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101. R2P Monitor, Issue 40, 15 July 2018

Author:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 40 looks at developments in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Myanmar (Burma), Syria, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Burundi, Cameroon, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Nigeria.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Palestine, Syria, Nigeria, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, Cameroon, and Central African Republic

102. R2P Monitor, Issue 39, 15 May 2018

Author:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 39 looks at developments in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar (Burma), Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Burundi, Iraq and Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Palestine, Syria, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Central African Republic

103. R2P Monitor, Issue 38, 15 March 2018

Author:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 38 looks at developments in Myanmar (Burma), Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Iraq and Burundi.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Central African Republic

104. R2P Monitor, Issue 37, 15 January 2018

Author:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 37 looks at developments in Myanmar (Burma), Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Iraq, Sudan, Burundi, Philippines, and Somalia.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Philippines, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Somalia, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Central African Republic

105. Humanitarian Costs of South Sudan Conflict Continue to Escalate

Author:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Now in its fifth year, South Sudan’s current conflict has displaced 4.5 million people—the same number of southern Sudanese displaced during the entire three-decade Sudan civil war.
Topic:
Civil War, Humanitarian Aid, United Nations, Refugees, and Displacement
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, East Africa, South Sudan, and Central Africa

106. High-Tech Humanitarians: Airtel Uganda’s Partnership with DanChurchAid

Author:
Patrick Meagher, Ammar A. Malik, Edward Mohr, and Yasemin Irvin-Erickson
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
The world is in the midst of an unprecedented refugee crisis, and Uganda’s response to the influx of asylum-seekers from South-Sudan is considered successful and is therefore a valuable target for study and replication. Uganda accepts refugees regardless of point of origin and gives them the rights of freedom of movement and the opportunity to seek employment. This case study examines the official government and humanitarian agency response to increased refugee numbers, both in terms of policies and resources. It also focuses on telecommunication access and humanitarian cash transfers, and it analyzes the partnership between Danish Church Aid and Airtel Uganda.
Topic:
Government, Humanitarian Aid, Science and Technology, Refugee Issues, Immigrants, International Development, and Asylum
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, and South Sudan

107. Spotlight on Africa | The South Sudan Conflict – 2018 Khartoum Peace Agreement

Author:
Michael Asiedu
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
Abstract:
On 27 June 2018, South Sudan’s main belligerents inked a peace deal that aims to set the country on a path to normalcy from it over half decade of conflict. The deal was reached at the backdrop of a two-day talks between President Salva Kiir and ‘rebel leader’, Riek Machar, former Vice President of South Sudan. The Khartoum talks were mediated by President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda on behalf of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD)2 . The announcement of the deal came both as a surprise and relief – surprise because only a week prior to this deal, the warring parties had stalemated a peace pact intended to resurrect an earlier peace deal signed in 2015. In fact the leading figures, both Kiir and Machar had summarily not only rejected that deal but also the notion of even working together, the deal came as a relief in certain quarters cognizance of the 30 June deadline set by the UN Security Council after which sanctions on South Sudan would be renewed.
Topic:
Treaties and Agreements, United Nations, Conflict, Peace, and UN Security Council
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

108. The Loss of Arms And Ammunition In Peace Operations: Mapping And Addressing The Challenge

Author:
Jefferson Brehm
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Peace Operations Review
Abstract:
In January 2016, al-Shabaab militants attacked an African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forward operating base in El Adde, Somalia. They held the base for several days before the Kenya Defence Forces managed to reclaim it. Media reporting has understandably focused on the loss of life among the Kenyan peacekeepers—widely reported to be upwards of 100 men and women. The loss of materiel has received considerably less attention, but is of great importance. Al-Shabaab potentially put AMISOM’s personnel and local communities in even greater peril by seizing their weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and communications equipment. The El Adde attack resulted in one of the largest recorded single incidents of diversion of materiel from peacekeepers, but was far from an isolated incident. As the Small Arms Survey has documented, the loss of equipment during peace operations is routine and widespread. In fact, thousands of small arms and light weapons, and millions of rounds of ammunition have entered the black market from more than a dozen missions undertaken by the United Nations (UN) and several regional organizations. Logistical challenges to security management are not specific to UN missions but pose challenges for all organizations that engage in peace operations because all peacekeepers who deploy with military hardware face the risk of losses. Small Arms Survey research suggests a number of ways that these losses can be resisted or better managed, including through improved record-keeping, tailoring procedures to the specific operational environment, and respecting the operational limitations of inspection regimes.
Topic:
Security, Military Strategy, Weapons, and Peace
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan

109. Two Years After The Juba Clashes: Has Unmiss's Protection of Displaced people Improved?

Author:
Thijs Van Laer
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Peace Operations Review
Abstract:
In July 2016, serious fighting erupted in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, when a peace agreement signed less than a year before broke down. Many citizens were killed, often in deliberate, ethnically motivated attacks, while others sought safety in the vicinity of the premises of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Many more had already found relative safety there after earlier violence and atrocities in 2013. As of June 28, 2018, more than 210,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are living under UNMISS protection. Despite its responsibility to protect those IDPs, in July 2016 peacekeepers abandoned their positions at the IDP site, and more than 20 civilians were killed. In addition, two Chinese peacekeepers died after a grenade exploded near their armored personnel carrier. Despite repeated alerts, UNMISS did not intervene when government security forces forced their way into a nearby hotel and killed one and sexually abused other UN and humanitarian personnel residing there. Much has been written about the woefully inadequate response by the UN peace operation to these attacks, blamed by a UN inquiry on the lack of leadership, inadequate coordination, and poor troop performance. The mission’s military commander was sacked after the inquiry.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, Displacement, and Civilians
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

110. A Poisoned Well: Lessons in Mediation from South Sudan’s Troubled Peace Process

Author:
Zach Vertin
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
In 2013, the world’s newest nation—the Republic of South Sudan—descended into civil war. External actors moved quickly to convene peace talks under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), leading to a comprehensive peace deal in August 2015. But the agreement unraveled just a year later, before it could be implemented, and the war metastasized. This paper examines the IGAD-led peace process for South Sudan from 2013 to 2015. Viewed through a prism of mediation best practice, it is a critical assessment of the attempt to negotiate a settlement of the conflict and a distillation of lessons learned. While singular conclusions are hard to draw, the paper concludes that the process may have helped to slow South Sudan’s civil war and provided a platform to confront the fundamental changes required to transform state and society. But inherent flaws meant the peace deal lacked the political will, broad national ownership, and implementing authorities necessary to make it stick. As IGAD member states and international partners now attempt to “revitalize” the peace process, they would be wise to evaluate, and build upon, its lessons.
Topic:
Development, Treaties and Agreements, Peace, and Mediation
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

111. Africa and the Global Compact on Refugees: Inclusive Policy Responses to Forced Displacement

Author:
Amanda Coffie, Richard Alemdjrodo, Patience Adzande, and Jocelyn Perry
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) esti- mates, nearly sixty-six million people had been forced to leave their homes and migrate as a result of conflict, political violence, ethnic and religious tensions, and natural disasters as of 2016.1 These rather high estimates contributed to the UN’s 2016 launch of the New York Declaration for Migrants and Refugees to enshrine global commitments to the challenges posed by high levels of forced displace- ment, and develop concrete plans for their resolution. This policy briefing note addresses the African Union and African govern- ments, as well as African scholars and policymakers regarding Africa’s particular position within global displacement and migration trends. It provides recommen- dations in the lead-up to the adoption of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) at a special summit in Morocco in December 2018.
Topic:
Migration, Refugees, Displacement, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Chad, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Democratic Republic of Congo

112. The Role of U.N. Peacekeeping in China’s Expanding Strategic Interests

Author:
Marc Lanteigne
Publication Date:
09-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Despite its growing status as a major economic and military power, China continues to be a strong supporter of UN peacekeeping operations. China is not only the second-largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping (after the United States), it has roughly 2,500 personnel deployed in ongoing missions, including in active combat zones in Mali and South Sudan—far more than any other permanent member of the UN Security Council. This Special Report examines what China hopes to gain from its participation in UN peacekeeping, as well as the challenges it will face as its troops find themselves in more dangerous “peace enforcement” situations.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, United Nations, Peacekeeping, and Peace
Political Geography:
China, Asia, Mali, and South Sudan

113. South Sudan’s Civil War and Conflict Dynamics in the Red Sea

Author:
Payton Knopf
Publication Date:
09-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The five-year-old civil war in South Sudan is an unparalleled humanitarian and security crisis, causing the largest exodus of refugees on the African continent since the Rwandan genocide and leaving over a third of the population displaced and two-thirds severely food insecure. Beyond the human toll on South Sudan’s long-suffering citizens, the country’s unraveling underscores the shifting political and security fault lines in the Horn of Africa. This Special Report surveys the region’s various interstate hostilities and intrastate conflicts and suggests ways the United States can reassert its influence to begin contributing meaningfully to the resolution of South Sudan’s civil war and conflicts in the greater Red Sea region.
Topic:
Security, Civil War, Conflict, Peace, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

114. Resisting Violence: Growing a Culture of Nonviolent Action in South Sudan

Author:
Moses John, Philip Wilmot, and Nicholas Zaremba
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Since the outbreak of civil war in December 2013, South Sudan has endured one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern times. Still, amid the constant threat of war-related violence and economic hardship, South Sudanese activists are managing to launch and sustain nonviolent movements to address the social, political, and economic grievances that have fueled the country’s ongoing conflicts. Based on extensive interviews with South Sudanese civil society leaders, religious leaders, activists, and members of the diaspora, this report focuses on South Sudanese experience using nonviolent tactics and the formidable challenges they face to build large-scale nonviolent civic campaigns and movements to achieve a just and lasting peace.
Topic:
Civil War, Violence, Peace, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

115. Iraq After ISIS: The Other Half of Victory Dealing with the Civil Dimension

Author:
Anthony H. Cordesman
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:
The United States, its allies, and international organizations are just beginning to come to grips with the civil dimensions of "failed state" wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, the Sudans, Syria, and Yemen. In each case, it is clear that the civil dimension of the war will ultimately be as important as the military one. Any meaningful form of "victory" requires far more than defeating the current extremist threat in military terms, and reaching some temporary compromise between the major factions that divide the country. The current insurgent and other security threats exist largely because of the deep divisions within the state, the past and current failures of the government to deal with such internal divisions, and the chronic failure to meet the economic, security, and social needs of much of the nation's population. In practical terms, these failures make a given host government, other contending factions, and competing outside powers as much of a threat to each nation’s stability and future as Islamic extremists and other hostile forces. Regardless of the scale of any defeat of extremists, the other internal tensions and divisions with each country also threaten to make any such “victory” a prelude to new forms of civil war, and/or an enduring failure to cope with security, stability, recovery, and development. Any real form of victory requires a different approach to stability operations and civil-military affairs. In each case, the country the U.S. is seeking to aid failed to make the necessary economic progress and reforms to meet the needs of its people – and sharply growing population – long before the fighting began. The growth of these problems over a period of decades helped trigger the sectarian, ethnic, and other divisions that made such states vulnerable to extremism and civil conflict, and made it impossible for the government to respond effectively to crises and wars.
Topic:
Security, War, Fragile/Failed State, ISIS, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Africa, United States, Iraq, Middle East, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sundan

116. Identity and Self-determination: The Fertit Opposition in South Sudan

Author:
Sarah Vuylsteke
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
The Fertit community is a minority group in South Sudan that inhabit the former Western Bahr el Ghazal state. Out of it grew an opposition that came to form one of the many groups to take up arms against the Dinka dominated government in Juba and align with Riek Machar’s opposition coalition, the SPLA-IO. Identity and Self-Determination: The Fertit Opposition in South Sudan, a Briefing Paper from the Small Arms Survey’s Human Security Baseline Assessment in Sudan and South Sudan (HSBA) project analyses the dynamics of this opposition. The Briefing Paper examines the roots and composition of the Fertit opposition from the 1970s to November 2018, and finds that despite being well organized, internal competition for leadership threatens the unity of the movement. Moreover, it warns that civil conflict is likely to continue despite the 2018 Revitalized Agreement to Resolve the Conflict in South Sudan (RARCSS) peace agreement.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Treaties and Agreements, Self Determination, Minorities, Peace, and Identity
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan

117. Hungry for Peace: Exploring the Links Between Conflict and Hunger in South Suda

Author:
Elysia Buchanan
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In December 2017, South Sudan marked four years of devastating conflict. Only a few months later, it has reached another critical point: more South Sudanese are hungry than ever before. While the February 2018 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) does not declare famine, any classification of IPC 3 upwards means people need aid to survive. This means that 6.3 million people are struggling to get enough to eat, and are dependent on humanitarian aid that is increasingly difficult to access. This report examines the impact of the ongoing conflict on hunger through the prism of livelihoods; women’s empowerment; displacement; water, sanitation and hygiene; and the spread of disease. It provides recommendations for the international community and warring parties on what they can do to stop the violence, increase access to humanitarian aid and allow the people of South Sudan to recover.
Topic:
Hunger, Humanitarian Intervention, Conflict, and Sanitation
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

118. Supporting Sustainable Water Service Delivery in a Protracted Crisis: Professionalizing Community-led Systems in South Sudan

Author:
Mariana Matoso
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This report shares Oxfam’s experience with a water treatment plant community-led operator in Juba, South Sudan. It contributes to the debate on the role that communities can play in the process of managing water supply systems amid protracted crises. The report gives guidance on how to support professionalization of community services by providing business, governance and institutional support, and calls on donors and implementing agencies to develop WASH programmes which consider medium-term institutional support that ensures sustainability and pro-poor accessibility.
Topic:
Water, Infrastructure, Governance, Conflict, Humanitarian Crisis, and Hygiene
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

119. South Sudan Conflict from 2013 to 2018

Author:
Israel Nyaburi Nyadera
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
With the South Sudanese conflict in its fifth year in 2018, this paper seeks to not only examine the status of the civil war that has engulfed the youngest nation on earth but to also discuss the evolving narratives of its causes and provide policy recommendation to actors involved in the peace process. Having examined the continuously failing peace treaties between the warring parties, it is evident that the agreements have failed to unearth and provide solutions to the crisis and a new approach to examining the causes and solutions to the problem is therefore necessary. This paper argues that ethnic animosities and rivalry are a key underlying cause that has transformed political rivalry into a deadly ethnic dispute through vicious mobilisation and rhetoric. Therefore, it recommends a comprehensive peace approach that will address the political aspects of the conflict and propose restructuring South Sudan’s administrative, economic and social spheres in order to curb further manipulation of the ethnic differences.
Topic:
Civil War, Ethnicity, Discrimination, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

120. The Proposed Hybrid Court for South Sudan

Author:
Owiso Owiso
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
The 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan provides quite ambitiously and laudably for the creation of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan under the auspices of the African Union. The article is an extract from the author’s 2016 LL.M. dissertation submitted to the University of Pretoria. It critically examines the salient features of the proposed court with the aim of testing the court’s ability to effectively address historical grievances and injustices in South Sudan. In so doing, the article draws lessons from similar mechanisms in Africa and beyond. It also interrogates the role of the African Union and South Sudan in operationalising this court. It reveals strengths as well as weaknesses in the proposed design of the court as well as in the ability of the African Union and South Sudan to fulfil their obligations. Despite these weaknesses, the article argues that by harnessing the strengths identified and learning from lessons from across the continent, the African Union (AU) and South Sudan can overcome the anticipated challenges and operationalise a hybrid court which will effectively deliver sustainable justice to the victims of international crimes committed during the South Sudan civil war.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Cooperation, Transitional Justice, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

121. Power-Sharing Consociationalism in Resolving South Sudan’s Ethno-Political Conflict in the Post-Comprehensive Peace Agreement Era

