South Sudan: Briefing and Consultations
Tomorrow morning (14 August), the Security Council will convene for an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on the situation in South Sudan and the Secretary-General’s most recent 90-day report on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), which was published on 29 July and covers developments from 16 February to 15 July. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan and Head of UNMISS Nicholas Haysom, Interim Chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) Major General (Retired) Charles Tai Gituai, and Director of OCHA’s Operations and Advocacy Division Edem Wosornu are the anticipated briefers.
On 4 August 2022, all signatories to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) agreed to a roadmap extending the transitional period by 24 months to implement its key outstanding tasks. The original transitional period agreed to in the R-ARCSS ended on 22 February 2023, while the extended transition period is scheduled to end on 22 February 2025, with first post-independence elections planned for December 2024.
According to the Secretary-General’s report, the implementation of critical benchmarks outlined in the R-ARCSS, necessary for holding elections in December, remains limited. Key issues that are yet to be determined include: the constitution-making process, the type and number of elections, voter registration modalities, an integrated election security plan, and an election dispute resolution mechanism. The report notes that, in early July, the High-Level Standing Committee—a senior South Sudanese ministerial-level body responsible for overseeing the implementation of the R-ARCSS—concluded its review of the implementation of the August 2022 roadmap and presented recommendations on the way forward. However, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit has yet to consider the report, at the time of writing.
Despite significant delays, the Secretary-General’s report acknowledges steps taken to operationalise key electoral and political bodies. In April, the South Sudanese government allocated partial funding to the National Elections Commission (NEC) and the Political Parties Council (PPC), as well as to the National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC) in June. However, the amount remains significantly short of estimated budgetary requirements to organise proposed elections, according to the Secretary-General’s report.
At tomorrow’s meeting, Haysom is likely to update members on the high-level mediation talks (known as the Tumaini initiative) between the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) and the non-signatories to the R-ARCSS, launched on 9 May under Kenya’s auspices. On 6 June, UNMISS was granted observer status in the talks. On 15 July, the participants reached agreement on eight protocols, including on issues related to humanitarian access, confidence-building measures, a permanent ceasefire, security arrangements and reforms, and land disputes. However, Riek Machar, South Sudan’s first Vice President and the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), decided to withdraw from the talks. He argued that the Tumaini initiative was only supposed to be a mediation forum for the parties to agree on a document that could serve as an annex to the revitalised agreement, thereby bringing the non-signatories into the fold, and not a stand-alone agreement. (For background and more information, see the South Sudan brief in our August 2024 Monthly Forecast.)
At tomorrow’s meeting, Wosornu and Council members are expected to express concern about the country’s deteriorating humanitarian situation and rising food insecurity. According to a 30 June World Food Programme (WFP) situation report, approximately 7.1 million people—almost 56 percent of the country’s population—are facing severe levels of food insecurity, described by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) as crisis level conditions or worse (IPC Phase 3 or above). Of this total, 2.3 million people face emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 4) and 79,000 people face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5). The report added that, due to lack of adequate funding, the WFP has been forced to prioritise resources to assist the most acutely food insecure households. The situation is likely to be exacerbated by floods anticipated between July and December, which may affect around 3.3 million people. The draft flood preparedness and response plan jointly developed by the South Sudanese government and humanitarian partners seeks $264 million to assist people projected to be affected by the floods, according to the Secretary-General’s report.
Council members also remain concerned about the ongoing sub-national and intercommunal violence in the country. During the period covered by the Secretary-General’s report, UNMISS documented and verified 408 incidents of violence affecting 1,727 civilians, including 157 women and 184 children. The report notes that in order to increase operational reach, deter attacks against civilians, and secure main supply routes, UNMISS maintained three extended-duration temporary operating bases (TOBs) in Tambura, Koch, and Jamjang as well as established TOBs in Abiemnom and Maper on 26 February and 15 March, respectively. Between 27 April and 20 May, UNMISS and UN Police (UNPOL) reinforced the TOB in Tambura due to increased tensions between the Azande and Balanda communities.
Some members may also raise concerns about the high incidence of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and are likely to stress the need to ensure accountability and justice. A total of 70 CRSV incidents affecting 93 survivors, including 56 women and 35 girls, were documented and verified during the period covered by the Secretary-General’s report. Attacks on humanitarian workers and looting of humanitarian assets is another matter of concern for Council members. Between 16 February and 30 June, the report documented 188 incidents related to humanitarian access restrictions, 98 of which involved violence against humanitarian personnel.
Another issue that the briefers and Council members are likely to raise is the adverse humanitarian, security, and economic effects on South Sudan of the fighting in Sudan that started on 15 April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese paramilitary group. According to data provided by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as at 11 August, approximately 776,344 individuals—including 169,214 Sudanese refugees, and 603,226 South Sudanese refugee returnees—have crossed into South Sudan since the outbreak of fighting in Sudan. The Secretary-General’s report notes that the influx of refugees and returnees is exacerbating the strain on local communities, which are already grappling with diminishing resources. The report also points out that disruptions to South Sudan’s oil exports, caused by damage to oil infrastructure due to fighting in Sudan, have worsened the exchanged rate and led to sharp increase in food and fuel prices. (For more information, see the South Sudan brief in our August 2024 Monthly Forecast.)
The Secretary-General’s report notes that the South Sudanese government attempted to address economic instability by raising non-oil revenues, including by introducing new taxes and fees on imports and exports. However, it adds that disagreements over payments and the applicability of the new taxes and fees caused import blockages, including for UNMISS and UN agencies, funds and programmes. Among other things, the imposition of taxes and fees forced humanitarian agencies to suspend aid airdrops to 145,000 people and reduced the number of flights operated by the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), complicating the transport of supplies and aid workers. The report notes that following intensive dialogue with the government, the situation concerning fuel importation has improved and UNHAS operations are returning to normal. On 19 June, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix briefed Council members on this issue under “any other business”, at the request of the US. (For background and more information, see the brief on South Sudan in our May 2024 Monthly Forecast.)
