The Situation in South Sudan

Transcription

1 The Situation in South Sudan Contemporary Security Council Overview South Sudan is the newest country in the world, having declared independence and having been formally recognized as a sovereign state first by Sudan in July of 2011, followed by 129 other UN member states. It is one of the world s most ethnically diverse countries, featuring over 60 different major ethnic groups with many of the people following traditional, tribal religions. They broke away from Sudan which, after nearly two decades of genocide and ethnic warfare, led to the split. During the civil war within Sudan, over 1.5 million people were killed, and 4 million more were displaced. Currently, South Sudan has been locked in a brutal, ethnically based civil war since They are ranked highest on the world s index of fragile states, indicating that they are most likely to fall apart as a country. Although South Sudan is the world s newest state, they are labelled as a failed state, one in which the government can no longer provide the basic needs of its people (including security, food, and enforcing the rule of law as the only legitimate wielders of violence). Thousands of civilians have been caught up in the fighting, and allegations of vast human rights violations have occurred. The main concerns of the Security Council is stabilizing the region, preventing more ethnic violence, and providing food and medical aid to those who need it. As the area is highly unsafe for travel, all of these goals are more difficult than normal and it will take shrewd negotiation and thought to adequately address the situation in South Sudan. Sources: Historical Background A history of South Sudan is not complete without understanding the history of Sudan, and the region as a whole. When the two countries were united, Sudan was the largest country in Africa, more than a fourth of the size of the United States, and bordered nine different countries. In the early nineteenth century, Egypt conquered the northern part of Sudan, developing a profitable slave and ivory trade. In the north, the people were referred to as Arab, a reference to their background with Egypt and practicing Islam. In contrast, the people who lived in the southern regions were referred to as Black Africans due to their tribal style of living and animistic religions with some Christian minorities. In response to the 1820 Egyptian conquests of North Sudan, a revolt was led by Muhammed Ahmad Al Madhi in 1880 which led to the defeat of the British and Egyptian forces. A theocracy was established with Khartoum as its capital, still held today as Sudan s capital city. However, this was short lived as Britain regained control in the 1890s. In 1930, the British declared the Southern Policy, in which the North and the South were to be governed as two

2 separate regions due to the various religious and cultural differences between them. Following World War II and the resulting loss of British-controlled territory in Africa, Britain declared the two regions to be ruled as one. With this, Arabic was made the official language and the Northern Arabs began taking positions in the South. First Civil War The first civil war in Sudan took place between 1955 and It was the South who rebelled against the rule of the North, feeling they were unjustly ruled by their Arab neighbors. The end of the civil war drew to a close as all rebel factions gathered under the Southern Sudan Liberation Movement to sign a peace treaty with the Sudanese government. This peace treaty was known as the Addis Ababa Agreement which granted the South considerable autonomy and access to natural resources. Between the Civil Wars Following the end of the first civil war, Sudan s government began to build legitimacy in the eyes of Western Nations. The United States began selling weapons to Sudan, in an attempt to undermine growing Soviet influence in neighboring Ethiopia and Libya. Oil was discovered in 1978 by the international oil giant Chevron in the southern regions. Shortly after, oil is discovered all throughout the South. In 1980, Khartoum (capital in the north) attempted to redraw the boundaries of Southern Sudan to include the newly discovered oil fields for the North. This process failed with protest from the Southern Sudanese, resulting in the Northern Sudanese taking the land by force. Second Civil War The second civil war took place between 1983 and Tensions started once again in the late 1970s, when the North routinely violated the Addis Ababa Agreement, leading to unrest in the South. Tensions erupted in June 1983 when the Sudanese government abolished the Addis Ababa Agreement and partitioned the South into three administrative regions. President Nimeiry began a campaign of Islamization to transform all of Sudan into a Muslim Arab state, despite the vast number of Christians and tribal religion followers in the southern regions. In the mid-1980s the civil war became widespread with government-armed Militias known as the Murahaleen sweeping through the South. Slavery is put back into practice and thousands are forced to flee to Ethiopia. Throughout the 1980s, several leaders rose to power and were subsequently overthrown, leading to further instability. In 1989, the government began arming militiamen named the People s Defense Forces to raid villages in the South, leading to increased violence. In 2001, a famine struck Sudan, affecting approximately three million Sudanese as the violent conflict raged on. The infamous Darfur Genocide began in February 2003 with the targeted ethnic cleansing of Black Africans in the Darfur region of South Sudan. In 2005 peace was reached between the rebels in the South and the government of Sudan. The Nairobi Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed which granted autonomy to the South for a six-year trial period.

