This report is based on fieldwork in Unity, Jonglei, and Upper Nile states from August-December 2020. Due to access issues for research related to Covid-19, some of this research was conducted remotely. The report surveys the humanitarian access issues produced by conflict in 2020 through a series of focused case studies. These case studies are not intended to be comprehensive, but are rather thematic, and indicate some of the broader political-economic structures in which humanitarian…
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CSRF Research Repository
The CSRF Research Repository aims to support greater contextual knowledge for policy makers, programme managers, and implementers by providing a searchable repository of research, analysis, and resources, and providing periodic updates on new research and analysis.
International humanitarian actors and academics continue to struggle to understand armed group conduct and how to restrain this conduct when it violates moral, legal and humanitarian norms. Armed groups that lack a visible, explicit formal hierarchical command structure, equivalent to those found in state militaries, have proved a particular puzzle. A growing body of scholarship on the strategic functions of patterns of violence and restraint has usefully moved beyond assumptions that extreme violence is indicative…
This Conflict Sensitivity Analysis (CSA) was requested by the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group in October 2020 and examines the conflict sensitivity implications of the transition of UN Protection of Civilian sites in Bentiu, Unity State, and Malakal, Upper Nile State, from sites under the protection of United Nations Mission in South Sudan to camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) under the jurisdiction of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan.
The MAAPSS Update No. 5 provides an overview of new appointments and developments in Unity State. Following the establishment of the Ruweng Administrative Area, Unity state is now a mono-ethnic Nuer state, as well as in theory being the well-spring of SPLA-IO support, as well as the birthplace of Riek Machar, the opposition’s leader. In much of the state, the government and the variety of South Sudanese oppositions that operate in Unity are increasingly unified….
In this brief Saferworld provides a context update about the current situation in the town of Bentiu – the capital of the oil-rich Unity state. Saferworld presents safety and security challenges identified by communities, authorities and civil society such as revenge killings, cattle raiding, gender-based violence, environmental pollution and unemployment in Bentiu town and Protection of Civilian (PoC) site. Saferworld also provides recommendations for how best to address these challenges for all levels of government and communities to consider. Download
Summary This research paper reflects on the myriad ways in which militarised and criminalised forms of authority in South Sudan, specifically militias and gangs interpret norms around gender equality and the prevention of gender-based violence (GBV). It is founded on extended local fieldwork conducted throughout the first half of 2019 across four field locations, including: Wau Town in Western Bahr el Ghazal State; Yirol East in Lakes State; Ganyiel in Unity State; and the Juba…
Background: Decades of war left the Republic of South Sudan with a fragile health system that has remained deprived of resources since the country’s independence. The authors describe the coverage of interventions for women’s and children’s health in Upper Nile and Unity states, and explore factors that affected service provision during aprotracted conflict. Methods: The authors conducted a case study using a desk review of publicly available literature since 2013 and a secondary analysis of…
Survivors of conflict-related sexual violence continue to struggle to access adequate medical and mental health care, according to a new report issued by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and the UN Human Rights Office. “The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear, if there was ever any doubt, just how important it is for everyone to have immediate and adequate access to health care,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. “For…
Between August and November 2019, IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) conducted Village Assessment Survey (VAS) in Rubkona, Wau and Bor South Counties assessing a total of 63 bomas (13 in Bor South, 11 in Rubkona and 39 in Wau) and carrying key informant interviews at 191 educational facilities and 42 health facilities. In addition to this, 1,147 facilities and services including water points, markets, fishing areas, etc. were also mapped. This dataset contains data collected…
Spiritual and divine authorities play a prominent role in mobilizing armed violence. This article provides a micro-history of a contemporary Nuer prophetess (guan kuoth) in South Sudan who mobilized hundreds of armed men including in support of current anti-government rebellions. The article grapples with apparent paradoxes in her approach to kume (a broadly defined notion of government) and customary law. This prophetess rejects logics of authority associated with the kume. At the same time, she champions the continuity…
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