Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee

Transcription

1 Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee South Sudan Civil War and Famine Jay Dave, Cole McKeon, Meet Trivedi

2 SOCHUM Chair Letter Hello delegates, My name is Meet Trivedi and I will be one of your two chairs for the duration of this committee. I thought as your chair you should know some personal background about me. I was born in Cyprus, which is an island off of Greece. I am a junior at Eastern Regional High School and I have been part of the MUN (Model United Nations) team for 3 years. I have honestly had the best memories with my team from day committees to overnight committees, and I encourage all of you to participate in more MUN-related activities in the future. Aside from MUN, I play soccer and volleyball and in my spare time I play basketball. I also participate in the Interact club (volunteer organization) as another extracurricular activity. Moving on, in terms of our committee, it will work with a continuous series of moderated and unmoderated caucuses. You, the delegates, will form blocs and will write and present resolution papers as well. Just remember that pre-written resolutions are unethical and you should veer away from doing that or you will be disqualified. Other than that, do your best and most importantly have fun!!

3 Committee Overview: Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee Year after year, the General Assembly allocates to its Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs Committee, commonly referred to as the Third Committee, agenda items relating to a range of social, humanitarian affairs, and human rights issues which affect peoples all over the world. An important part of the Committee s work focuses on the examination of human rights questions, including reports of the special procedures of the newly established Human Rights Council. The Committee also discusses the advancement of women, the protection of children, indigenous issues, the treatment of refugees, the promotion of fundamental freedoms through the elimination of racism and racial discrimination, and the promotion of the right to self- determination. The Committee also addresses important social development questions such as issues related to youth, family, aging, persons with disabilities, crime prevention, criminal justice, and drug control. SOCHUM also works closely with many other UN bodies in order to effectively address its mandated issues. As this committee is designed for both beginners and experienced delegates alike, delegates of all abilities are welcome. SOCHUM has recognized the magnitude of the problem in South Sudan ranging from Famine, to a violent Civil War outbreak. Topic Overview: South Sudanese Civil War and Famine Introduction In July 2016, the day before the fifth anniversary of the youngest internationally recognized nation s independence, fighting erupted in South Sudan. The two warring parties represented different sides of a political and ethnic spectrum. On one side are loyalists fighting

4 on behalf of the current president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, and on the other are rebel forces led by the former vice president, Riek Machar. These two leaders have been bitter rivals in their pursuit of power over the country ever since its independence in Tensions in South Sudan culminated in the first Civil War, between December 2013 and August 2015, with both sides attempting to keep and maintain their own political power. A peace agreement was made on August 26th 2015, in which a transitional government was to be created, with both sides having representation. At the time there were fears the peace would not last due to kleptocratic officials who had more to gain from the violence. To the dismay of many, fighting broke out once again. In July 2016, there was a contingent of 12,000 United Nations peacekeepers in South Sudan attempting to protect the civilian population and provide stability for the region. In a release from United Nations Human Rights Office from March 2016, reports of widespread government sanctioned killings, rape, and pillaging have taken place in South Sudan. The current situation is chilling in that the leaders of these two opposing forces seemingly have little control over their respective forces. If stability is not brought to the country soon South Sudan faces the risk of becoming a failed state ruled by power hungry warlords, similar to what we see today in Somalia. South Sudanese History and Roots of Conflict South Sudan is the world s youngest internationally recognized sovereign state, achieving its independence from Sudan in Sudan was once a colony of the British Empire and was ruled by joint control of Egyptians and British from 1899 until independence in Upon gaining independence from the British Empire it took South Sudan fifty-five years to gain independence from the north and become a self-deterministic state. Civil war raged in the years

5 between Sudanese independence from the British and South Sudan s independence between the government in Khartoum and the secessionist movements in the south. In the north, Islam is the dominant religion with the majority of the population following the Sunni interpretation of Islam. Unlike their former statesmen in the north, South Sudan is a predominantly Christian country, and their leadership did not wish to be ruled by Islamic Sharia law. Oil was discovered in Southern Sudan in The discovery of oil served to further exacerbate the conflict between the south and the government in Khartoum, because it served as a source of easy money in a region that does not produce much else. By 1999 Sudan began to export oil extracted from rich regions in the south to the global market. At this time, Sudan was effectively a rentier state. Oil became one of the major drivers of continued conflict between the north and south. The oil rich Abyei region is still an area of significant dispute between the two states. The government that controls the territory of Abyei has claim to all the spoils it may produce. When South Sudan gained independence in 2011 they gained control over three quarters of the total oil reserves in the region, but the infrastructure needed to export the oil was in the North. South Sudan is the most oil-dependent country in the world with 98 percent of government revenues and about 80 percent of gross domestic product coming from the sale of oil. In 2012 South Sudan was producing approximately 500,000 barrels a day with oil the only significant export coming from the state. South Sudan is home to over 60 different ethnic groups, and is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse countries on the continent of Africa. It is also said to be the 7th largest country in the continent of Africa. During the civil wars following independence from Great Britain, ethnic identity played a major role for southern secessionists to recruit soldiers. These