3 Transition to independence Following this agreement, South Sudan would have the opportunity to vote for secession. In 2010, Sudan held their first national elections in over twenty years, resulting in Salva Kiir winning Presidency in South Sudan. On January 9th, 2011, South Sudan voted to separate from Sudan, as per the CPA. On July 9th, 2011, South Sudan celebrates its first birthday, and on July 14th, they join the United Nations as the 193rd nation to do so. Source: Preludes to conflict within South Sudan Since the founding of South Sudan, things have not been easy for the world s newest country. Small border clashes between the North and South have hampered tension between the two nations. In addition, Sudan has made it difficult for South Sudan to sell oil. Disagreements over prices and fees have stalled the oil production, which is collected in South Sudan but refined and sold in Sudan in the north as they have more facilities, international connections, and trade agreements. Beyond the oil conflicts, however, the largest source of conflict has come from within the South Sudanese government itself. In December of 2013, President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, South Sudan s largest ethnic group, removed the Vice President, Riek Machar, a Nuer, the second largest ethnic group, over allegations of corruption. This led to political infighting in the Senate followed by violence spilling out into the streets of the capital, Juba. The violence quickly spread to other cities including Bor and Bentiu. Source: The Initial Conflict In the first month of fighting in South Sudan alone over 413,000 civilians were displaced from their homes, creating a massive humanitarian and refugee crisis in an economically weak country. The political disagreements between President Kiir and former VP Machar split the army in half along mostly ethnic lines and has encouraged militias and other non-government armed groups to rise up. There is also a large amount of guns, missiles, rocket launchers, gas based weapons, grenades, and other explosives in the country due to decades of conflict over the previous forty years. As a result, it is easy for the average citizen to be well-armed and spurred to fight alongside ethnic lines. There are allegations of mass killings that are reminiscent of the violence seen during the Darfur Genocide. In August 2015, a peace agreement was signed to reduce the violence in the area. It was short lived as there were violations on both sides. The civil war may be legally over, but violence and squabbles remain. Over a million people remain displaced and a destroyed economy combined with a famine continue to worsen the situation. Source:

4 Current Crises in South Sudan The current crisis in South Sudan is multifaceted, ranging from the restrictive journalism and lack of free media to the many areas without access to running water or electricity. Much of the country is economically depressed and has experienced continued violence, a food crisis, and the plight of children. Continued Violence The fighting is still ongoing with no peace treaty in sight. Former Vice President of South Sudan Machar now commands the South Sudanese Rebel group, SPL-IO, which continues to assert his innocence against President Kiir s claims that he was planning a coup against him. He desires to become the president of this war-torn country. There are allegations from the South Sudanese government that Machar has allied with Sudan in order to overthrow President Kiir. International monitoring agencies report several payloads of heavy weapons to Machar in recent months of an unknown origin. However, these weapons are expensive and difficult to transport inconspicuously, so the likely source is from a wealthier country who is also located close to South Sudan (such as Sudan). As the fighting has continued, the two sides have become increasingly blurred. What has begun as a bipolar fight is rapidly becoming a fragmented conflict between other interest groups. Recently, fighting has spread to the Southern Equatoria region, as conflicts at local levels between villages and the like have increased dramatically. What has prompted an increase in new violence in these regions is unclear. However, the fighting is not doing any good for Sudan. For the second year in a row, the celebrations for their independence day, July 9th, have been cancelled due to the fighting. (This year marks six years of independence and the fourth year of the civil war.) The fighting has created several humanitarian crises, most of them affecting the most vulnerable populations, the young and the elderly. Sources: Plight of Children As is the case with most wars, children are often heavily impacted and easily overlooked when conflict breaks out. This is particularly true in South Sudan, where children face unique challenges. United Nations estimates indicate that more than one million children have fled the country since the fighting began, leaving a huge generational gap that will affect South Sudan for years to come. In addition to the million plus who have been internally and externally displaced, over one thousand have been killed, with several thousand injured from stray bullets, mines, artillery shelling and, in some cases, targeted ethnic cleansing. Children

