South Sudan: Briefing and Consultations
Tomorrow morning (7 November), the Security Council will convene for an open briefing on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan and Head of UNMISS Nicholas Haysom will brief on the Secretary-General’s latest 90-day report, which was published on 25 October and covers developments from 16 July to 15 October. A civil society representative is also expected to brief. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the open briefing.
Council members that have signed on to the Shared Commitments on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS)—Ecuador, France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, the UK, and the US—are expected to read a joint statement ahead of the meeting. The statement is likely to underline the importance of ensuring the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of women in political processes. It may also call on the South Sudanese authorities to ensure accountability for conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and take additional measures to protect civilians.
An expected focus of tomorrow’s meeting is the 13 September decision by the signatories to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) to extend the transitional period by 24 months. The decision postponed again the country’s first post-independence elections, which were scheduled for December 2024, until December 2026, and extended the transitional period until February 2027. The original transitional period outlined in the R-ARCSS was set to end in February 2023; it had been extended until February 2025 through a roadmap adopted in August 2022. (For background and more information, see the brief on South Sudan in our November 2024 Monthly Forecast.)
The members of the Troika on South Sudan (Norway, the UK, and the US), joined by Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the European Union (EU), expressed disappointment at the decision to extend the transitional period in an 18 September statement. They also called on all stakeholders to create the conditions necessary for holding peaceful, transparent, and inclusive elections as soon as possible. During a 9 October press briefing, Haysom regretted the decision, noting that the only way forward for the South Sudanese authorities was to find compromises to implement a critical mass of the key political and operational benchmarks outlined in the R-ARCSS. The key issues to be determined include: the constitution-making process, the type and number of elections, the election timeline, voter registration modalities, an integrated election security plan, and an election dispute resolution mechanism.
Tomorrow, Haysom and several Council members are likely to express concern about the consistent delays in implementing the peace agreement and urge all stakeholders to engage in a constructive process to urgently implement the outstanding tasks. Some members are expected to emphasise the need for inclusive political and decision-making processes, including implementing the commitment contained in the R-ARCSS to a 35 percent quota for representation of women across all governance structures. They may also urge the South Sudanese authorities to allocate necessary funds for operationalising the required electoral institutions. Members are further likely to call for continued engagement with the non-signatories to the R-ARCSS to build broader consensus through the Tumaini initiative and ensure complementarity with the R-ARCSS. (This initiative refers to the high-level mediation talks between the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity and the non-signatories to the revitalised agreement, facilitated by Kenya.)
On 7 October, the High-Level Standing Committee—a senior South Sudanese ministerial-level body responsible for overseeing the implementation of the R-ARCSS—finalised its assessment and recommendations for aligning the Tumaini initiative with the revitalised agreement. On 28 October, the standing committee, led by South Sudanese Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomuro, met with Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto in Nairobi. In a 5 November post on X (formerly Twitter), Ruto said that he had met with representatives of the opposition parties to the Tumaini initiative and that they were ready to sign the consensus document resulting from the discussions under the initiative. Earlier today (6 November), Ruto travelled to Juba, where he met with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice President Riek Machar to discuss the Tumaini initiative. According to a joint statement issued following the meeting, both heads of state “directed the mediation team to reconvene and resolve any outstanding issue within two weeks”. They also agreed to engage the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the process in order to mobilise resources and involve the broader region. (For background and more information, see the brief on South Sudan in our August 2024 Monthly Forecast and 13 August What’s in Blue story.)
Tomorrow, Haysom might reiterate key messages from his 31 October statement, delivered at the eighth plenary meeting of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), the body responsible for overseeing the implementation of the R-ARCSS. In this statement, he elaborated on UNMISS’ decision to expand its assistance to South Sudan’s National Elections Commission beyond technical discussions and capacity-building. He highlighted that the mission possesses the requisite electoral, political, and law enforcement expertise to dedicate to electoral assistance, including to address electoral security issues. Haysom stressed, however, that requests for financing from international partners for any aspect of the transition process needed to be backed up by commitments by the South Sudanese authorities demonstrating readiness to invest in their own democratic elections and processes. He also referenced his 30 October meeting with Kiir, during which the Special Representative urged the reconvening of the monthly Joint Task Force meetings with the UN, African Union (AU), IGAD, and the Troika on South Sudan to support the prioritisation and resourcing of the constitution-making and electoral processes.
Council members remain concerned about the ongoing sub-national and intercommunal violence and the high incidence of sexual and gender-based violence in the country. During the period covered by the Secretary-General’s report, UNMISS documented and verified 206 incidents of violence affecting 1,039 civilians, including 74 women and 62 children. The report also documented a total of 87 incidents of CRSV affecting 90 survivors, including 57 women and 31 girls. The challenging conditions faced by humanitarians in the country is another matter of concern for Council members. The Secretary-General’s report verified 118 incidents relating to humanitarian access restrictions, including bureaucratic and physical impediments and security incidents. Tomorrow, several members may call on the South Sudanese authorities to take additional measures to protect civilians, including through the deployment of the Necessary Unified Forces (NUF).
At tomorrow’s meeting, Haysom and several Council members are expected to express concern about the country’s deteriorating humanitarian situation and rising food insecurity. The difficult situation has been further compounded by flooding and resulting impediments to humanitarian relief efforts. According to a 1 November update from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), flooding has affected around 1.4 million people across 43 counties and the Abyei Administrative Area (the disputed area along the Sudan-South Sudan border), with Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Jonglei states accounting for approximately half of the affected population. Heavy rainfall and flooding have rendered 15 key supply routes impassable, significantly restricting access to affected areas. In addition, an economic crisis, driven by currency depreciation and rising commodity prices, has worsened the overall situation.
South Sudan also continues to grapple with the adverse humanitarian, security, and economic effects of the ongoing fighting in Sudan and resulting influx of refugees and South Sudanese returnees. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as at 3 November, approximately 836,022 individuals have crossed into South Sudan since the onset of fighting on 15 April 2023. The influx has exacerbated the strain on local communities, which are already struggling with diminishing resources. As well, the final report of the Panel of Experts assisting the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee, dated 29 April, said that several senior South Sudanese government officials have confirmed the participation of “mercenaries” of South Sudanese origin in the Sudan conflict and have cautioned that this may trigger further illicit movement of firearms across the Sudan-South Sudan border.
