A/HRC/43/56 Transitional Constitution. Based on the Commission’s findings, there is sufficient evidence to hold to account both individuals and entities involved for the violations of abovementioned fundamental rights and freedoms. B. Enforced disappearance, abduction and torture 82. Civilians in Western Bahr el Ghazal, Unity and Central Equatoria observed persistent fighting, with upsurges in April, June and August 2019 marked by an increase in scale and severity of violations, in particular abduction and enforced disappearances. Witnesses indicated that disappearances were characterized by prior inter-ethnic conflict and the presence of armed groups in these regions. 83. The Commission continued to gather evidence in the case of human rights lawyer Dong Samuel Luak and opposition politician Aggrey Idri who disappeared from the streets of Nairobi, Kenya in January 2017. By multiple accounts, the two men were reportedly transferred unlawfully to South Sudan with the involvement of the South Sudanese security services. On 9 April 2019, the United Nations Panel of Experts reported the men were killed in the NSS detention and training facility in Luri, part of a presidential and security service complex approximately 20 kilometres west of Juba. Violations and alleged crimes - findings 84. The Commission has encountered families of victims who have disappeared while in the custody of the government or after having been abducted by armed opposition. 269 Unfortunately, in all cases identified, and despite the repeated inquiries by family members and relatives, neither the fate nor whereabouts of these individuals has been determined, as the government as well as opposition groups have refused to acknowledge the arrest and detention of such individuals. 85. South Sudanese authorities have repeatedly denied disappeared persons the right to recognition as a person before the law, depriving them and their families of the capacity to exercise rights and to access remedies for rights violations. 86. Through acts of enforced disappearance, South Sudanese authorities further violated other fundamental rights the rights to a fair trial and judicial guarantees. South Sudan has failed in its duty to investigate in good faith all allegations of human rights violations, in particular where the authorities alone had the relevant information, as is often the case if persons subjected to enforced disappearance. VI. Accountability and transitional justice A. Accountability 87. Entrenched impunity and a lack of accountability for gross human rights violations and abuses, serious violations of international humanitarian law and international crimes continues to characterize the human rights situation in South Sudan. The persistent failure to address violations and abuses of the past, on-going denial and a profound lack of political will to hold individuals and groups accountable, has been the key driver of violence. The Commission’s findings confirm that impunity remains deeply entrenched and that victims continued to be denied their right to an effective remedy and reparations. 88. The Commission finds that there have been no effective criminal investigations into the numerous violations documented in its previous reports and by other organizations. Undoubtedly, the lack of political will at the highest level of government to hold perpetrators accountable, and persistent interference by the government in judicial matters are the chief obstacles to accountability. Moreover, existing investigative bodies often lack independence and transparency. Flawed procedures mean that prosecutors often decline to initiate investigations and prosecutions in the absence of formal complaints by victims, who fear stigma, reprisals and victimization. Known individuals, having committed grave 269 Since only States can become party to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the Commission uses the term “abduction” to denote similar acts carried out by members of armed groups. 43