The Director General
National Communication Authority (NCA)
Gumbo Juba
Republic of South Sudan
cc: MTN South Sudan CEO Ali Monzer
Zain South Sudan CEO Basel Manasrah
Digitel South Sudan Executive Vice President De Chan Awuol (Athiei)
24 January 2024
To the Director General,
RE: Social Media Ban – 22 January 2024
We, the members of the Net Rights Coalition (NRC), write to express our concern about the instruction to South Sudanese Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to all social media accounts for a minimum of 30 days on grounds of promoting public safety from ‘unprecedented levels of extreme violence through social media posts,’ culminating from the upheaval in Sudan. Internet Service Providers have issued statements alerting subscribers that they have suspended access to social media platforms such as Facebook and Tik Tok in response to a Directive circulating on social media, allegedly issued by the South Sudanese National Communication Authority. The NRC is a pan-African coalition of Internet freedom activists who share knowledge and experiences to combat digital rights threats, please note our interest in this matter.
We are concerned about the impact of such a broad and far-reaching measure on South Sudan’s commitment to democratic principles and the domestic and international human rights instruments to which the country is a party. The most important of these is the South Sudan Transitional Constitution Article 24 (1) which grants South Sudanese “the right to the freedom of expression, reception and dissemination of information, publication, and access to the press without prejudice to public order, safety or morals as prescribed by law.” However, despite freedom of expression and the right to access information being entrenched in the South Sudanese Constitution, these rights were imperilled by the government’s directive to block social media accounts on 22 January 2025.
This regrettable move is yet another instance of South Sudan’s backsliding on digital democracy, consistent with past restrictions in 2021 after activists called for anti-corruption protests against the government, demanding the resignation of President Salva Kiir.
The Net Rights Coalition also reminds the South Sudanese government of its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), which guarantees the protection of these fundamental human rights. We also remind the government of South Sudan of Principle 38 (2) of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, which highlights that States shall not engage in or condone any disruption of access to the internet and other digital technologies for segments of the public or an entire population. South Sudan’s non-compliance with the declaration is worrying and adds the Republic to the alarming number of governments in the Global South that initiate internet shutdowns during periods of civil unrest, to silence the masses. South Sudan joins Mauritius, Mauritania, Comoros, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Kenya which face a decline in democracy after shutting down the internet in 2024.
We want to remind the South Sudan government of the court rulings that confirm the internet as an enabler of human rights and of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC)’s General Comment No. 34 Paragraph 43 on Article 19 of the ICCPR, which states that no internet restrictions are permissible unless provided by law. Globally, internet shutdowns have a record of disrupting the free flow of information and allowing repression to occur without scrutiny and we remind the government of South Sudan to stand guided by the court decisions that have set precedence on this matter. In June 2020, the ECOWAS Court ruled on a case involving the Togolese government, which had implemented internet shutdowns during anti-government protests in 2017 and found that the internet shutdown violated the applicant’s right to freedom of expression. In a subsequent case, the ECOWAS Court condemned Guinea for shutting down the internet and blocking social media platforms during political protests in March and October 2020.
This blatant violation of human rights is not justifiable or compatible with international human rights laws and standards. It is not compliant with the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights Resolution 580 on Internet Shutdowns and Elections in Africa which was adopted this year to guide African States to refrain from Internet shutdowns during elections. Furthermore, we advise the government of South Sudan not to order Internet Service Providers to shut down the internet as this goes against ISPs’ corporate responsibilities to respect human rights in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. These Guiding Principles are grounded in recognition of:
- States’ existing obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights and fundamental freedoms;
- The role of business enterprises as specialised organs of society performing specialised functions, required to comply with all applicable laws and to respect human rights;
- The need for rights and obligations to be matched to appropriate and effective remedies when breached.
In this light, instructed restrictions on social media have the result of interfering with the Guiding Principles. Moreover, internet service providers also have a duty to disclose any government orders to shut down or restrict access to the Internet showing responsibility and commitment to human rights.
As such, we call for the following:
- The government of South Sudan through the NCA or any other agency to refrain from ordering any internet restrictions in response to civil unrest.
- An official commitment from the NCA that it will not order any internet restrictions in the future as a guarantee of non-recurrence.
- The government of South Sudan to desist from ordering Internet Service Providers to block all social media sites as this goes against ISPs corporate responsibilities to respect human rights.
We look forward to your action and response.
Signed by:
Accountability Lab Nigeria
Afia-Amani Grands-Lacs
Afroleadership – Cameroon
Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative
Camer Today
Digicivic Initiative
Digital Action
Human Rights Journalists Network Nigeria
Kigali Human Rights Attorneys
Knowledge House (KHA)
Koneta Hub
Paradigm Initiative
Rwanda Youth Clubs for Peace and Human Rights.
West African Digital Rights Defenders Coalition
Youth and Society (YAS) – Malawi
Tech & Media Convergency (TMC)
TheSaferNet Initiative