The civil war within South Sudan has caused violence within the nation since December

Transcription

1 Topic : South Sudan Edison Novice Committee I. Background: The civil war within South Sudan has caused violence within the nation since December This conflict first started when the president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, accused his vice president, Riek Machar along with ten other governmental figures of planning a coup d'etat to overthrow of him. Riek Machar ended up being fired from his position as vice president in December 2013, which sparked an outrage from South Sudanese citizens. One of the two major ethnic groups within the nation, the Dinka, sided with president Kiir, while the other major ethnic group, the Nuer, backed former vice president Machar. Soon a civil war broke out from the growing tensions between the Dinka, Nuer, and government forces. Only one week after Machar had been fired, one thousand South Sudanese had been killed and about one hundred thousand were displaced (BBC). Most IDP s had moved into the upper Nile region into cities such as Aburoc, or in refugee camps in Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda. A month later a ceasefire had to be called, but negotiations in February ended in more violence. In April, Riek Machar went to the state of Juba, where he was named the vice president of a new unity government, until he was again fired in July of Unrest within the rebellion group stayed, causing Machar to be asked to hold the position of vice president again; fearing for his life, Riek Machar brought a group of his own fighters when he travelled. This action caused the two groups to clash again, ruining the peace talks held and actions to reunify the country. Negotiations between the Dinka and Nuer have tried to been reached countless times.

2 Most peace talks began in August of 2014, where there were multiple meetings in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa while the fighting still raged on. There has never been a formal peace treaty reached, even though the United Nations and multiple countries such as Kenya, Japan, and the United States of America have become involved. These nations have tried to help hold ceasefires to at least temporarily stop the fighting, but within weeks or months they become broken and fighting continues. Countries have also funded aid within South Sudan, but it is estimated that the nation would need about one hundred fifty-eight billion dollars to fully recover from this civil war. Peace talks and meetings with country leaders have also taken place, but president Kiir and former vice president Machar have stayed true to their beliefs, and refuse to move from their positions. The clashing of these two ethnic groups has caused detrimental effects to the country. As a result of this conflict, citizens of ethnic groups have been targeted and become victims of rape, sexual violence, destruction of villages, and looting. City raids such as those in Wau and Tidilo have ended in numerous dead (twenty-two in Tidilo and sixteen casualties in Wau), and also stealing cattle for food. Destruction of cities such as Juba, Abyei, and Rubkona has caused over one million citizens have been forced to move. Bombing campaigns that have hit the Southern Kordofan s Nuba Mountains have greatly affected citizens, because most of the time, it damages them with burns and severe injuries frequently requiring amputations. About one hundred citizens die each year from aerial attacks (HRW). Hospitals and healthcare facilities are also bombed often, causing lack of proper facilities to treat wounds and illnesses. Schools are another target, twenty were destroyed in 2014 alone.

3 Food supply within South Sudan has also been affected because the violence has caused farmers to not be able to produce crops, which accounts for the 835 percent increase of inflation towards food. Currently, forty percent of farmers have lost their farmland, causing a nationwide food shortage. About four million citizens (three quarters of the country) are thought to be affected by the food shortage. Forty-eight percent of the population (around five million people) within South Sudan have been categorized as in crisis or emergency for famine. It is also estimated that fifty thousand children will die of hunger starvation within the next five years. This situation within South Sudan has been classified by the United Nations as a level three crisis, the highest level, because of the complexity of its needs and the current situation the country is in. Along with this, the United Nations has reported that South Sudan is facing its toughest year on record because of the increase of people that are in need of food resources. Another effect of the civil war is the recruitment of child soldiers. Over the past five years, there has been estimated from fifteen to sixteen thousand children forced into join the Sudan People s Liberation Army (SPLA). While children are given no choice but to join the armies, leaders of them, such as the Sudan People s Liberation Army, denies ever forcing any children into joining. Due to the massive corruption within the South Sudanese government, there have been no consequences for these government commissioners; instead there has been praise such as promotion in rankings, and medals for the conflicts they have taken part in. Two of the most notorious generals that force children into the armies are Matthew Puljang, who works as the government commander, and Johnson Olony, who was a former government commissioner and recruited young boys just outside of a UN safe haven. By doing this, these

