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South Sudan

Field Reports  In-Depth Reports  Letters & Testimonies

Overview
South Sudan achieved independence from Sudan on July 9th, 2011, becoming the world’s newest nation. However,  it faces a multitude of challenges. Since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005 that brought an end to the 21-year civil war between north and south Sudan, over two million refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) have returned to the south. Basic infrastructure and public services remain poor, despite the efforts of the government of South Sudan and its international partners. Fears that violence would break out along the border with Sudan upon independence were partly realized as conflict erupted in disputed Abyei territory.

Current Humanitarian Situation in South Sudan
While most southern Sudanese were able to participate in the January referendum in which they overwhelmingly voted for independence from Sudan, a separate referendum to decide the fate of adjacent Abyei territory was postponed, and fighting broke out in May. A peacekeeping mission for Abyei, UNISFA, was being established as of late July 2011, but Sudanese and South Sudanese troops remain in the territory, preventing displaced residents from returning.

A series of localized rebellions throughout South Sudan has also caused further loss of life and displacement, as have lethal raids by the Lord’s Resistance Army. The scale of need in South Sudan is immense, and communities will remain vulnerable to new humanitarian crises and outbreaks of conflict if gaps in basic services and professional policing go unaddressed. About four million people were displaced from the south during the war, two million have already returned home, and thousands continue to do so. Returning southern Sudanese and host communities must gain greater access to water, medical assistance, education, and sustainable livelihoods. Local women’s groups must be assisted so they can help reintegrate returnees, and effective conflict-prevention mechanisms and police activities are needed to ensure the safety of all civilians.

Field Reports
  • South Sudan Nationality: Commitment Now Avoids Conflict Later
    05/25/2012
    As the newest nation in the world, the Republic of South Sudan (RoSS) is undertaking the monumental task of building a nation state. Creating a functioning government would be an epic challenge for any country, but it is even greater for RoSS because it is faced with millions of displaced people, internal and external conflict, widespread food insecurity, a stagnant economy, and a population that includes dozens of tribes, ethnicities, indigenous communities and identities. The situation is further complicated by the internal conflict that re-ignited in South Sudan following the decades-long civil war. During the war, southerners were pitted against a common enemy in Khartoum. Now, absent that enemy, competing tribal and ethnic interests are fueling internal conflict, such as in Jonglei state. To ensure the successful transition of RoSS to a functioning nation, an identity must emerge that trumps all these competing interests. Citizenship should be based on place of birth or familial origin without any regard to the person’s color, faith, tribe, ethnicity, or other attribute.
  • South Sudan: Displacement Plagues World's Newest Nation
    12/14/2011
    The Republic of South Sudan (RoSS) is going through a major displacement crisis. The country is playing host to tens of thousands of refugees who fled fighting in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States. In addition to this, hundreds of thousands of people are displaced due to violence within South Sudan itself. The country also has to contend with a large influx of southerners returning from northern cities. This crisis could soon become overwhelming for the world’s newest country – a country already struggling to deliver security and basic services to its citizens. If this displacement crisis is not adequately addressed, all the positive efforts now being made to incorporate returnees into the social, political, and economic fabric of South Sudan will be short lived.
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In Depth Reports
  • Renewing the Pledge: Re-Engaging the Guarantors to the Sudanese Comprehensive Peace Agreement
    07/14/2010
    The clock is ticking fast towards what might be the most important date in modern Sudanese history – two referenda in Sudan that are likely to result in the breakup of Africa’s largest state. With six months remaining until 9 January 2011, the scheduled date of the referenda, the run-up to, and outcome of, the vote must be managed with extreme care. The Guarantors to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), who invested considerable effort in obtaining the CPA on 9 January 2005, have both a responsibility and an ability to help Sudan implement the CPA and prevent further conflict. It is imperative that the Guarantors urgently redouble their efforts to ensure adequate preparations for the referenda, and help secure agreements on sensitive issues such as border demarcation and oil sharing.
  • Last Line of Defense: How Peacekeepers Can Better Protect Civilians
    02/24/2010

    When violent conflict breaks out, the United States and other United Nations member states often call for the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces to create stability and protect people from harm. The UN Security Council has explicitly instructed peacekeepers to protect civilians under “imminent threat of violence” in most UN peacekeeping mandates since 1999. But there is no clarity as to what “protection” means in practice. Which circumstances require action and what level of force should be used? This has resulted in a lack of proper training, guidance and resources for peacekeepers to accomplish protection activities.
Advocacy Letters
Congressional Testimony
Successes
In May 2012, RI raised the alarm after the governor of Sudan’s White Nile State said that thousands of southerners stranded in the border town of Kosti had just days to leave the country. As a result, the International Organization for Migration began an airlift of 12,000 southerners from Kosti to Juba, South Sudan.