6 soldiers were used to fight against the government in Khartoum to the north. The Dinka and Nuer tribes are the dominant ethnic groups in South Sudan. There have been strained relations between the two tribes during and immediately after British-Egyptian rule. These grievances were set aside to fight their common enemy, the government in Khartoum. After gaining independence, leaders from both the Dinka and Nuer tribes stoked the ethnic hatred to galvanize continued support for their respective cause. These ethnic groups would serve as a strongly motivated fighting force as a result of decades of hate speech about the other. All forms of infrastructure in South Sudan dates back to the colonial days of British rule. The south was always neglected when it came to government expenditures. The electrical and septic systems also date back to colonial occupation. It is easier and more efficient to travel by air than to attempt to drive between cities and villages because of the decrepit state of the roadways. During the first year of independence from Sudan approximately $1.4 billion in foreign aid was sent to the Republic of South Sudan, and was intended for infrastructure projects and public services. However, because there were no conditions set as to how the money should be spent, almost none of it reached its intended purpose of developing infrastructure and public services. The Crisis Today South Sudan is in the midst of another Civil War, with the two sides once again divided along ethnic lines. The president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, has the support of the Dinka tribesmen who make up the largest ethnic group in the country. The former Vice President, Riek Machar, is the leader of the rebel movement with support from Nuer tribesmen. Initially there was a sense of control over these ethnic forces, because leaders could galvanize support for each

7 respective cause by promoting ethnic hatred for the other group. Since the initial ceasefire to end the first civil war in South Sudan, the situation has devolved past the point of politics. Now President Kiir and former Vice President Machar are unable to control their forces to ensure a continuous ceasefire agreement would be upheld. Both the Dinka and Nuer tribesmen have refused to stop fighting even after negotiations have been had between their leadership. There are many government officials who would not want to see the fighting stop anytime soon, as they have been able to profit significantly from the continuing bloodshed. Oil has been a major driver of this continuous cycle of violence. The individual who controls the country politically also controls the rich oil fields. South Sudan is the most heavily reliant country on the production and sale of oil in the world, and needs this revenue in order to maintain a functioning national economy. Oil is the only good that South Sudan produces for sale on the international markets. South Sudan is effectively a rentier state, and cannot generate income in any other form due to the lack of diversification in their market. South Sudan has proven oil reserves estimated at 3.75 billion barrels, placing them in 28th place among all oil possessing nations. The last estimate in 2010 placed South Sudanese oil exports at 291,800 barrels per day, putting them in 26th place among oil exporting nations. With the recent collapse in the global price of oil, South Sudan has not been able to prop up its economy as easily as it

8 had in the past. The drop from long-time averages of around $100 per barrel to the current rate of around $50 per barrel has put significant strain on the state, including rendering South Sudan unable to pay its government officials. Reports of widespread targeting of civilians for killing, rape, and pillage have occurred, and are mostly attributed to actors representing the state rather than rebel forces. Sources with significant credibility suggest that groups allied to the Government are being allowed to rape women in lieu of wages, while rebel forces are also taking advantage of the abysmal security situation in threatened regions. The crisis in South Sudan has been described as one of the most horrendous human rights situations in the world. Implications for the Future If the current humanitarian crisis in South Sudan continues indefinitely, there is potential for it to become a failed state. The political leadership is profiting off the continued violence and instability provided by the conflict. When South Sudan falls to the status of failed state, non-state actors like the Islamic State may infiltrate the region to exploit the security disaster. The Islamic State maintains a foothold in Libya and has an alliance with Boko Haram in Nigeria. If radical groups are able to build strongholds in South Sudan, the global fight against these groups will have taken a serious step backward. The current refugee crisis in Europe will get worse, because refugees will flood to North Africa to escape the conflict. If Europe is to remain secure and stable, they will have to take a serious vested interest in creating stability in North Africa. Europe will be the first region to take the bulk of refugees, but refugees will search for other wealthy countries in which to live. Anti-refugee sentiment will continue to rise in Western democracies, and may turn violent against those populations. The threat to African regional security, and to the western developed world, will continue for the foreseeable future.

