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12/14/2011The 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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03/15/2011Before the excitement around the emergence of the world’s newest nation fades, outstanding issues from the Comprehensive Peace Agreement must be resolved. Hundreds of thousands of people are returning south and desperately require support to rebuild their lives and communities. The rights of minority groups on either side of the border need to be guaranteed.
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12/10/2010As the January 9 referenda in south Sudan and Abyei approach, so does the possibility for violence and humanitarian crises. The United Nations has mapped out potential flashpoints for conflict and drawn up detailed contingency plans, but many critical challenges remain unresolved. With less than a month remaining until the referenda, agencies lack sufficient staffing, humanitarian access has become a growing issue, a coordinated response to gender-based violence has yet to be developed, and a systematic plan to protect minority communities and returnees has not been finalized. These issues must be resolved immediately in order to effectively protect and assist the Sudanese people if a large-scale crisis emerges.
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06/28/2010Sudan is preparing to hold a referendum on southern independence in January 2011 as mandated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Indications suggest that the vote will be overwhelmingly in favor of separation. Although an explosion of full scale north-south war is not inevitable, the risk of new outbreaks of conflict in hotspot areas is all too real. If the south separates, southerners in the north and northerners in the south will be especially vulnerable to violence and loss of citizenship resulting in statelessness. The parties to the CPA, international donor governments and the United Nations must place urgent priority on preventing and responding to possible abuses.
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04/08/2010Five years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) southern Sudan remains highly volatile, with longstanding tribal tensions, competition for land, and new economic competition fueling south-south violence that has resulted in 450 deaths and the displacement of 40,000 people this year alone. Just nine months from the planned referendum for southern independence, the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) remains weak, and its army and police remain incapable of maintaining stability and protecting civilians. In this context, the UN peacekeeping mission, UNMIS, must develop and implement a clear mission-wide protection plan that incorporates all the relevant civilian, military, and policing units within the mission.
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03/25/2010The next two years will be critical in determining Sudan’s future. The country faces national elections in April, the first multi-party elections in 24 years, and a referendum on southern independence in January 2011. While the U.S. and others must do everything possible to ensure that the governments in north and south Sudan reach agreement on outstanding issues before the referendum, the humanitarian community must simultaneously prepare to respond if conflict erupts around the upcoming political events. Decades of responding to crises in Sudan has created a complacent “business as usual” attitude among some humanitarian agencies and donors that must be overcome.
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03/26/2009
International engagement is urgently needed to rescue south Sudan from the brink of an unfolding crisis. The perilous situation is being ignored amid the focus on the indictment of President Al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court.
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01/07/2009Sudan is entering a volatile period in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The risk of violent outbreaks is acute. The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) was deployed with a mandate to observe and monitor CPA implementation, and is therefore both ill-equipped and ill-disposed to engage in civilian protection efforts.
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08/04/2008
To promote peace and stability in the region, donors should provide increased funding to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) so that Sudanese refugees who wish to return home from Uganda can do so safely, voluntarily, and in dignity. Assistance will also be needed for those who wish to integrate locally. At the same time, the threat of new violence in south Sudan requires ongoing space for refugees to seek asylum in Uganda. This will be enhanced by ensuring that former refugee settlement areas are rehabilitated and handed over to the local authorities in good condition.
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07/24/2008
Malgré la présence d’une force militaire de l’Union européenne à l’est du Tchad, des mouvements rebelles, la violence intercommunautaire, des attaques transfrontalières et le banditisme sont endémiques. Les civils et le personnel humanitaire sont régulièrement attaqués et une insécurité continuelle entrave la distribution de l’aide humanitaire. Pour augmenter la stabilité au Tchad, le Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies doit renforcer la mission de maintien de l’ordre de l’ONU (MINURCAT), augmenter les efforts pour la réforme du secteur de la justice et donner la possibilité au responsable civil de la mission de l’ONU de s’engager dans des efforts politiques en vue de la stabilisation et de la réconciliation.
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07/24/2008Les agences d’aide internationale et les pays donateurs devraient développer des stratégies pour promouvoir des solutions durables pour les personnes déplacées internes (PDI) dans l’est du Tchad et pour diminuer la dépendance des réfugiés soudanais à l’assistance extérieure.
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07/24/2008Despite the presence of a European Union military force in eastern Chad, rebel movements, inter-communal violence, cross border attacks and banditry are rampant. Civilians and humanitarian staff are routinely attacked and ongoing insecurity is hampering the delivery of humanitarian aid. To increase stability in Chad, the United Nations Security Council must strengthen the UN policing mission (MINURCAT), increase efforts for justice sector reform and give the civilian head of the UN mission the ability to engage in political efforts towards stabilization and reconciliation.
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07/24/2008International aid agencies and donor governments should develop strategies to promote durable solutions for internally displaced people (IDPs) in eastern Chad and to decrease Sudanese refugees’ dependence on outside assistance.
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03/04/2008Three years after the signature of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), adequate access to basic services and creation of sustainable livelihoods remain elusive for most Sudanese people. Since 2004, an estimated 2 million southern Sudanese, either exiled in neighbouring countries or displaced within Sudan, have returned home, with more than 90% having done so spontaneously. Only a fraction has received adequate assistance.
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01/24/2008
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12/13/2007
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08/08/2007Progress in the implementation of the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed by the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army can only be consolidated if southern Sudanese in the south start enjoying tangible peace dividends.
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08/02/2007
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07/11/2007In 2005, after over two decades of civil war, the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). But devastated infrastructure, a fragile security environment, political mistrust, ethno-tribal tensions, and friction over possession of oil-producing areas have meant that many of the reforms provided for in the CPA have been slow to materialize.
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07/06/2007After years exiled in bordering countries, or displaced within Sudan, hundreds of thousands of Sudanese people are returning home to rebuild their lives, but more help is needed for their reintegration into communities.
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06/11/2007
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03/30/2007
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03/06/2007
Refugees International (RI) advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises.
We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding.
We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding.