This paper maps five cases of recent local level peace deals in South Sudan between 2014 and 2018 to identify key criteria that strengthen the prospects of successful implementation and sustainability of local peace agreements. Critically, there are no generic formulas to achieve effective sustainable local peace deals. What works is highly contingent on the specific local context. Nonetheless, the set of criteria identified in this paper offers a useful guide for external actors who…
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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.
This briefing paper explores the establishment and reconfiguration of informal livelihood groups and associations as a form of socioeconomic connectedness in Bentiu, South Sudan. By considering these dynamics, aid actors can better understand various livelihood-based strategies that households rely on to cope and adapt during displacement. This understanding may help aid actors to maximize the effectiveness of their interventions and to avoid inadvertently undermining key sources of household resilience. The authors draw from interviews and…
This briefing paper examines changes to wedding rituals and the nature of marriages in the Bentiu Protection of Civilians site and adjacent areas of Rubkona and Bentiu towns. The authors draw from interviews and focus group discussions with displaced residents in the Bentiu PoC and with residents in the adjacent towns of Bentiu and Rubkona to highlight how the shift from a cattle-based economy to one entailing greater use of cash has affected these life…
This report explores urbanization in Bentiu and Rubkona towns in Unity State, South Sudan. Using a host community perception survey and qualitative interviews conducted in August of 2018, this case study examinesthe impact that the introduction of a Protection of Civilians site has had on urbanization, establishes the perception of the host community, and clarifies what constitutes urbanization in a South Sudanese context. The findings revealed that insecurity in the area had interrupted development in…
This briefing paper examines changes in social connectedness in the Bentiu Protection of Civilians site and surrounding town. The authors pay particular attention to the evolution of pre-displacement connections, as well as people’s strategies for establishing new bonds with neighbors, friends, and those pursuing similar livelihood activities. These issues are significant for humanitarian practitioners, decision-makers, and researchers. First, our analysis sheds light on people’s own strategies of forming, preserving, and shifting their types and sources…
Prophets—those recognised as having been ‘seized’ by a divinity—have played an important role in the history of South Sudan, particularly that of the Nuer people. They were seen as being powerful political actors and, alongside chiefs, important intermediaries for the colonial authorities. However, the influence of the Nuer prophets goes much further than mobilizing or de-mobilizing the Nuer population to or from violence. In the UN Protection of Civilians Site (POCS) in Bentiu, where over…
In South Sudan, early and forced marriage has many devastating consequences: it increases girls’ risk of death or complications during pregnancy and childbirth in a country with one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world; it is one of the primary reasons why 76% of South Sudanese girls are out-of-school; and it puts girls at greater risk of sexual, physical and emotional violence. Oxfam research presented in this report found that the…
This memo addresses the future of the nearly 200,000 residents of the Protection of Civilians Sites (POCS) in South Sudan in the context of the implementation of the current peace agreement which envisages the closure of the POCS and the return of the residents to their former homes. The authors draw attention to the changing nature of public authority in the POCS during the five years since their establishment, and the significant role these local…
The purpose of this report is to give aid actors insights into localized social protection and support systems in South Sudan and the ways in which humanitarian aid, including cash transfer programming, can both complement and disrupt these systems. The authors hope that this report, and others in this series, will enable donors and aid actors to design and deliver programs that strengthen existing social support networks and, at the very least, do not undermine…
In late April 2018, South Sudan government forces and their allied militias launched an offensive on Leer and Mayendit counties, in southern Unity state, which continued throughout May and June. Based on interviews with around 100 displaced people from Leer and Mayendit, this briefing describes how government forces and their allied militias attacked villages in opposition-held areas of southern Unity state and committed crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations. During these…
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