South Sudan

Detains migrants or asylum seekers?

Yes

Has laws regulating migration-related detention?

Yes

Migration Detainee Entries

156

2022

Refugees

314,883

2023

Asylum Applications

2,606

2023

International Migrants

882,252

2020

Overview

South Sudan; South Sudan detains migrants and asylum seekers, and its 2012 Refugee Act provides for detention procedures. There are reports of arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention without due process, and abuse of migrants and refugees by government security forces and armed groups.

Types of facilities used for migration-related detention
Administrative Ad Hoc Criminal Unknown

South Sudan: Covid-19 and Detention

South Sudan is one of the largest countries of refugee origin in Africa. An , westimated 2.2 million South Sudanese have fled the country. At the same time, it hosts a considerable refugee population. According to the UNHCR, South Sudan was hosting 310,006 refugees as of November 2020, 98 percent of whom were living in […]

Read More…

UN News, “South Sudan: Coronavirus Cases Confirmed Inside UN Civilian Protection Site,” 13 May 2020, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/05/1064012
Last updated:

DETENTION STATISTICS

Migration Detainee Entries
156
2022
200
2021
Alternative Total Migration Detainee Entries
Not Available
Alternative Total Migration Detainees
Not Available
Reported Detainee Population (Day)
Not Available Not Available
Average Daily Detainee Population (year)
Not Available
Immigration Detainees as Percentage of Total Migrant population (Year)
Not Available

DETAINEE DATA

Countries of Origin (Year)
Number of Asylum Seekers Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
0
Number of Women Placed in Immigration Detention (year)
0
Total Number of Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
0
Number of Unaccompanied Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
0
Number of Accompanied Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
0
Number of Stateless Persons Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
0
Number of Deaths in Immigration Custody (year)
0
Cases of Self-Harming and Suicide Attempts in Immigration Custody (Year)
0

DETENTION CAPACITY

Total Immigration Detention Capacity
0
Immigration Detention Capacity (Specialised Immigration Facilities Only)
0
Number of Dedicated Immigration Detention Centres
0

ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION

Number of Detainees Referred to ATDs (Year)
0
Official ATD Absconder Rate (Percentage)(Year)
0
Number of People in ATDs on Given Day
0

ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA

Percentage of Detainees Released (year)
0
Percentage of Detainees Deported (year)
0
Number of Deportations/Forced Removals (Year)
0
Number of Voluntary Returns & Deportations (Year)
0
Percentage of Removals v. Total Removal Orders (Year)
Number of People Refused Entry (Year)
0
Number of Apprehensions of Non-Citizens (Year)
0

PRISON DATA

Criminal Prison Population (Year)
8,400
2021
6,504
2015
7,000
2013
Prison Population Rate (per 100,000 of National Population)
50
2021
52
2015
65
2012

POPULATION DATA

Population (Year)
11,198,001
2024
11,100,000
2023
11,200,000
2020
12,340,000
2015
International Migrants (Year)
882,252
2020
865,552
2019
824,100
2015
International Migrants as Percentage of Population (Year)
7.88
2020
6.7
2015
Refugees (Year)
314,883
2023
308,369
2022
333,673
2021
314,438
2020
298,309
2019
291,842
2018
283,409
2017
262,548
2016
263,016
2015
265,887
2015
248,152
2014
Ratio of Refugees Per 1000 Inhabitants (Year)
20.62
2016
20.83
2014
Asylum Applications (Year)
2,606
2023
2,137
2022
1,385
2019
1,055
2016
124
2014
Refugee Recognition Rate (Year)
83.3
2014
Stateless Persons (Year)
1,300
2023
10,500
2022
0
2016
0
2015

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS

Gross Domestic Product per Capita (in USD)
1,115
2014
Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) (in Millions USD)
1,964.2
2014
Human Development Index Ranking (UNDP)
191 (Low)
2021
169 (Low)
2015
World Bank Rule of Law Index
1 (-2.5)
2022

LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Does the Country Detain People for Migration, Asylum, or Citizenship Reasons?
Yes
2023
Unknown
2022
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
Yes
2023
Yes
2022
Legal Tradition(s)
Muslim law
2017
Common law
2017

