Building the Peace in South Sudan: Beyond the Refugee Crisis

South Sudanese refugees arrive on a transit bus to the reception center at the Imvepi Refugee camp on Friday, 23 June, 2017 in Northern Uganda. Photo courtesy of UNMISS via Flickr Commons. 

In June 2017 I spent two weeks in South Sudan researching peace efforts by women's grassroots organizations. My stay gave me more insight into the current dynamics of peacebuilding in the country and enabled me to look beyond the refugee crisis. This was also during the same time period the UN and the world converged in Kampala, Uganda to discuss the refugee crisis and galvanize support for South Sudanese refugees in Uganda.

Upon arrival in Juba life appears normal as you drive through the city. Then you begin to feel uneasiness at the numerous armed guards and aid agency vehicles. The nature of militarization is apparent with sights of armoured cars, a ubiquitous military presence,  gun shots at night, and continual  attacks outside of Juba, mostly unreported by the Government-restricted media. In June 2017 the South Sudan Media Authority banned at least 20 foreign journalists from media coverage in the country for what it termed as "unsubstantiated and unrealistic stories."[1]

Discussions with different stakeholders in civil society and members of the Parliament show differing perspectives on the extent of implementation of the 2015 Peace Agreement.[2] While some believe it is not being upheld, others feel as though it provides a useful framework to deal with development issues that would enable the achievement of sustainable peace in South Sudan. The National Dialogue has been launched in line with the signed peace agreement, and human rights groups are calling for a more inclusive process. The government has appointed a one hundred member committee to facilitate the Dialogue. However, for the Dialogue to achieve its set objectives of creating a conducive environment and broadening the participation of all stakeholders, and to develop consensus and implement the reforms called for by the peace agreement all the warring parties and actors in the recent and ongoing conflict must be involved. This has not been the case.

For any national dialogue to be successful it must be inclusive and transparent with credible conveners. The appointment of this committee was not transparent and no clear method or criteria for the selection of the committee was made public. However, the committee continues its work with set principles which include ensuring the cessation of hostilities; neutral conveners; release of political prisoners; freedom of expression; and inclusive and transparent dialogue. To support the National Dialogue process the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) has developed a reference guide for civil society organizations to inform, empower, and mobilize communities to participate in the National Dialogue process.[3] This step indicates the important role of civil society organizations in the peace building process for South Sudan.

Within Juba there exist Protection of Civilian Center (POCs), which host internally displaced persons (IDPs). Most of the humanitarian support has focused on this IDP population, but in Juba the population of about 300,000 still struggles to survive on a daily basis. The general population lives in abject poverty and many cannot afford even one meal a day.[4] The impact of the war on the economy is evident as the South Sudanese Pound has been devalued, most civil servants have not received salaries for over six months, and there is a sense of hopelessness from the unemployed population.

While the number of refugees in neighbouring countries, particularly in Uganda, is huge (over one million as at August 2017),[5] the livelihoods of people who remain behind are not better by normal standards. So as the world focuses on raising awareness on refugees, there is a need to support South Sudan in creating a peaceful environment that would facilitate development towards improving the lives of South Sudanese as well as enable refugees to return and aid in rebuilding the country. This in turn would alleviate the pressure on refugee receiving countries like Uganda and Ethiopia. There are a number of other crises that must be addressed within South Sudan in order to solve the refugee crisis, such as absolute cessation of hostilities, reintegration and demobilization of the army, revitalization of the economy, rebuilding of institutions, justice and reconciliation to enable forgiveness, and, most importantly, ensuring accountability of leaders. Until these issues are dealt with, I am afraid that in the next two years the world will continue to bear the burden of the South Sudan refugee crisis.

Helen Kezie-Nwoha is the Executive Director of the Isis-Women's International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE), a member of the Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding.

[1] Welle Wudu, Waakhe Simon. "South Sudan bans foreign journalists" Deutsche Welle. (September 6, 2017). http://www.dw.com/en/south-sudan-bans-foreign-journalists/a-39187010.

[2] "The Comprehensive Peace Agreement Between The Government of The Republic of The Sudan and The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Sudan People's Liberation Army" Peace Accords. https://peaceaccords.nd.edu/sites/default/files/accords/SudanCPA.pdf

[3] "Guide on the National Dialogue Process in South Sudan" UNDP in South Sudan. September 12, 2017. http://www.ss.undp.org/content/south_sudan/en/home/library/democratic_governance/guide-national-dialogue-south-sudan/

[4] "The World Bank In South Sudan." World Bank Overview. October 20, 2016. http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/southsudan/overview

[5] United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). "Refugees from South Sudan in Uganda: Post 15 Dec 2013." UNHCR South Sudan Situation. http://data.unhcr.org/SouthSudan/country.php?id=229.