4 government commanders, along with countless others, are breaking basic humanitarian rights and the Child Act of 2008, since it is illegal to use children eighteen years old or younger for the purpose of becoming a soldier. Still this happens, and these commanders have never been punished for these types of actions. Child soldiers are forced to fight up to eight years until they are finally let go, but when they are released, if they ever are, the children have no idea where their families are. This reintegration takes about two to three years for the child to resettle with their family. The concern with this is the possibility that that child will get re-recruited into the army. One of the most common places where children are taken from are schools. In 2015 alone, government forces alone raided forty-five schools, and Sudan People s Liberation Army took children from about twenty (Morgan). The spread of disease has also vastly increased since the start of the conflict. This has been caused from the pollutions of water sources, and the increase of displation meaning closer living quarters and easier spread of illnesses and diseases. Food and waterborne diseases, vector borne, water contact, and respiratory diseases have all been classified as high risk infections since the start of the Civil War. South Sudan has been categorized as part of the as part of the subsaharan African region considered as the Meningitis Belt since the disease affects so many people within country annually. The CIA factbook lists South Sudan as one of the top thirty countries for people living with meningitis and HIV. Guinea worm disease, one of the most common parasites within South Sudan, used to effect about three and a half million people within the African and Asian countries. In 2006 alone, there were 20,582 cases reported. The Guinea worm disease comes from infected water sources, where the parasites get into one's body via drinking water. Over one hundred eighty thousand citizens currently use polluted water

5 sources. Recent crackdowns helped educate people of South Sudan about water cleanliness and reduced the number of infections to thirty per year. Although the case of the Guinea Worm disease had been resolved, many other illnesses such as Malaria, Yellow fever, HIV/AIDS, and Meningococcal meningitis still heavily affect the South Sudanese people. Children under five are shown to be most at risk of these infections; Malaria kills eight hundred and fifty children a week, and ninety-three out of one hundred are affected by at least one common disease within the country. HIV effects twenty five percent of the population of adults within South Sudan. In December of 2015, the World Health Organization sent eighteen thousand village volunteers to help eradicate disease by providing water, food, and sanitation stations. II. UN Involvement: The United Nations has been involved with trying to create peace within South Sudan ever since the start of the Civil War in From this, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) was created. Ever since its creation on July 9, 2011 (when South Sudan had gained its independence) UNMISS works to protect citizens and maintain durable peace. Currently, more than sixteen thousand peacekeepers, and security personnel from over sixty countries have joined the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and have worked to protect the people of South Sudan from the conflict of the ongoing Civil War. The South Sudanese government has openly agreed with the implementation of peacekeepers to try and take more control of this situation. Besides general protection, these peacekeepers also work to ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance like food, shelters, and clean water to displaced people. Not

6 only is it their job to provide protection, but to create a safe environment by protecting refugee camps and cities until they are able to support themselves and have a safe living space that is either protected by peacekeepers, or out of the country. The people at these peacekeeper s priority is the most vulnerable people, who are usually women and children who have experienced violence such as sexual assault or torture. About sixty five percent of women have experienced sexual assault due to the civil war (Mednick). Peacekeeper s ultimate mission is to advance reconciliation efforts, to strengthen conflict resolution mechanisms and build national cohesion as well as to engage in regional and international peace initiatives (UN) since UNMISS takes the goal of solving the civil war politically rather than with more conflict. One of the first resolutions drafted concerning the conflict within South Sudan was S/2016/1085. This resolution was a draft made on December 23, 2016 under the UN Security Council, and mainly talks about the arms embargo and targeted sanctions that failed because they lacked enough support from the national community. This draft resolution is so important because it gained national support from the major countries (France, New Zealand, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States of America) and held eight abstenations which were from the countries of Angola, China, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Senegal, and Venezuela. It was one of the first resolutions to call upon the UNMISS organization and request troops to be sent out with specific equipment to aid over eighty-five thousand displaced people there, by providing them with jackets and military helmets (UN News Center). The main focus of this resolution is to place laws with the arms embargo that was happening. Certain rules drafted to be set in place included stating that the only weapons that would be in order would

