MASS violence and gross human rights violations in South Sudan continue unabated ahead of landmark elections, a report by the United Nations warned on Saturday.

The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said that violence continues to blight the lives of an extremely vulnerable population.

The report warns that the already dire humanitarian situation in the country is set to deteriorate further.

The elections, the first since independence from Sudan in 2011, should signify a milestone in efforts to secure a lasting peace since the end of the civil war which raged in South Sudan from 2013, killing 400,000 people.

A peace deal was agreed in 2018 but implementation has been sluggish and violence persists in parts of the country.

Elections were supposed to take place in early 2023 but were postponed for 18 months.

Chair of the commission, Yasmin Sooka, said: “The drivers of violence and repression are well known, and while commitments have been made to address them, we continue to see a lack of political will to implement the measures necessary to improve millions of lives.”

Commissioner Barney Afako said: “Time is running out for South Sudan’s leaders to implement key commitments, which are the building blocks for peace, for holding the country together and advancing human rights beyond the elections.”