With the next general elections set to take place in December 2024, this Review aims to tackle crucial questions around the delineation of new geographical constituencies in line with the recently passed South Sudan’s National Elections Act, 2023. The Review analyses the constituency threshold formula proposed by in the Act and uses the suggested calculation guidelines to construct the possible scenarios for the distribution of geographical constituencies, as well as considering the challenges that come…
Entries by Sudd Institute
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) issued a Press Statement. It provided an update to the public, the region, and diplomatic community on the status of the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), while signaling the commencement of the Extended Transition Period through 2025. This is encouraging, marking the second time the Government has made such public announcement in…
South Sudan is a country with longstanding history of international assistance. In fact, her hard-won independence was birthed in part through external financial and political backstopping. Certain international actors have since deepened their engagement by supporting constitutional designs dating as far back as 2005. They also continue to support humanitarian aid, capacity development, and policy space to strengthen public institutions. Aside from its enduring legacy, international constitutional assistance has been recognized under the Revitalised Peace…
Publication Summary Local content requirements promote national capacity, employment, economic diversification, and economic growth (Kazzazi and Nouri 2012, Tordo et al., 2013). Local content develops capacities that link the oil and gas sector to other industries. While over 80% of the oil and gas sector’s workforce is South Sudanese, little is known about their earning levels, experience, and educational attainment, compared to their expatriate colleagues (Tiitmamer, 2015). This paper analyzes human resources data from two…
Publication Summary The justice versus peace dichotomy or lack thereof has spawned both legal practice and international law literature for decades. As the debate pertains to the application of transitional justice specifically against the backdrop of mass political violence or civil wars, some jurists, legal practitioners and other scholars suggest that, on the one hand, justice and peace are mutually exclusive concepts. This implies that neither peace nor justice can be pursued without adversely impacting…
This policy brief rings alarm bells for the parties to the R-ARCSS, its guarantors,and civil society actors that unless certain actions are urgently taken, reforms under the revitalized peace agreement may fail to yield positive change in facilitating South Sudan’s transition to constitutional democracy, peace and national unity. What follows is a summary of main strands of the analysis and recommendations: •The R-ARCSS is a viable framework that could silence the guns and usher in…
Publication Summary This paper reviews the existing literature to determine the adequacy of evidence and extent of the environmental impacts in the oil producing areas in South Sudan. The following is revealed: Evidence from previous studies shows that there is a serious environmental and social disaster in the three oil producing areas, even though such evidence does not generate enough consensus for the decision makers. Environmental impacts assessments (EIA) conducted before the oil operations reveal that (1)…
The current state of affairs in the country has been long in the making. Since April 2020, following a stalled formation of the Revitalized Government of National Unity (RTGoNU), there has been growing frustration in the country. Citizens had hoped that the political developments in February and March had created sufficient momentum to push the parties toward full implementation of what was clearly a grounded Peace Agreement. One of the key decisions that created this…
The proportion of older persons in the world is increasing due to the gradual decline in death rates and rise in life expectancy, catching many governments totally unprepared. In South Sudan, the number of older persons was projected to increase by 1.1% of the total population in 2016 (UNDESA 2016). Even though there has been an upsurge in the population of the older persons, there exists little social and legal protection for them, becoming more…
Climate change poses global risks (World Economic Forum, 2016, IPCC, 2014). These risks adversely affect women in developing countries because of their little capacity to adapt (Brody et al, 2008). Previous studies show that women are more vulnerable to climate change than men for a variety of reasons, including illiteracy, low socioeconomic skills, inadequate access to assets, and social isolation, among others (Ahmad and Fajber, 2009; Archer 2003; UNISDR, 2008; Neumayer and Plumper, 2007). Thus,…