7 come from the United Nations, and general concern that any arm shipments would fuel the current conflict happening within South Sudan and support instability within the country. Member states, especially ones neighboring South Sudan, were urged to inspect any cargo exiting or entering their state that could be suspect to illegal arms deals. At the end of the resolution, an update on the current situation within South Sudan is given, along with states of the government and political actions that had been recently taken. It also included the recent activity of UNMISS and how they have helped to improve the state of civilians in certain areas. With UNMISS being in place, the United Nations have made multiple resolutions extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and detailing how many troops need to be in certain locations and what actions they would take. One resolution, S/RES/2406 (2018) extends the mandates of UNMISS for one year. What is also talked about in this resolution is the ceasefire that was broken which was originally put into place under the Presidential Statements in March of Further details of how the engagement of multiple organizations through the United Nations and of NGOs could help with easing the political tensions in South Sudan and reaching a hopeful goal of a permanent ceasefire. It recalls the past mandates that UNMISS has taken towards protecting citizens, such as the importance of protecting unarmed South Sudanese and the complex efforts that have to be taken in building a safe environment to those that are caught up in the Civil War. Towards the end of the document, the UN Security Council requests that the further implementation of UNMISS within South Sudan and urges the United Nations Mission in South Sudan to consider recruiting as many women in the peace processes (so far there has been a twenty-two percent increase), enhance the

8 safety of both UN peacekeepers along with the citizens they are trying to protect, and further continue reporting every ninety days to the Secretary-General about the situation in South Sudan. Countries among the African Union supported this. After this resolution was passed, two more followed it extending the mandate of UNMISS until May of So far, UNMISS has increased the police ceiling to 2,101, and brought in seventeen thousand more troops. This has helped the situation by going to the UN bases in places such as Juba, and protecting citizens from further conflict. III. Questions to Consider: 1. In the past, no ceasefire was able to hold off violence from breaking out for long, what ways can there be an implementation of a permanent one within South Sudan? 2. How can there be a reduction of children taken from schools and forced to become child soldiers? 3. The conflict from the Civil War in South Sudan has had massive effects on the farming community, what way can there be a constant sufficient food supply? 4. Nations often focus on solving the actual violence happening and often do not think about the political conflicts taking place, how can there be more of an international shift to have more peace talks that are sustainable? 5. What can be done to treat the multiple diseases abundant within South Sudan, even with the conflict taking place? 6. What action has been taken in the past and why has it failed?

9 Works Cited Average Rate. The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 29 Nov. 2017, conflict-zones-a html. The BBC, South Sudan Profile - Timeline. BBC News, BBC, 17 Jan. 2018, The BBC. South Sudan: What Is the Fighting about? BBC News, BBC, 10 May 2014, Draku, Franklin, and Dominic Bukenya. Museveni Promises Pay Raise for Soldiers, Promotes SFC, CMI. It Has Been 170 Years of Islam in Uganda, Daily Monitor, 23 Nov. 2017, mobile.monitor.co.ug/news/museveni-updf-officers-promoted-cmi-abel-kandiho/ format-xhtml-v0cj32/index.html. Global Conflict Tracker. Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations,

10 UNMISS. UNMISS, unmiss.unmissions.org/. Morgan, Hiba. Recruitment of Child Soldiers Still Rising in South Sudan. Israeli Palestinian Conflict Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 12 Feb. 2018, html. HRW, Sudan: Bombing Campaign's Heavy Toll on Children. Human Rights Watch, 16 May 2016, Mednick, Sam. Violence against Women in South Sudan Is Occurring at Twice the Global Average. The Independent, 29 November, verage-conflict-zones-a html UN. UN Documents for South Sudan. Yemen Chronology of Events : Security Council Report, UN News Center. J-5. Peacekeeping in South Sudan,

11 News 24, South Sudan Oil Production Pollution Threatens Thousands. News24, 4 Mar. 2016, s