Author:
Francis Onditi, Kizito Sabala, and Samson Wassara
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
This article uses Arend Lijphart’s notion of ‘power-sharing consocia-tionalism’ to understand the mutually reinforcing conflict system and the barriers to resolving such conflicts in South Sudan. ‘Consociationalism’ has been affirmed as an ideal approach for resolving conflicts in ethnically divided societies, but in South Sudan, the formal institutions of power sharing have not delivered sustainable peace. Analysis in this article reveals that the implementation of the various ‘peace agreements’ and ‘deals’ deviated from classical ‘consociationalism’. Consequently limited attention was paid to inter-ethnic tensions and too much emphasis was placed on the mechanics of power sharing among the executive and military institutions, leading to the proliferation of ‘organised political movements’. Rather than focusing on the mechanics of power sharing, a viable consociational model for South Sudan should concentrate on how such multifaceted layers of issues can be accommodated within a single settlement. Therefore, the South Sudan conflict system requires a stronger reconceptualisation of issues. Hence we have coined the term ‘tragedy of ethnic diversity’, not as a replacement of the well-known concept of ‘resource curse’, but as new thinking that might shape future research and scholarship in the increasingly complex South Sudan conflict system.
Topic:
Political Power Sharing, Ethnicity, Discrimination, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

122. Accessing South Sudan: Humanitarian Aid in a Time of Crisis

Author:
Erol Yayboke
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:
Since gaining its independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan has struggled to fulfill the promise of a new nation, eventually descending into civil war in late 2013. The country is now bearing the devastating human and financial costs of a complex conflict with ever-changing armed and political actors. Aid organizations face an array of humanitarian access constraints while working to address the acute needs of 7 million people, roughly half of the country. Although there is cause for cautious optimism after a peace agreement was signed in September 2018, these humanitarian needs will only grow in the absence of sustainable peace and a political solution to the man-made crisis in South Sudan.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Conflict, Peace, State Building, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan

123. From Independence to Civil War: Atrocity Prevention and US Policy toward South Sudan

Author:
Jon Temin
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Abstract:
Could the civil war in South Sudan have been prevented? Could some of the violence and misery caused by the war have been avoided? Those questions are academic in some ways, as so much damage has been done. But in other ways, seeking answers is vital because patterns of violence in the 21st century suggest there will be more wars that resemble the South Sudan conflict: (a) fought within a country’s borders, (b) fought between multiple groups that regularly fragment and realign, (c) driven in part by access to lucrative natural resources and capture of state coffers, (d) with civilians often targeted, and (e) in which the lines between civilians and combatants are sometimes blurred. When the threat of such state collapse appears elsewhere—and we should expect that it will—lessons from the South Sudan experience will be valuable. This project seeks to identify some of those lessons by examining US policy toward South Sudan in the years leading up to and during the civil war. President Barack Obama’s administration placed an emphasis on atrocity prevention, and South Sudan’s civil war was the source of some of the most egregious atrocities anywhere during his time in office. The author conducted in-depth interviews with more than 30 former and current American officials (from the Obama and George W. Bush administrations), South Sudanese experts, and longtime observers of South Sudan from the think tank, nongovernmental organization (NGO), and academic communities. Through those interviews, the author sought to identify pivotal periods in US policy making, short stretches of time during which events in South Sudan compelled the United States to act—or, in hindsight, times at which the United States could have acted with greater conviction but did not. This report identifies four such periods. For each, the author seeks to identify alternative policies that could have been considered and to assess whether those policies may have been able to prevent or limit violence.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Civil War, and Atrocity Prevention
Political Geography:
Africa, South Sudan, and United States of America

124. R2P Monitor, Issue 36, 15 November 2017

Author:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:
11-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 36 looks at developments in Myanmar (Burma), Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Sudan, Burundi, Philippines, Afghanistan and Somalia.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Philippines, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Somalia, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Central African Republic

125. R2P Monitor, Issue 35, 15 September 2017

Author:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 35 looks at developments in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Myanmar (Burma), South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Sudan, Burundi, Philippines, Afghanistan and Somalia.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Philippines, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Somalia, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Central African Republic

126. R2P Monitor, Issue 34, 15 July 2017

Author:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 34 looks at developments in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Myanmar (Burma), South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Philippines and Kenya.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:
Kenya, Iraq, Sudan, Philippines, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Burundi, Myanmar, and South Sudan

127. R2P Monitor, Issue 33, 15 May 2017

Author:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 33 looks at developments in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Myanmar (Burma) , South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Philippines and Central African Republic.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:
Iraq, Sudan, Philippines, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Central African Republic

128. R2P Monitor, Issue 32, 15 March 2017

Author:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 32 looks at developments in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Myanmar, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Philippines and Central African Republic. Issue 32 also includes an insert regarding states that have endorsed the Kigali Principles on the Protection of Civilians. For more information on the Kigali Principles, see: Improving Peacekeeping and Civilian Protection.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Peacekeeping, Civilians, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:
Iraq, Sudan, Philippines, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Central African Republic

129. R2P Monitor, Issue 31, 15 January 2017

Author:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 31 looks at developments in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Myanmar (Burma), South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Philippines, Central African Republic and Nigeria.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:
Iraq, Sudan, Philippines, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Nigeria, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Central African Republic