9 Consequent Famine Since gaining independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011, South Sudan has confronted a number of humanitarian challenges, including population movements and returnee integration. Ongoing conflict in Sudan s Two Areas of Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan continues to result in refugee flows into South Sudan, straining scarce resources. In addition, many of the people displaced by violence in 2011 from areas north of the River Kiir in the disputed Abyei Area continue to reside in South Sudan. In the two and a half years since people of South Sudanese origin began returning from Sudan on a large scale directly before and after independence, vulnerable communities in South Sudan have struggled to accommodate more than 700,000 new arrivals, many of whom are rebuilding lives and livelihoods with few resources from which to draw. Inter-communal violence and general insecurity also persist in several parts of the country, particularly in Jonglei State, where fighting has led to significant displacement and deteriorating humanitarian conditions. Lingering effects from more than 20 years of north-south conflict, poverty, and continued tension with Sudan, which led to a cessation of oil exports in 2012 that damaged South Sudan s economy, compound the humanitarian situation. Confronting deteriorating economic conditions, populations are less able to cope with shocks and increasingly rely on the humanitarian community for basic food and non-food assistance. However, insecurity, bureaucratic harassment of relief organizations, logistical challenges, and Government of the Republic of South Sudan-imposed restrictions constrain humanitarian activities across the country, hindering the delivery of critical assistance to populations in need.

10 Since the early months of 2017, parts of South Sudan have been experiencing a famine following several years of instability in the country's food supply caused by war and drought. The famine, largely focused in the northern part of the country, has been estimated to affect almost five million people (about 50% of the South Sudanese population), with food shortages expected to spread by the middle of the year. South Sudan suffered the 1998 Sudan famine before its independence, but no famine had been formally declared anywhere in the world during the six years prior to There are currently warnings of imminent famine in Yemen, Somalia, and the northeastern part of Nigeria, but the formal declaration requires that the following criteria be met: 20% of households suffer extreme food shortages, 30% of the population suffers extreme malnutrition, At least 1 per each 5,000 inhabitants die per day. A February 20 update of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) found that 4.9 million South Sudan residents, 40% of the population, were in need of "urgent food, agriculture, and nutrition assistance". The report had surveyed 23 countries, of which 14 exceeded the emergency action threshold of 15% acute malnutrition. The World Food Programme carried out relief operations throughout the war, mitigating the risk of famine in other areas including the Northern Bahr el Ghazal state. Bahr el Ghazal had been the region most severely affected in the 1998 famine, when it was struck by a two-year drought, a ban on humanitarian airdrops, restrictions on movement of displaced persons, confiscation of cattle and destruction of food stores. A 2016 UN report described the former Unity State, which was one province of South Sudan, as the site of continuous fighting throughout the civil war; it has "great economic and

11 symbolic importance because of its vast oil resources and also as a predominantly Nuer state, in a conflict that has pitted the two dominant tribes, Dinkas and Nuers, against each other. Looting and burning in Unity State and displacement of its inhabitants in fighting over oil reserves also occurred in the Second Sudanese Civil War in the years leading up to the 1998 Sudan famine. It is estimated that in 1998, 12,000 people starved in the Block 5A area out of 240,000 total, with another 160,000 forcibly displaced. Instability is a major reason for the low oil production in South Sudan since On 20 February 2017, the United Nations declared a famine in parts of former Unity State of South Sudan and warned that it could spread rapidly without further action. The World Food Programme reported that 40% of the South Sudanese population (4.9 million people) needed food urgently, and at least 100,000, according to the UN, were in imminent danger of death by starvation. UN officials said President Salva Kiir Mayardit was blocking food deliveries to some areas, though Kiir said on 21 February that the government would allow "unimpeded access" to aid organizations. In addition, parts of South Sudan have not had rain in two years. According to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Representative Serge Tissot, "Our worst fears have been realised. Many families have exhausted every means they have to survive. The people are predominantly farmers and war has disrupted agriculture. They ve lost their livestock, even their farming tools. For months there has been a total reliance on whatever plants they can find and fish they can catch." The reports also warned that about 5.5 million people, half of South Sudan's population, are expected to suffer food shortages and insecurity by July According to Jeremy Hopkins, the South Sudan representative for the UN children's agency, more than 200,000 children are at risk of death from malnutrition in the country.