5 who are not injured physically are suffering mentally with three-fourths of the country s children not in school at all. This is the highest percentage of out-of-school children in the world, according to a report from UNICEF s regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Leile Pakkala. Rebel groups in South Sudan have also been known to recruit or kidnap children for use as soldiers, furthering the cycle of violence in the country. If South Sudan is to move forward as a young nation, and to ensure a peaceful and prosperous future, it must take precautions to safeguard the future of its children. Source: Food Crisis: The conflict in South Sudan has led to a severe food and water crisis in a country that was not economically secure or fully developed even prior to the fighting. Aid agencies in the country repeatedly have their caravans and shipments raided or stolen by rebel forces who steal the aid to control the masses or make profit outside of the regular market. This has made it difficult for those who require aid to receive it. In addition, farmers are often prevented from returning to their farms due to the conflict. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for fields to be burnt during fighting or as a tactic for retreating soldiers to cover themselves as they fall back. This has led to a famine in South Sudan. A famine is described as an extreme scarcity of food by the UN. This is further classified a famine when at least 20% of the population does not have enough food, when there is acute malnutrition in more than 30% of children, and there are two deaths per 10,000 people each day or four child deaths per 10,000 children each day due to starvation. Only when these three strict guidelines are met will the UN declare a famine. The famine was declared in February 2017 and was the first time a famine had been declared anywhere in the world for six years. Although a declaration of famine carries no legal response, it helps spur action from the international community. Ending the famine has proven difficult as aid has been hindered by the fighting, followed by NGOs pulling out of South Sudan. Samantha s Purse, an American relief agency, removed all but seven of their staff in the country due to fighting. A week after that those seven workers were abducted by rebels who demanded food aid be exchanged for their safe release. Luckily, the workers were released without paying a ransom and are safely back home. This does, however, highlight the potential problems faced in the unstable country. On June 21, 2017 the UN declared the famine in Sudan to be over officially, based on their stringent criteria, but added that two million are still on the brink of starvation. The removal of this classification is attributed to a quick response from the government of South Sudan. Although the official famine may be over, the situation is not improving, with even more people facing hunger than prior to the famine. Nearly six million, half the population of South Sudan, are labelled as being in a food insecurity position, meaning they are not sure if they will be able to have food next week. These food-related problems are an important aspect to be addressed in current discussions of the overall situation in South Sudan. Sources:

6 Canisius College 39th Annual Conference Economic Disaster: The economy has not escaped the path of destruction left by the war. The economy of South Sudan is in peril, which only further aggravates other humanitarian issues such as access to food and rebuilding destroyed buildings and infrastructure. A report from the World Bank (see link below) details many of the struggles that South Sudan undergoes in relation to their economy and how they are attempting to develop as a nation while the war rages on. South Sudan has vast reserves of oil within its borders. However, they do not have the infrastructure to refine the oil and the ability to harvest oil is limited by infrastructure failure and conflict, as oil fields are often targets in war. Sudan refines much of South Sudan s oil with often unfavorable deals for South Sudan. As a newer country, South Sudan has not had the time to establish trade agreements with other countries, and must rely on Sudan to refine much of their oil. As a result, Sudan can set pretty much any terms they want in regards to fees and taxes in these industries placed on South Sudan. South Sudan is one of the most oil-dependent countries in the world, with 60% of its GDP coming from oil and with oil dominating their exports. Beyond oil, its other major industry is unpaid subsistence farming, with 85% of the population engaged in non-wage work, 78% of which work in agriculture. The war is limiting how many barrels of oil a day the country can produce as well as the success of agricultural products, which is overall negatively affecting all South Sudanese. Source: United Nations Actions: The United Nations has been monitoring the situation in South Sudan long before they even became an independent nation, dating back to the days of the First Sudanese Civil War. The UN has created the UNMISS, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, to address and work to solve conflicts affecting the region. The mission has three primary goals: to support peace and foster long-term statebuilding, to support the government of South Sudan in preventing conflict, and to support the government of South Sudan to establish the rule of law. UNMISS is primarily composed of UN Peacekeepers and police officials who augment existing South Sudanese forces. It is important to note that UNMISS is not actively engaged in fighting in the civil war. They do support the official government of South Sudan but are not there to fight in the war. Rather, they offer support and additional security to cities and villages. UNMISS has been engaged in several firefights with rebels, as the latter have attacked outposts and even civilian shelters. As a result, five peacekeepers have been killed. Some question the effectiveness of peacekeepers, as they are often limited by laws and the bureaucracy of the UN. However, this

7 Canisius College 39th Annual Conference has not hampered their mission of monitoring and investigating human rights violations, protecting civilians, creating the conditions for delivery of humanitarian assistance, and supporting the implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement. United Nations Resolutions The following is a list of important previous statements or resolutions by the UN Security Council: UN Resolution 1990 (2011) - Established the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei which is in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan UN Resolution 1996 (2011) - Established the United Nations Mission in South Sudan for a period of one year and demanded that the Lord s Resistance Army ended attacks against civilians in South Sudan. UN Resolution 1997 (2011) - Authorized the withdrawal of UNMISS by August 31st, 2011 UN Resolution 1999 (2011) - Recommended to the General Assembly that South Sudan be admitted to the United Nations UN Resolution 2352 (2017) UN Resolution 2353 (2017) UN Resolution 2363 (2017) - These last resolutions have been recent additions and contain important insight into the current outlook of the UN Security Council