130. Humanitarian Need and Displacement in South Sudan

Author:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
A spike in political violence since mid-2016 has caused the worst humanitarian crisis in South Sudan since its decades-long civil war with Sudan.
Topic:
Political Violence, Civil War, Humanitarian Aid, and Displacement
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, East Africa, South Sudan, and Central Africa

131. Conflict and Famine in South Sudan

Author:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
While much of East Africa suffers from drought, it is conflict, rather than lack of rain, that has been the cause of famine in South Sudan.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Famine, Food Security, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, East Africa, South Sudan, and Central Africa

132. Conflict and Food Insecurity in South Sudan

Author:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The humanitarian situation in South Sudan continues to deteriorate as the conflict persists unabated. Four years of widespread violence have left 6 million people—half the population—acutely food insecure.
Topic:
Civil War, Humanitarian Aid, United Nations, Food Security, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, East Africa, and South Sudan

133. South Sudan Conflict Drives Massive Population Movement

Author:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Mass atrocities, including unlawful killings, rape, torture, and destruction of property, have caused one in three people in South Sudan to flee their homes.
Topic:
Genocide, Human Rights, United Nations, Refugees, and Displacement
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, East Africa, South Sudan, and Central Africa

134. Restructuring the UN Secretariat to Strengthen Preventative Diplomacy and Peace Operations

Author:
Sarah Cliffe and Alexandra Novosseloff
Publication Date:
02-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Global Peace Operations Review
Abstract:
Since 1945, the United Nations has helped support many successful peace processes and protected millions of civilians around the world. Peace operations deliver results: research estimates suggest that the presence of a UN peace keeping mission can reduce the risk of relapse into conflict by 75 – 85 percent;1 and that larger deployments diminish the scale of violence and protect civilians in the midst of fighting.2 Peace operations can be highly cost effective, with one General Audit Office assessment finding the cost to be roughly half of what a bilateral stabilization operation would cost.3 Different types of peace operations - from mediation and special envoys through to multidimensional peace-keeping and specialized justice and emergency health missions - have helped end long running conflicts and prevented violence from escalating or recurring in situations as diverse as Burkina Faso, Cambodia, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Guatemala, Guinea, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Namibia, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste. Yet in 2017 the UN’s peace and security pillar faces deep challenges. Three reviews in the past two years have highlighted serious inadequacies in UN peace and security responses at large. Many of the recent challenges are due to real world shifts in the nature of conflict and geopolitical dynamics – the tragedy of Syria, renewed fighting in Yemen and South Sudan, continued crisis in Libya, difficulties in preventing a political and humanitarian crisis in Burundi, longstanding missions that are struggling to deliver sustainable peace in DRC and Haiti, and newer missions in Mali and CAR where geography creates sustained cross-border security risks. These situations are also affected by divisions amongst Member States that have prevented agreement on action in some cases. Part of the weaknesses, however, are managerial and structural. The sense of urgency pervading Member States at the UN, together with a new Secretary-General who has signaled his determination to reform this area, provides the opportunity to take a more fundamental look at what would give the UN’s peace and security pillar the right form to deliver the functions that it is called to serve, now and in the future. The purpose of this report is to analyze options for organizational restructuring in the UN’s peace and security pillar. It focuses on headquarters structures since this has been identified as a primary source of overlap and competition: the purpose however is to deliver better results in the field, from prevention through crisis management to post-conflict recovery. It does not cover wider reforms across the UN’s three pillars, which are supported in other CIC work streams.4 Following an introductory section, Section II traces the history of UN peace and security structures since the UN’s founding (see Box). The UN has had no shortage of reform in the past, each designed to address specific weaknesses or new demands. Cumulatively, however, these changes have resulted in a structure that is no longer fit to fulfill the functions needed.
Topic:
Security, Diplomacy, United Nations, and Peace
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, Yemen, Haiti, Syria, North America, and South Sudan

135. Democratise or Disintegrate: How the AU Can Help South Sudan

Author:
Amanda Lucey and Liezelle Kumalo
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Peace Operations Review
Abstract:
he implementation of South Sudan’s latest peace agreement appears to be at a standstill. Insecurity, food shortages and the breakdown in governance have forced more than 1.5 million people to flee the country. President Salva Kiir’s announcement of a forthcoming national dialogue offers some hope. Yet people are divided on the legitimacy of the process: is this a ruse to detract attention from important reforms, or is it an opportunity to finally broaden the political process in South Sudan? External actors, including the African Union (AU), are also at odds with one another. This report looks at how the AU can enhance the prospects for peace in South Sudan.
Topic:
Security, Regional Cooperation, Food, Reform, Peace, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

136. Diplomacy in Action: Expanding the UN Security Council's Role in Crisis and Conflict Prevention

Author:
Richard Gowan
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Peace Operations Review
Abstract:
The UN Security Council has the potential to play a greater direct role in crisis response and mediation not only in New York, but in the field. It has done so sporadically in the past. In its early years, the Council experimented with inter-governmental missions to investigate potential conflicts and undertake mediation in cases including the Balkans and Indonesia. In the post-Cold War period, Council missions engaged directly in crisis diplomacy in multiple conflicts, playing an important peacemaking role in East Timor in 1999. States outside the Council contributed to these efforts through Groups of Friends. Yet the Council has frequently handed off conflict prevention and resolution to the Secretary-General and other UN officials, or allowed other organizations or states to take the lead in responding to looming conflicts. Despite current political frictions, Council members would like to engage more directly in some situations on its agenda. 2016 saw Council missions to Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These have had limited impact due to strategy and procedural differences among participants, in addition to weak follow-up. The Secretary-General should not view increased Council activism as a challenge to his own work, but look for ways to support and harness efforts by Council members to address looming crises. The Council should streamline its working methods and operational approaches to engaging in conflict prevention .
Topic:
Diplomacy, United Nations, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:
Africa, Burundi, South Sudan, and Democratic Republic of Congo