12 On 20 February 2017, the United Nations declared a famine in parts of former Unity State of South Sudan and warned that it could spread rapidly without further action. The World Food Programme reported that 40% of the South Sudanese population (4.9 million people) needed food urgently, and at least 100,000, according to the UN, were in imminent danger of death by starvation. UN officials said President Salva Kiir Mayardit was blocking food deliveries to some areas, though Kiir said on 21 February that the government would allow "unimpeded access" to aid organizations.

13 In addition, parts of South Sudan have not had rain in two years. According to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Representative Serge Tissot, "Our worst fears have been realised. Many families have exhausted every means they have to survive. The people are predominantly farmers and war has disrupted agriculture. They ve lost their livestock, even their farming tools. For months there has been a total reliance on whatever plants they can find and fish they can catch." The reports also warned that about 5.5 million people, half of South Sudan's population, are expected to suffer food shortages and insecurity by July According to Jeremy Hopkins, the South Sudan representative for the UN children's agency, more than 200,000 children are at risk of death from malnutrition in the country. Past Action Taken Sudanese Government Days after the declaration of famine, the government raised the price of a business visa from $100 to $10,000, mostly aimed at aid workers, citing a need to increase government revenue. U.N. officials said that President Salva Kiir Mayardit was blocking food deliveries to some areas. United Nations In 2016 several UN agencies and other relief agencies intensified their efforts, setting a new record for post-independence South Sudan by reaching four million people with 265,000 metric tons of food assistance and $13.8 million in cash assistance.according to the UN Children's Fund Deputy Executive Director and UN Assistant Secretary General Justin Forsyth, "Nobody should be dying of starvation in There is enough food in the world, we have

14 enough capability in terms of the humanitarian community. In South Sudan, UNICEF has 620 feeding centres for severely malnourished children, so the places where children are dying are places we can't get to, or get to only occasionally. If there was access, we could save all of these children's lives." Furthermore, UNICEF warned that more than 1 million children in South Sudan are subjected to malnutrition. Goals of the Committee An extended period of conflict and civil unrest has left the country severely underdeveloped, particularly lacking in public health and education facilities. The committee is focused on providing a solution to the effects of the civil war, and the famine, in South Sudan's best interest. Part of the reason the famine in South Sudan is going on is because of tactical errors in NGO, UN, and government aid, blockades set up, inaccessible areas due to war, and places where there are no roads or transportation infrastructure. The committee is expected to bring forth South Sudan, as a strong, and independent country. With proper funding, and developed planning by the United Nations, the underdeveloped country of South Sudan should be revitalized from its sensitive predicament. Questions to Consider What impact will the current famine and civil war have on local citizens and what will be done to support them throughout this crisis? How can NGO/UN/government aid be utilized, considering remaining tactical errors? How can the effectiveness of this aid be increased? What areas of South Sudan should be prioritized for restoration? Should specific routes be taken to get aid to citizens?

15 How will South Sudan maintain its institutions (ex: healthcare, education) while lacking food and infrastructure? What are the regional implications of South Sudan as a failed state? Can ethnic tensions at the heart of the civil war be overcome, and if so, how?

16 WORKS CITED CNN, Farai Sevenzo and Bryony Jones. "Famine declared in South Sudan". CNN. "Famine declared in part of South Sudan by government and UN". WHIO. 20 February "In South Sudan, People Are Dying Of Hunger As Civil War Continues". NPR. 21 February Retrieved 22 February Pike, John. South Sudan. Globalsecurity.org, 19 Apr. 2016, "Republic of South Sudan: Current and Projected (January July 2017) Acute Food Insecurity Situation: South Sudan". Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. 20 February "South Sudan declares famine in Unity State". BBC News. 20 February South Sudan Explodes Again. The Economist, July 12, South Sudan Signs a Peace Deal That Is Unlikely to Last. The Economist, August 26, South Sudan: UN Report Contains Searing Account of Killings, Rapes and Destruction. United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, OHCHR, 11 Mar. 2016, South Sudan. Natural Resource Governance Institute, September 1, Why South Sudan Is Still at War. The Economist, October 3, 2016.