Written by Eric Pichon
[last update : 02/02/2016] Two years ago, a violent civil war broke out in South Sudan, it was caused by a number of entangled factors, that can be boiled down to a struggle for power and oil in a devastated country. Appeasement of rivalries between the main two leaders of independence, Salva Kiir Mayardit and Riek Machar soon fizzled out. In July 2013, President Kiir dismissed Vice-President Machar. The following December, an ethnic-based conflict erupted in the army, and tragically spread to the whole population – leading to a humanitarian catastrophe. More than 1.6 million people have so far fled their homes as a result. Fighting has prevented farmers from planting crops, and flooding has affected areas where people have sought refuge – making epidemics and food shortages unavoidable. NGOs and international institutions do their utmost to heal and feed the displaced, but as long as the population feels unsafe to return home, humanitarian aid is insufficient to prevent humanitarian disaster. A peace agreement was reluctantly signed by the government and opposition forces on 26 August 2015, but there is still much to be done to end the security and humanitarian crisis.
European Parliament Publications
Overview
Tongun Lo Loyuong. Why Are the Dinka and Nuer Killing Each Other in South Sudan? South Sudan News Agency, 24/01/2014.
Conflict Trends reports often give an update on South Sudan (e.g. in the December 2015 issue)
News from African media: AllAfrica South Sudan top headlines / Sud-Soudan à la une
Text of the Peace agreement, monitoring
The peace deal was eventually signed by President Kiir on 26 August 2015.
EU and UN positions on the situation in South Sudan
European Parliament Resolutions and initiatives
European External Action Service South Sudan and the EU
Council Conclusions on South Sudan 12 October 2015. The Council hails the peace agreement and calls on the signatories to respect the ceasefire.
UN actions and statements:
- The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)
- Update about the UN positions on South Sudan on SecurityCouncilReport.org (an independent organisation)
EU and UN humanitarian help
On the humanitarian situation
Detailed data and maps are provided by Reliefweb, a website by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Afffairs (OCHA)
Cf in particular:
- South Sudan Humanitarian Snapshot (October 2015)
- South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan 2015 Midyear Update (June 2015)
On the UN action (and international NGOs’) action:
Humanitarian response by UN OCHA. In particular: Latest situation reports, Funding.
About South-Sudanese refugees in other countries: data by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR)
EU humanitarian help
South Sudan. European Commission Humanitarian aid and Civil protection (ECHO)
- factsheet : en – fr
- Humanitarian Implementation Plan: Sudan and South Sudan 2015
ECHO also provides EDRIS, a search tool on the EU member states’ help.
Analysis
On the conflict
In 2015, the UN panel of experts on South Sudan documented the presence of large amounts of sophisticated weapons on all sides.
The Human Security Baseline Assessment for Sudan and South Sudan (HSBA) publishes research papers on the security situation in both Sudans. Among which:
- Laura M. James. Fields of Control: Oil and (In)security in Sudan and South Sudan. HSBA Working Paper 40, 11/2015, 72 p.
This paper presents the main stakeholders in the oil sector and assesses the relationship between oil and violence. -
Eric G. Berman; Mihaela Racovita. Under Attack and Above Scrutiny? Arms and Ammunition Diversion from Peacekeepers in Sudan and South Sudan, 2002–14. HSBA Working Paper 39, 07/2015, 144 p.
See also International Crisis Group and Human Rights Watch analyses.
On the human rights situation: a selection of important human rights reports is available on the European Country of origin Information Network webstite.
On the peace deal
Explaining S sudan peace agreement. Radio Tamazuj, 2015.
A series of fiches on the main points of the peace deal.
Peter Run. Why South Sudanese adversaries signed a peace deal that they do not want. The Conversation, 3/09/2015.
Andrew Green. Can South Sudan’s Leaders Get Peace Right the Second Time? WPR World Politics Review, 18/09/2015.
For the author, there are many obstacles to face before the deal is implemented, even if “instead of taking an inflexible position as they have before, both sides have expressed a willingness to negotiate their concerns with IGAD’s help”. Above all, the core problem of political corruption at state level is not addressed by the agreement.
Elise Keppler. Hope for Justice for South Sudan. Human Rights Watch, 28/08/2015.
This opinion – a follow up of HRW report: South Sudan: One Year Later Injustice Prevails, December 2014 – examines the justice provisions of the peace deal and their “chance to break a decades-long cycle of brutal abuses “.
Addressing human rights and security issues, role of the UNMISS
Jenna Stern. Establishing Safety and Security at Protection of Civilians Sites: Lessons from the UN Peakeeping Mission in South Sudan. Stimson (USA), Civilians in Conflict Policy Brief 2, 09/2015, 32 p.
As the UNMISS lacks of judicial authority, it is very difficult to struggle violence in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps it manages in South Sudan.
This paper shows how the UN mission had to alter its mandate to focus on civilian protection and draws lessons from its actions during the conflict.
Famine
Jason Patikin. Displaced and hungry after South Sudan’s peace deal. Al Jazeera, 4/10/2015.
“Precarious peace agreement has failed to end fighting in South Sudan with fears of famine and disease outbreaks”.
Gregory Warner. When Do Food Shortages Become A Famine? NPR National Public Radio (USA), 27/08/2014.
Andrew Green. Agencies battle to stave off starvation in South Sudan’s civil war sanctuaries . The Guardian, 23/09/2014.
Rob Bailey. Famine Threatens South Sudan. Chatham House, 9/07/2014.
The author regrets that no lessons have been learnt from the experience of famine in Somalia (2011). According to the author, despite early warnings, the UN and media turn a blind eye to South Sudan’s food crisis.