137. Moral Obligation: UN Missions Should Not Abandon Vulnerable Civilians in Critical Times

Author:
Kofi Nsia- Pepra
Publication Date:
08-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Peace Operations Review
Abstract:
United Nations (UN) missions’ inaction in response to civilian killings by government troops in Darfur, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has precipitated international outcry and raised concerns on viability of UN missions in fulfilling their civilian protection mandates. In all these cases, peacekeepers are trapped in quagmires where violence is endemic and operations are flawed. The tragedy is that the principle of peacekeeping that requires host country consent has left the UN entangled in relationships with obstructionist governments guilty of civilian killings. Without the governments’ cooperation, peacekeepers have been reduced to bystanders and struggled to fulfill their protection mandates while civilians are killed. The UN has a dilemma when its peace operations are not working. Some suggest it should “walk away” from such failed missions, but the system is haunted by its failures to protect civilians in Rwanda and Srebrenica. The UN should think twice about withdrawing. Member states have a commitment to the “responsibility to protect” and “saving the next generation from the scourge of war”. Abandoning vulnerable civilians would be a moral failure, embolden spoilers, perpetuate the cycle of impunity, and implicitly condone conscience-shocking atrocities that undermine the organization’s credibility and legitimacy. A better way forward is to deepen the analysis of operational deficiencies that undermine the robustness of UN missions and strengthen their ability to protect civilians.
Topic:
United Nations, Humanitarian Intervention, Peace, Civilians, and Morality
Political Geography:
Africa, Darfur, South Sudan, and Democratic Republic of Congo

138. "Their Priority Is Not The People": Civilian Views On Peace Operations In Africa

Author:
Thijs Van Laer
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Peace Operations Review
Abstract:
“Their priority is not the people of Somalia,” a Somali woman who had recently fled to the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya said about peacekeepers in her home country. “It is the government and themselves.” Unfortunately, this view is not unique. Civilians in countries with peace operations often experience a wide gap between them and those missions. Yet, at a time when peacekeeping is at a crossroads—again—and under increasing financial pressure, it is more important than ever to solicit and acknowledge the views of the citizens who are affected by peace operations. Their suggestions on how to bolster results should be taken into account in the ongoing debates about successes, failures, and costs of peace operations. However, despite an acceptance in the ever-quoted HIPPO report that “engaging with host countries and local communities must increasingly be regarded as core to mission success” and despite the acceptance of protection of civilians as a core norm for UN peacekeeping, realities on the ground demonstrate that too little has been done to access or include these voices. Between October 2015 and April 2017, International Refugees Rights Initiative (IRRI) conducted close to 200 interviews with civilians in South Sudan, Sudan (Darfur) and Somalia about how they perceive the peace operations in their countries. The three missions in those countries, all of which are mandated by the UN Security Council, embody the range of different options available to implement the strategic partnership between the African Union and the UN, from a fully-fledged UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), to a joint AU-UN mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and an AU-operated mission in Somalia (AMISOM). While all three operate in significantly different contexts, they all have “little peace to keep” and have been often criticized for their limitations in implementing their mandate, especially when it comes to the protection of civilians. All three missions have also been reviewed this year. UNAMID has been restructured and its troop numbers have been seriously reduced; the UN and AU have just concluded a joint review of AMISOM and strengthened the focus in its mandate on withdrawal and handover to Somali security forces. UNMISS faces some minor budget cuts and a review, even as reinforcement by a Regional Protection Force is slowly being implemented. While much of what was talked about by the Somalis, South Sudanese, and Darfuris interviewed during the course of the research was specific to their context, a number of similarities and trends emerge from their responses, despite the strategic, operational, and contextual differences between the three missions. These trends are important, not only for any new rounds of high-level policy debates, but also for addressing the strategic challenges for protection of civilians and the rock-bottom popularity of peacekeepers among the civilians they are supposed to protect.
Topic:
Human Rights, United Nations, Refugees, Peace, and Civilians
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, Sudan, Darfur, Somalia, and South Sudan

139. Beyond Liberal Peace: Transcending Elite Pacts and Militarized Politics in South Sudan

Author:
Iris Tintswalo Nxumalo
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
The ongoing civil war in South Sudan was triggered by factionalism within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), reflecting deep divisions and structural challenges within the South Sudanese elite and the state. Despite regional and international efforts at peacemaking and the signing of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCISS) in August 2015, there remain episodes of conflict. This brief calls for a renewed political process that seeks to address the multiple levels of conflict, true reconciliation, and cooperation through recognition of mutual interests among emerging South Sudanese elites, and between them and the people through greater inclusivity in national dialogues and governance structures.
Topic:
Civil War, Regional Cooperation, Political structure, and Peace
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan

140. Revisiting the Dismissal of the UNMISS Force Commander in South Sudan

Author:
Charles Ukeje and Kizito Sabala
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
This policy briefing note examines the implications of the altercation between the United Nations (UN) and Kenya following the dismissal of the Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Lieutenant General Johnson Ondieki, a Kenyan citizen. An Independent Special Investigation established by the UN blamed poor leadership and judgment for the attacks on Terrain camp—a UN facility in Juba, the capital of South Sudan—in July 2016, which led to several deaths. Although the UN promptly requested that Kenya appoint a replacement, the country considered the dismissal of its citizen unnecessarily punitive and refused.
Topic:
United Nations, Leadership, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan

141. Everything Except the Soil: Understanding Wild Food Consumption During the Lean Season in South Sudan

Author:
Hilary Dragicevic
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Wild plants are a critical part of the regular South Sudanese diet and become even more important during the lean season. This paper explores seasonal consumption patterns and recent significant changes in those patterns in Panyijar County, Unity State during the acute food crisis in 2017. It provides information on local preferences and health perceptions of wild foods, and reconsiders the idea that wild food consumption is primarily a coping strategy.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, and Food Security
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

142. Japan’s international peace operations in South Sudan

Author:
Daisuke Akimoto
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
After the independence of South Sudan from Sudan on 9 July 2011, the Japanese government decided to dispatch its Self-Defence Forces (SDF) to South Sudan under the auspices of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS). Despite the post-conflict military clashes in South Sudan, the Japanese government did not withdraw the SDF, but instead, the Abe administration assigned a new mission, the so-called ‘kaketsuke-keigo’ (‘rush and rescue’), to rescue staff of international organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGO) in preparation for possible armed attacks during peacekeeping operations. The new mission can be regarded as Prime Minister Abe’s ‘proactive contribution to peace’ (proactive pacifism) in action, and the policy is congruous with the purpose of ‘human security’ and ‘protection of civilians’. This paper aims to investigate Japan’s contribution to peacekeeping operations in South Sudan and examine associated dilemmas facing the United Nations, the Japanese government, and the Japanese peacekeepers in UNMISS – which need to be overcome for future international peace operations.
Topic:
Security, Humanitarian Aid, Military Strategy, and Peace
Political Geography:
Africa, Japan, Asia, and South Sudan

143. Women’s Economic Participation in Conflict-Affected and Fragile Settings

Author:
Peace and Security (GIWPS) Georgetown Institute for Women
Publication Date:
08-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
Globally, women continue to face significant cultural, institutional, and structural barriers to meaningful economic participation. These challenges are intensified for women living in or coming from countries embroiled in conflict. Yet, we know that women’s economic empowerment strengthens women’s rights and grants them increased control over their own lives, allows them to better provide for their families, and contributes to the advancement of their communities and societies. When women are empowered economically, they are safer and less likely to fall victim to domestic violence and sexually transmitted diseases, their children are more likely to go to school and stay in school longer, their daughters marry at later ages, their families are healthier, more sustainable, and more stable. As research clearly shows, women’s increased participation in the economy confers universal benefits. However, failure to analyze and understand how women uniquely contribute to the political, social, and economic environment hampers these societies’ abilities to codify viable peace and promote lasting prosperity. The inaugural volume of the Institute’s Occasional Paper Series reflect the Institute’s recent thematic workshop on women’s economic participation in post-conflict and fragile settings held at Georgetown University in December 2015. As part of Bridging Theory and Practice, this recent symposium brought together leading practitioners and academics to problematize the varied ways women’s full economic participation in fragile settings can and does contribute to more viable peace and lasting prosperity, as well as the myriad political, cultural, and structural barriers that hamper the realization of women’s agency in such contexts. At the conference, practitioners and scholars compared cases from across the globe, gained valuable insights from successful approaches, and uncovered lessons on how to overcome remaining barriers. Presenters covered a range of issues within the field, from gendered resiliency programming during humanitarian crises to the security and developmental implications of women’s land tenure, from the economic status of Syrian refugee women to protecting spaces for women’s economic participation in post-conflict settings. There was also significant discussion on the data that is missing and still needed, particularly surrounding women’s economic participation in conflict-affected areas, how that research can be pursued in the future, and how integral these missing pieces are to fully understanding the economic challenges that women face during conflict, as well as the opportunities that arise out of these difficult times. While it would be impossible to detail the entirety of the thought-provoking discussions that occurred, this volume attempts to share some of the ideas outlined in that symposium. In the following pages, Ann Hudock identifies the key spaces women need safeguarded in fragile contexts if they are to unleash their economic potential. Subsequently, Karen Sherman and Sarah Williamson dive deeply into case studies on South Sudanese women and Syrian refugee women, respectively. Sherman elucidates the obstacles South Sudanese women face in achieving any semblance of economic stability, the methods they employ to overcome such obstacles, and the perils of not facilitating women’s full economic participation in this fragile setting. Williamson unpacks detailed data surrounding the limited employment and economic opportunities Syrian women enjoy both in Syria and across the larger Middle East and North Africa region as refugees. In doing so, she not only unveils the coping mechanisms families in crisis must deploy to meet the challenges of living in protracted crisis and how those mechanisms uniquely and adversely impact women and girls, but she also paints a way forward. Each article provides a rich and nuanced story of how women participate in the economies of war-torn and fragile states. In the end, we hope this volume gives policy makers, practitioners, and academics a unique understanding of and head start in the continued work to implement successful programming to economically empower women in post-conflict and fragile settings.
Topic:
Economics, Women, Refugees, Conflict, and Participation
Political Geography:
Middle East, North Africa, Syria, and South Sudan