GROUNDS FOR DETENTION

Children & Other Vulnerable Groups
Accompanied minors Yes
2022
Unaccompanied minors Yes
2022
Victims of trafficking Yes
2022

LENGTH OF DETENTION

DETENTION INSTITUTIONS

Custodial Authorities
(Ministry of Interior) Interior or Home Affairs
2024

PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS

Procedural Standards
Access to asylum procedures No
2022
Are Non-Custodial Measures/Alternatives to Detention (ATDs) Provided in Law?
Immigration Law: Yes
Asylum/Refugee Law: Unknown
2011
Does the Law Stipulate Consideration of Non-Custodial Measures (ATDs) before Imposing Detention?
Immigration Law: Yes
Asylum/Refugee Law: Unknown
2022
Types of Non-Custodial Measures (ATDs) Provided in Law
Supervised release and/or reporting (Yes)
2011

COSTS & OUTSOURCING

COVID-19 DATA

TRANSPARENCY

Global Detention Project/Partner Access to Information Requests/Results
2024 (https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/the-gdp-submits-information-request-to-the-government-of-south-sudan) Ministry of Interior, UN Mission in Geneva and Ministry of Labour. Pending
2024

MONITORING

NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOs)

GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES

INTERNATIONAL DETENTION MONITORING

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES

International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
2015
2017
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2015
2017
CRC, Convention on the Rights of the Child
2015
2017
OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2015
2015
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 6/19
Individual Complaints Procedures
Acceptance Year
CEDAW, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 1999 2015
2015
Ratio of Complaints Procedures Accepted
Observation Date
1/3
2017

> UN Special Procedures

Visits by Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council
Year of Visit
Observation Date
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children 2022
2022
2022
Relevant Recommendations or Observations by UN Special Procedures
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children 12.The Special Rapporteur heard reports of continuing abductions of women and girls, involving armed groups, for purposes of sexual slavery, forced labour and forced pregnancy that constitute trafficking in persons, including but not limited to contexts associated with conflict. The Special Rapporteur also heard reports of abductions and sexual violence against men and boys, including being held in detention settings for extended periods, that may amount to trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation and sexual slavery, including but not limited to the context of conflict. Conflict-related sexual violence against men and boys, including trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation, remains underreported. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that limited gender-sensitive and trauma-informed support and services are available to facilitate disclosure and reporting and ensure the provision of assistance, protection and reparations for such harms. 71.The Special Rapporteur highlights the absence of a provision on non-punishment of victims of trafficking and the lack of awareness among law enforcement and justice sector actors, immigration officials and border guards of the scope and content of the non-punishment principle. The lack of knowledge of practical applications of the non-punishment principle has resulted in victims of trafficking being arrested and detained, including at border crossings, and held in immigration-related detention. The application of the non-punishment principle to children affected by armed conflict, including in the context of recruitment and use by armed forces or armed groups, is not widely understood. 81.The Special Rapporteur is seriously concerned at the limited assistance and protection available to victims of trafficking, and the very limited awareness of the specific needs of trafficked persons and the obligation to provide gender-sensitive, trauma-informed and survivor-centred assistance, in both the short and longer term. The Special Rapporteur heard accounts of victims of trafficking, including sex workers, and foreign national victims of trafficking being held in detention and not being provided with any assistance or protection. 94. The prevention of trafficking in persons, especially women and children, is essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular to progressing gender equality, ending violence against children in all its forms, ending child labour and child marriage, ensuring just and fair conditions of work and decent work opportunities, reducing inequalities and strengthening peace and justice institutions. Trafficking in persons is a serious human rights violation and a serious crime that undermines and threatens the fragile processes of State-building and peacebuilding. 95. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government of South Sudan: (a) Ratify the Trafficking in Persons Protocol and core international and regional human rights treaties; (b) Adopt a human rights-compliant law on trafficking in persons that harmonizes current criminal law provisions and includes provisions on prevention, assistance and protection, effective investigations and partnerships with civil society; (c) Develop national referral mechanisms and minimum standard services to assist victims, including child-specific national referral mechanisms; (d) Develop a strategy for the elimination of all forms of trafficking in children, including in the context of armed conflict, displacement and climate change; (e) Strengthen action to prevent trafficking of persons with disabilities, in particular children with disabilities, and ensure that measures to combat trafficking and protect victims ensure the rights of persons with disabilities; (f) Strengthen capacity to identify, assist and protect child victims of trafficking, including through targeted legislation and enforcement of laws on child labour; 2023
2023
2022