8 In addition, the following is a list of previous resolutions and statements collected and labeled as important in a recent resolution regarding South Sudan: 1990 (2011), 2024 (2011), 2032 (2011), 2046 (2012), 2047 (2012), 2075 (2012), 2104 (2013), 2126 (2013), 2156 (2014), 2179 (2014), 2205 (2015), 2230 (2015), 2251 (2015), 2287 (2016), and 2318 (2016) as well as presidential statements S/PRST/2012/19 and S/PRST/2013/14 To view these documents or search for others, please see: Involved Actors Sudan - The North African nation of forty million which was once home to several great African nations including the Kingdoms of Kush, Kerma, and the Meroe. Sudan is home to many different religions, many Islam, Christianity, and several variations of tribalists. Sudan is also home to various ethnic groups, and is often considered to be one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world. In present day, Sudan, also called North Sudan is dominated by Muslims who are classified as Arabs. The capital is at Khartoum and is a oil rich nation. However, Sudan has languished through several civil wars and internal crises mainly due to conflicts from the various religions and ethnic groups. In 2011, Sudan and South Sudan split into two countries. South Sudan - The world s newest country, South Sudan is currently embroiled in a vicious civil war that threatens the stability of the new nation. South Sudan is populated mostly by traditional Black Africans who practice mostly Christianity and tribalism. South Sudan has escaped the genocide in the Darfur region, only to be involved in ethnic fighting within their new nation. The war started when President Kiir believed his Vice President, VP Machar to be involved in a plot to overthrow him. When Machar was ousted, some 10,000 soldiers defected with him, and the civil war began. Uganda - A neighbor of South Sudan, Uganda is dealing with the refugee crisis caused by the conflict. Hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese citizens have fled the country to escape the violence and many are ending up in Uganda. The African Union has claimed that this is the worst refugee crisis since the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s. The Ugandan government is worried that the fighting will spill over to their borders, which would force a response from the Ugandan military. UNMISS - The United Nations Mission in South Sudan is the UN s official response to the escalating violence and destabilization within the region. Originally created in 2011 to help South Sudan with the transition to independence, UNMISS has now shifted focus to protecting government buildings, officials, and soft targets such as schools, hospitals, and shopping centers.

9 UNMISS, like many UN operations, is limited by bureaucracy and international laws, and cannot always operate to the full extent of protecting the innocent. African Union (AU) - The African Union, an intergovernmental organization composed of African nations, has has responded to this crisis. The AU has sent financial and humanitarian aid to the government of South Sudan to help feed the starving masses. However, there are allegations that the government is using the money to purchase additional weapons and supplies for the army, undermining the intentions of the AU. Highlighted Timeline of Events South Sudan is ruled under joint English-Egyptian rule Sudan gains independence The first civil war begins The first civil war ends Oil is discovered in South Sudan The second civil war begins A cease-fire agreement is drafted but not implemented The Darfur genocide begins The CPA ends the second civil war October The Autonomous government is formed in South Sudan December North and South reach a deal on a referendum for Southern independence by 2011 January South Sudan votes 98% in favor of separation from Sudan 9 July South Sudan celebrates its first day of independence April Border clashes between the North and South leave hundreds dead July President Kiir fires VP Machar over claims of an attempted coup December Civil war erupts as 10,000 soldiers defect with former VP Machar August Peace talks in Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, move slowly as the fighting continues April Machar returns to Juba and is reinstated as the VP of a new unity government, however he is fired in July and goes back into exile February Famine is declared in South Sudan Complete timeline:

