A/HRC/40/CRP.1 The President issued a Decree ordering the immediate release of all political detainees and “prisoners of war” on 27 September 2018.169 The Government has since released some political detainees but it has not identified many of those released or published a list of those released, so it has been difficult to monitor these releases. Nevertheless, the ICRC confirmed that it had supervised the release of 24 detainees in Juba on 19 October.170 The Commission attended the release of another 16 “prisoners of war” by the SPLA Military Intelligence in Wau on the same day.171 SPLM-IO’s former Governor of Kapoeta State (Eastern Equatoria), Marko Lokidor Lochapio and four others were released by the NSS on 25 October 2018.172 Lokidor was reportedly abducted from Kakuma Refugee camp in Kenya at the end of December 2017, handed over to the NSS, and detained for 10 months.173 On 2 November 2018, the Government released James Gatdet Dak, former spokesman for SPLA-IO Chairman Riek Machar, who was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya and illegally deported to South Sudan in November 2016 and William Endley, a former adviser to former First Vice President Riek Machar, who was arrested in Juba in August 2016. Both men had previously been sentenced to death and had served time in the NSS headquarters and Juba Central Prison.174 Despite these releases by the Government, the Commission received information that some of those who were released by the Government as political detainees were not detained on the basis of their political affiliation, but rather as a disciplinary measure for professional misconduct within the State security forces. Further, several high profile political detainees remain in detention, including Peter Biar Ajak, a political activist who was detained by the NSS at Juba International Airport on 28 July 2018,175 and Dong Samuel Luak and Aggrey Izbon Idris, who were members of the opposition and reportedly arrested in Nairobi, Kenya and unlawfully transferred to NSS headquarters in Juba in January 2017.176 With respect to the latter two, in a meeting with the Government of South Sudan, the Commission raised the issue of the transfer and removal of Dong Samuel Luak and Aggrey Izbon Idris from Kenya, however, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation denied having any knowledge of their whereabouts, stating that the Commission should make inquiries of the Government of Kenya.177 However, at least eight witnesses the Commission spoke to indicated that they saw Aggrey Izbon Idris and Dong Samuel Luak in NSS custody in South Sudan shortly after they disappeared in Nairobi. By early November 2018, the SPLA-IO had also released four detainees under their custody and another was released in Western Equatoria.178 Further treatment of issues relating to political detainees and “prisoners of war” may be found in the section “Securitization of the State: Arbitrary Detention, Forced Disappearance, Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment”. 7. Economy The economy continues to face significant challenges. The economy is expected to contract by 3.5 percent in 2018, which is a smaller contraction than the year before (6.9 percent contraction in 2017).179 South Sudan continues to be highly dependent on oil, Sudan Tribune, “South Sudan president orders to release PoWs and detainees”, 28 September 2018. ICRC, “South Sudan: ICRC facilitates release of 24 detainees”, 19 October 2018. 171 See also CTSAMVM Technical Committee Fourth Meeting Notes, 7-8 November 2018. 172 Radio Tamazuj, “Government releases five detainees, including ex-Governor”, 25 October 2018; Radio Tamazuj, “Authorities urged to hand over Marko Lokidor to ICRC in Juba”, 26 October 2018; Confidential Document, ERN D114861-D114861; Confidential Document, D114938-D114938; CTSAMVM, Technical Committee Fourth Meeting Minutes, 7-8 November 2018. 173 Sudan Tribune, “South Sudan rebel appointed governor abducted in Kenya”, 1 January 2018; Radio Tamazuj, “South Sudanese Opposition Governor Abducted in Kenya”, 31 December 2017. 174 JMEC, Progress Report No. 3 on the Implementation Status of the R-ARCSS 2018, 5 November 2018. 175 Al Jazeera, “Amid peace efforts, South Sudan arrests activist Peter Biar Ajak”, 15 August 2018. 176 Radio Tamazuj, “Family urges President Kiir to release Dong Samuel”, 18 November 2018. 177 Meeting with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Juba, 7 December 2018. 178 JMEC, Progress Report No. 3 on the Implementation Status of the R-ARCSS 2018, 5 November 2018; CTSAMVM, Technical Committee Fourth Meeting Minutes, 7-8 November 2018. 179 World Bank, “South Sudan Economic Update”, July 2018. 169 170 29