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Brigadier General Rizik Zarkaria Hassan, transferred the headquarters of Wau County to Baggari, a small town to the southwest of Wau town with little infrastructure, which was perceived by many as a move to transfer land and power to the Dinka.1286 The decision resulted in protests, which turned violent in December 2012 and resulted in protesters being detained, injured, and killed.1287 On 24 December 2012, President Kiir gave a speech in the Wau football stadium, in which he expressed support for the Governor and the move of the county capital, which many Fertit perceived as inflammatory and a threat.1288 Shortly thereafter, a number of politicians who had opposed the move were arrested and detained.1289 Following the outbreak of the conflict in 2013 and the division of Western Bahr el Ghazal into two states (Lol and Wau States) in 28 States Decree in October 2015, 1290 which 1282 Meeting with General Court Martial, 6 December 2018. Human Rights Watch, “The People of Wau and Dinka-Fertit Rivalry” in Famine in Sudan, 1998, 8 February 1999; Human Rights Watch, “South Sudan: Civilians Killed, Tortured in Western Region”, 24 May 2016; Sarah Vuylsteke, “Briefing Paper: Identity and Self-Determination: The Fertit Opposition in South Sudan”, Human Security Baseline Assessment for South Sudan and Sudan, Small Arms Survey, December 2018. 1284 Sarah Vuylsteke, “Briefing Paper: Identity and Self-Determination: The Fertit Opposition in South Sudan”, Human Security Baseline Assessment for South Sudan and Sudan, Small Arms Survey, December 2018. 1285 Sarah Vuylsteke, “Briefing Paper: Identity and Self-Determination: The Fertit Opposition in South Sudan”, Human Security Baseline Assessment for South Sudan and Sudan, Small Arms Survey, December 2018; Schomerus, Mareike and Tim Allen, “Southern Sudan at odds with itself: Dynamics of conflict and predicaments of peace”, LSE, 2009. 1286 Witness 878, ERN 101587-101592, paras. 8-12; Witness 953, ERN 101930–101935, para. 6; Witness 960, ERN 102089-102111, para. 5; Confidential Meeting, Wau, 1 December 2018; Confidential Meeting, Wau, 9 October 2018; Confidential Meeting, Wau, 29 November 2018; Republic of South Sudan, Report of the Investigation Committee on Wau Incident of 24-26th June 2016, 1 August 2016, ERN D101519-D101553, p. 7; Confidential Meeting, Wau, 26 October 2017; Sarah Vuylsteke, “Briefing Paper: Identity and Self-Determination: The Fertit Opposition in South Sudan”, Human Security Baseline Assessment for South Sudan and Sudan, Small Arms Survey, December 2018. 1287 Witness 953, ERN 101930–101935, paras. 6-8; Witness 960, ERN 102089-102111, para. 7; Sudan Tribune, “W. Bahr el Ghazal splits over transfer of County headquarters from Wau town”, 31 October 2012; Golla, Rajiv, “Reassessing Ethno-Political Calculus in South Sudan’s War”, December 2017; Sarah Vuylsteke, “Briefing Paper: Identity and Self-Determination: The Fertit Opposition in South Sudan”, Human Security Baseline Assessment for South Sudan and Sudan, Small Arms Survey, December 2018. 1288 Witness 878, ERN 101587-101592, para. 8; Confidential Meeting, Wau, 20 October 2018; Radio Tamazuj, “Calm conditions for President Kiir’s visit to Wau”, 24 December 2012; Sudan Tribune, “South Sudan president Kiir backs relocation of Wau county headquarters”, 25 December 2012; Amnesty International, “South Sudan: Civil Unrest and State Repression Human Rights Violations in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal State”, 2013; Golla, Rajiv, “Reassessing Ethno-Political Calculus in South Sudan’s War”, December 2017; Sarah Vuylsteke, “Briefing Paper: Identity and Self-Determination: The Fertit Opposition in South Sudan”, Human Security Baseline Assessment for South Sudan and Sudan, Small Arms Survey, December 2018. 1289 Witness 878, ERN 101587-101592, paras. 9-11; Enough Project, “Ethnic Tensions in Wau Spark Civil Unrest and Response from South Sudan Diaspora”, 11 January 2013, https://enoughproject.org/blog/ethnic-tensions-wau-spark-civil-unrest-andresponse-south-sudan-diaspora; Amnesty International, “South Sudan: Civil Unrest and State Repression Human Rights Violations in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal State”, 2013. 1290 Establishment Order No. 36/2015, 2 October 2015. 1283 162