10 It can be stated over and over again just how desperate the situation is within South Sudan. However, without hearing the words of someone who has experienced the terror first-hand, the point may not sink in. In this primary source, we have the story of a young girl who escaped sexual-based violence to have a better life for her unborn daughter. The buses line up at the Invepi refugee camp in northern Uganda. One after the other they drop off dozens of South Sudanese seeking refuge on this side of the border. They come off carrying whatever possessions they still have: sometimes that means empty plastic jugs, sometimes it means chickens that provide food along the way. Many of the refugees are barefoot. When they've finished with their registration and vaccinations, some just sit there, staring into space. As the fighting in South Sudan has intensified, so has the flow of refugees to Uganda. Just over the past week, Invepi went from receiving about 1,000 refugees a day to about 3,000. Perhaps one of the most stunning statistics is that most of them the U.N. Refugee Agency estimates 86 percent are women and children. Many of these women are fleeing from "war, hunger and appalling acts of gender-based violence," said Refugees International, a humanitarian organization that advocates for displaced people, in a statement on Friday. "We are yet again seeing the use of rape and other forms of violence against women fleeing South Sudan." Angurese, 14, lives about at the Bidibidi refugee camp in Uganda, about two hours away from the nearest paved road. NPR is only using first names of refugees to protect their security. She sits inside a mud hut holding her baby son. She says that over the past few months, fighting between the Dinkas and Nuers, the two biggest ethnic groups in South Sudan, had gotten really bad around her home right outside of Lainya, a village southwest of Juba. At one point, she says, the fighters even started attacking civilians. "When the Dinkas come, they either slaughter you with the knife or they cut you with a machete, so we're now running away because we could not wait," she says. The only midwife in town took off. And Angurese's mother told her she had no choice but to follow the midwife because at that time, she was pregnant. Fatuma, the midwife, says their group walked four days through the bush. South Sudan has been an ethnic battleground on and off for decades, but Fatuma says this conflict is different. She says she saw young pregnant women raped and the road in front of her house had become a killing field. "They used not to kill women but these days now they're killing women, children, elderly even the pastors, the bishops, they don't spare us," she says. Jerry Farrell, South Sudan country director for the aid group Catholic Relief Services, says in most conflicts, it is women and children who suffer most. But the number of them being displaced in this conflict is "extremely high." He says that in a lot of ways the civilians in South Sudan have been caught in a perfect storm: Conflict has combined with an economic collapse and a bad drought.

11 The number of women and children affected, he says, is also testing the aid response. For example, it's become clear that his group's efforts to help that population would have to be scaled up many times over to meet the needs of the displaced. He says that many children, for example, are not being educated, because much of the aid simply goes toward keeping people alive by feeding them. "So the long term prospects of the country are grim," he says. Cecilia Tabu is a case worker for the aid group Save the Children. She works with South Sudanese children at Camp Rhino in Uganda. A big part of her job is to find foster families for children who flee South Sudan on their own. She moves through the vast camp talking to families and checking up on those who have been placed in foster homes. On a recent day, she stops to visit Kani Jane. Kani Jane came with two children of her own then began accepting foster kids. Now, she lives with 13 children in a small mud hut that the older kids built. Tabu, the case worker, says that many of the children are traumatized and have yet to come to terms with what they've witnessed. She says some of the kids still don't have shoes and at school they don't have educational materials. But here in Uganda, she says, they have a chance. She knows that from personal experience. Back in the '90s, when Tabu was 13 and war was raging between north Sudan and south Sudan, her parents sent her off to Uganda on her own. She landed in Camp Rhino. It was hard, she says, but she was safe and eventually managed to reunite with her parents and go to college. Tabu walks from the family's house in the camp to a big playground built by Save the Children. When the playground first opened, Tabu says, the kids would fight along ethnic lines. But slowly, Tabu and other case workers helped them understand how to solve problems without violence. It's simple things, she says, pointing at the swing set, where there's a long line of kids waiting their turn. Each one counts to ten swings, then jumps off and gives the other one a turn. Tabu smiles as she watches the kids play tag through a cloud of dust. They slide and they swing and they chase a football. For that moment at least, the world here feels normal. Source:

12 Questions to consider After reading through this topic guide, the delegate should have a basic understanding of the current situation in South Sudan. The following questions are intended to prompt further, country-specific research that will aid the delegate in preparing for discussion and deliberation. The delegate may also find them useful when writing a position paper. Every question does NOT need to be addressed within a position paper, but rather acts as a guide for research and further information. What is your country s opinion on the South Sudan crisis? Does your country support the government of President Kiir, the government in exile of former VP Machar, or neither? Should the UN formally back the democratically elected governments accused of war crimes? How can the UN determine and address claims of ethnic violence? Can this conflict be compared to any previous ones? If so, what was the response by your country previously? How should your country respond today? Is UNMISS currently operating at an effective level? Can the mission of UNMISS be altered without damaging the reputation of the mission? Is the UN the most effective in negotiating conflicts of this magnitude? Should UNMISS focus more on fighting the rebels than its current mission? Should more peacekeepers be sent to the region, or is there an alternative? How can the Security Council respond to the various humanitarian crises in South Sudan? (See section above Current Crisis ) Should these issues be directed to other UN agencies or NGOs? In your country s perspective, what is more pressing, stopping the escalating violence or dealing with the humanitarian crises? Should the use of the term famine have more international power? How can South Sudan fix their economy and begin trading again? Would this trade be monitored or regulated by a NGO to ensure fairness? Does your country have an economic relationship with either Sudan or South Sudan?