> UN Universal Periodic Review

Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
No 2016
2017

> Global Compact for Migration (GCM)

GCM Resolution Endorsement
Observation Date
2018

> Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)

GCR Resolution Endorsement
Observation Date
2018

REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

HEALTH CARE PROVISION

HEALTH IMPACTS

COVID-19

Country Updates
South Sudan is one of the largest countries of refugee origin in Africa. An , westimated 2.2 million South Sudanese have fled the country. At the same time, it hosts a considerable refugee population. According to the UNHCR, South Sudan was hosting 310,006 refugees as of November 2020, 98 percent of whom were living in camps and settlements. They primarily come from neighbouring Sudan (93 percent), with smaller numbers from Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Central African Republic. The country also faces large internal displacement. UNHCR estimates that there were 1.66 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) as of February 2020. At the beginning of the pandemic, the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) reported that the already perilous economic situation and food insecurity in the country had been magnified by the COVID-19 lockdown measures. It also noted that voluntary returns of refugees were cut short by the pandemic, as borders to neighbouring Uganda and Sudan were closed. The Protection of Civilian (PoC) sites, which house a significant number of displaced people, had also been classified as locations at risk of COVID-19 due to their large and congested populations. On 5 April 2020, the first case of COVID-19 in South Sudan was announced. Fearing that the virus would spread uncontrollably in the PoC sites for which UNMISS was responsible, the UN’s Special Representative of the Secretary General in South Sudan called for site residents to return to their villages voluntarily in a radio interview on 7 May 2020. The first two positive COVID-19 cases in PoC sites were recorded on 13 May 2020 in Juba. The subsequent closing of the site by the government, even to humanitarian actors, prompted criticism for the deadly consequences for its inhabitants. The Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster in South Sudan reported as of November 2020 the following confirmed COVID-19 cases of IDPs in PoC sites: 6, including staff, in Juba (Population 29,658), 11 in Bentiu (Population 99,052) and 40 in Malakal (Population 27,930). By December 2020, several UN agencies warned about the acute hunger crisis in the country, which is driven by “insecurity, the effects of COVID-19, the economic crisis, and the impact of flooding”. As of 28 January 2021, South Sudan has recorded 3929 COVID-19 cases in total.
Did the country release immigration detainees as a result of the pandemic?
Unknown
2022
Did the country use legal "alternatives to detention" as part of pandemic detention releases?
Unknown
2022
Did the country Temporarily Cease or Restrict Issuing Detention Orders?
Unknown
2022
Did the Country Adopt These Pandemic-Related Measures for People in Immigration Detention?
Unknown (Unknown) Unknown Unknown Unknown
2022
Did the Country Lock-Down Previously "Open" Reception Facilities, Shelters, Refugee Camps, or Other Forms of Accommodation for Migrant Workers or Other Non-Citizens?
Yes
2020
Were cases of COVID-19 reported in immigration detention facilities or any other places used for immigration detention purposes?
Unknown
2022
Did the Country Cease or Restrict Deportations/Removals During any Period After the Onset of the Pandemic?
Unknown
2022
Did the Country Release People from Criminal Prisons During the Pandemic?
Yes
2020
Did Officials Blame Migrants, Asylum Seekers, or Refugees for the Spread of COVID-19?
Unknown
2022
Did the Country Restrict Access to Asylum Procedures?
Yes
2022
Did the Country Commence a National Vaccination Campaign?
Yes
2021
Were Populations of Concern Included/Excluded From the National Vaccination Campaign?
Unknown (Included) Unknown Unknown Unknown
2022