The window of opportunity closing for South Sudan, on road to lasting peace

“This includes full and appropriate involvement of women in all the procedures foreseen under the [Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan],” said Nicholas Haysom, who also serves as the UN Mission’s Head in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Progress indicators

Despite the delays, he said that progress had been achieved. On 3 April, the parties broke through a major deadlock to secure a breakthrough agreement on a single unified command structure for the Necessary Unified Forces.

The establishment of the reconstructed transitional legislature at the national and state levels is now complete, and there is a significant increase in parliamentary activity and discussion.

“It’s a wonderful trend that at least some of the political disputes are being battled out in Parliament rather than outside of it,” he said.

Furthermore, he stated that the recent mandate extension of the National Constitutional Amendment Committee will now allow for the review of the National Elections Act – a prerequisite for launching the electoral and legislative frameworks – and that Parliament’s adoption of a national budget for the fiscal year 2021/22, after a nine-month delay, will allow for more progress.

A request for leadership and resources

“National leadership, resources, and a visible commitment by South Sudan’s authorities to fulfill their commitments under the peace accord are required,” he stressed. He urged parties to take the necessary measures to leave the transitional era.

He specifically asked them to agree on a path for completing the remaining responsibilities, as requested by the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, and the United Nations.

These include graduation and deployment of the Necessary Unified Forces, adoption of pending laws for the constitution-making process and national elections, and key security, judicial, and financial sector reforms.

Cattle raids, abductions, and vengeance murders

“The sheer scale of the tasks ahead necessitates the full and unfettered attention of the international community,” he stressed.

Concerning the scope of the country’s simmering violence, which has now spread from north to south and east to west, he stated that in Eastern and Central Equatoria, Unity, Warrap, and Jonglei states, as well as the Abyei Administrative Area, civilians have been subjected to multiple attacks, fueling a cycle of cattle raids, abductions, revenge killings, and gender-based violence.

He said that intercommunal violence and community-based militias had been responsible for more than 80% of civilian fatalities this year alone.

While UNMISS’s stance is becoming more mobile and strong, “very honestly, we cannot go everywhere.” The Security Council-requested three-year strategic strategy remains the underpinning for its coordinated efforts, he told ambassadors.

Children who have been displaced walk through a flooded region in South Sudan.

Children who have been displaced walk through a flooded region in South Sudan.

‘Deterioration’ in humanitarian terms

Since late 2021, “most humanitarian indicators have worsened,” according to Ghada Mudawi, Acting Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

As localized violence persists, so does displacement and conflict for resources such as livestock. Women and girls are more vulnerable to gender-based violence.

Famine danger

“When it becomes as terrible as it is in South Sudan, the threat of severe hunger and even famine arises,” she said, adding that South Sudan is already in its fourth year of above-average rainfall, which has interrupted the agricultural season and curtailed food production.

Furthermore, she predicted that floods would affect at least 500,000 people in 2022.

With nearly two million South Sudanese internally displaced and 2.3 million refugees, she encouraged the government to address the problems that keep people displaced: instability, the prevalence of explosive risks, a lack of essential amenities, and unresolved housing, land, and property concerns.

In light of this, she stressed that humanitarian partners are “committed to staying and delivering.”