The African Union announced Friday the appointment of a commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations committed during the events of mid-December 2013 in South Sudan.

Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the chairperson of the African Union Commission, announced the establishment of the inquiry team at a press conference at the AU headquarters.

She said the five-member commission was established at the direction of the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC). It will be headed by Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, and former chairman of the African Union.

According to a statement by the African Union, the commission will investigate rights abuses and also “make recommendations on the best way and means to ensure accountability, reconciliation and healing among all South Sudanese communities.”

Four other members of the committee are Justice Sophia Akuffo, president of the African Court on Human Rights based in Arusha and a justice of the Ghanaian supreme court; Professor Mahmood Mamdani, an academic based in Kampala; Bineta Diop, AU special envoy for women, peace and security; and Professor Pacifique Manirakiza, a member of the African Commission on Human Rights based in Banjul and a specialist  in criminal law.

The commission members will be supported by technical and administrative secretariat based in Addis Ababa.

It is expected that the commission will “assist in identifying perpetrators of such violations and abuses with a view to ensuring accountability for those responsible,” according to the commission’s terms of reference.

It will also make recommendations on establishment of “accountability mechanisms for gross violations of human rights and other egregious abuses to ensure that those responsible for such violations are held to account.”

Photo: Chairperson of the African Union Commission Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma (AU)