144. outh Sudan Gender Analysis: A snapshot situation analysis of the differential impact of the humanitarian crisis on women, girls, men and boys in South Sudan

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The continuing conflict in South Sudan, which began in December 2013, is having a devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of millions of South Sudanese women, men, boys and girls, with the result that South Sudan is now one of the most food-insecure countries in the world. Women and men of all ages are suffering from the effects of conflict, including abuses and loss of control over, and access to, vital resources. This report presents the results of a gender analysis field study conducted in South Sudan in May-June 2016. The study was carried out as part of the ECHO-ERC project ‘Institutionalizing Gender in Emergencies: Bridging Policy and Practice’. The report highlights the different impacts the conflict is having on women and men; whether and how these needs are being addressed; and where opportunities may exist for UN agencies, donors, South Sudanese authorities and civil society to incorporate a stronger gender element into their programmes and responses. It also aims to explain how programmes can be gender-sensitive in times of protracted conflict.
Topic:
Civil Society, United Nations, Humanitarian Intervention, Food Assistance, and Disaster Management
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

145. The Human Cost of Uncontrolled Arms in Africa: Cross-national research on seven African countries

Author:
Adesoji Adeniyi
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Prolonged conflict, proxy wars, and inter-communal strife characterize many regions in Africa. This violence has caused untold atrocities, deaths, sexual violence, and displacement, as well as accelerating poverty and shattering lives and communities across the continent. Uncontrolled arms in Africa fuel this violence and are increasingly putting lives at immense risk. This report provides evidence about the human costs of uncontrolled arms: injuries and fatalities, internally displaced people and refugees, gender-based violence, and erosion of social cohesion and communal trust. Covering Mali, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Libya, it provides arms control recommendations to African states, the African Union and Regional Economic Communities, donor communities, and the private sector.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Refugees, Arms Trade, Conflict, Violence, Proxy War, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Mali, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Democratic Republic of Congo

146. On the Brink: As Famine Looms, World Leaders Must Say Up and Deliver Political Solutions to Save Lives

Author:
Shannon Scribner
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
As famine takes hold in South Sudan and threatens to spread to northeastern Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen, world leaders must immediately step up to fully fund the United Nations’ appeal for $6.3 billion. Of this amount, $4.9 billion is urgently needed by July for critical assistance, including health, food, nutrition, and water. If lives are to be saved, humanitarian agencies must be able to rapidly scale up and access people in need. World leaders must not walk away from key meetings, such as the Group of Seven Taormina Summit in Italy and the Group of Twenty Hamburg Summit in Germany, without taking action to increase funding, improve access, resolve conflict and insecurity, and ensure that emergency relief is coupled with long-term approaches to building resilience in affected countries.
Topic:
International Cooperation, United Nations, Famine, Food Security, and Leadership
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, Yemen, Nigeria, Somalia, and South Sudan

147. Improving Coordination through Mapping: Using GIS to Map Community Boreholes in South Sudan

Author:
Paul Evans
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In South Sudan, Oxfam has introduced the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to map water and sanitation facilities across conflict-hit Wau. This case study explains how this has enabled Oxfam and partners to better monitor and coordinate activities – and has the potential to maximize opportunities to develop sustainable water sources.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Water, Infrastructure, Sanitation, Geography, Maping, and Hygiene
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

148. Fragile States Index 2017 – Annual Report

Author:
J. J. Messner, Nate Haken, Hannah Blyth, Christina Murphy, Amanda Quinn, George Lehner, and Daniel Ganz
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Fund for Peace
Abstract:
The Fragile States Index, produced by The Fund for Peace, is a critical tool in highlighting not only the normal pressures that all states experience, but also in identifying when those pressures are pushing a state towards the brink of failure. By highlighting pertinent issues in weak and failing states, The Fragile States Index—and the social science framework and software application upon which it is built—makes political risk assessment and early warning of conflict accessible to policy-makers and the public at large.
Topic:
Fragile States, Economic Growth, Domestic Politics, Coup, Instability, and Autocracy
Political Geography:
Africa, United Kingdom, Turkey, Middle East, South Africa, Brazil, Colombia, South America, North America, Ethiopia, Mexico, South Sudan, Global Focus, and United States of America

149. R2P Monitor, Issue 30, 15 November 2016

Author:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:
11-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 30 looks at developments in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Burma/Myanmar, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Nigeria, Central African Republic and Philippines.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:
Iraq, Sudan, Philippines, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Nigeria, Burundi, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Central African Republic

150. R2P Monitor, Issue 29, 15 September 2016

Author:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:
09-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
R2P Monitor is a bimonthly bulletin applying the Responsibility to Protect lens to populations at risk of mass atrocities around the world. Issue 29 looks at developments in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Burma/Myanmar, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan and Burundi. Issue 29 also includes an insert regarding states that have endorsed the Kigali Principles on the Protection of Civilians. For more information on the Kigali Principles, see: Improving Peacekeeping and Civilian Protection.
Topic:
Human Rights, Peacekeeping, Civilians, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Atrocities
Political Geography:
Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Nigeria, Burundi, Myanmar, and South Sudan