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The Crisis in South Sudan
Conflict in South Sudan and the Challenges Ahead Lauren Ploch Blanchard Specialist in African Affairs September 22, 2016 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R43344 Conflict in South Sudan and the Challenges Ahead Summary South Sudan, which separated from Sudan in 2011 after almost 40 years of civil war, was drawn into a devastating new conflict in late 2013, when a political dispute that overlapped with preexisting ethnic and political fault lines turned violent. Civilians have been routinely targeted in the conflict, often along ethnic lines, and the warring parties have been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The war and resulting humanitarian crisis have displaced more than 2.7 million people, including roughly 200,000 who are sheltering at U.N. peacekeeping bases in the country. Over 1 million South Sudanese have fled as refugees to neighboring countries. No reliable death count exists. U.N. agencies report that the humanitarian situation, already dire with over 40% of the population facing life-threatening hunger, is worsening, as continued conflict spurs a sharp increase in food prices. Famine may be on the horizon. Aid workers, among them hundreds of U.S. citizens, are increasingly under threat—South Sudan overtook Afghanistan as the country with the highest reported number of major attacks on humanitarians in 2015. At least 62 aid workers have been killed during the conflict, and U.N. experts warn that threats are increasing in scope and brutality. In August 2015, the international community welcomed a peace agreement signed by the warring parties, but it did not end the conflict. -
South Sudan: Opportunities and Challenges for Africa’S Newest Country
The Republic of South Sudan: Opportunities and Challenges for Africa’s Newest Country Ted Dagne Specialist in African Affairs July 1, 2011 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R41900 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The Republic of South Sudan: Opportunities and Challenges for Africa’s Newest Country Summary In January 2011, South Sudan held a referendum to decide between unity or independence from the central government of Sudan as called for by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the country’s decades-long civil war in 2005. According to the South Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC), 98.8% of the votes cast were in favor of separation. In February 2011, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir officially accepted the referendum result, as did the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, the United States, and other countries. On July 9, 2011, South Sudan is to officially declare its independence. The Obama Administration welcomed the outcome of the referendum and pledged to recognize South Sudan as an independent country in July 2011. The Administration is expected to send a high-level presidential delegation to South Sudan’s independence celebration on July 9, 2011. A new ambassador is also expected to be named to South Sudan. South Sudan faces a number of challenges in the coming years. Relations between Juba, in South Sudan, and Khartoum are poor, and there are a number of unresolved issues between them. The crisis in the disputed area of Abyei remains a contentious issue, despite a temporary agreement reached in mid-June 2011. -
ANNEX8 ICC-02/05-171-Anx8 15-01-2009 2/11 CB PT
ICC-02/05-171-Anx8 15-01-2009 1/11 CB PT ANNEX8 ICC-02/05-171-Anx8 15-01-2009 2/11 CB PT Report of Peter K Bechtold I, Peter K. Bechtold, PhD., am responding to a request from representatives of the Federation of Sudanese Trade Unions to offer an expert opinion about the consequences for peace in Sudan, and especially in the Western region ofDarfur, if the International Criminal Court (ICC) proceeds with an indictment of Sudan's current President, LTG Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir (frequently referred to as "Bashir") as currently proposed by an initial submission from the court's prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, in July 2008. I have seen only summaries of Mr. Ocampo's allegations, reported in the media as containing 10 separate charges, such as, most startlingly perhaps, the "deliberate efforts to erase the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa communities", which would constitute "genocide", inter al. I propose to provide some context for understanding the conflict in Darfur by describing the overall geographic, demographic, historical, economic and political factors which have contributed to the Darfur crisis, and to political turmoil in Sudan in general in recent times, before I address the more specific issue ofT CC action and its consequences. My qualifications for offering my commentaries include the fact that I have been a student of Sudan during my entire professional life. A summary CV may be obtained from my website www.drbechtold.com. My interest in Sudan began in 1961, when I met in graduate school a then Senior Inspector and later Director of the Sudan Gezira Board. -
Addis PEACE a 411St ME HEADS O BANJUL, 30 DECEM AFRICAN
AFRICAN UNION UNION AFRICAINE UNIÃO AFRICANA Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, P.O. Box: 3243 Tel.: (251‐11) 5513 822 Fax: (251‐11) 5519 321 Email: situationroom@africa‐union.org PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL 411st MEETING AT THE LEVEL OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT BANJUL, THE GAMBIA 30 DECEMBER 2013 PSC/AHG/3(CDXI) REPORT OF THE CHAIRPERSON OFF THE COMMISSION ON THE SITUATION IN SOUTH SUDAN PSC/AHG/3(CDXI) Page 1 REPORT OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE COMMISSION ON THE SITUATION IN SOUTH SUDAN I. INTRODUCTION 1. The present report is submitted in the context of the meeting of Council to be held in Banjul, The Gambia, on 30 December 2013, to deliberate on the unfolding situation in South Sudan. The conflict in South Sudan erupted on 15 December, in the context of a political challenge to the President of the Republic of South Sudan, from leading members of the ruling party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). This rapidly mutated into violent confrontation and rebellion. The conflict imperils the lives and wellbeing of South Sudanese, jeopardizes the future of the young nation, and is a threat to regional peace and security. 2. The report provides a background to the current crisis, a chronology of the events of the last six months and an overview of the regional, continental and international response. The report concludes with observations on the way forward. II. BACKGROUND 3. The current conflict represents the accumulation of unresolved political disputes within the leadership of the SPLM. The leaders had disagreements on fundamental aspects of the party and country’s leadership, governance and direction. -
Secretary-General's Report on South Sudan (September 2020)
United Nations S/2020/890 Security Council Distr.: General 8 September 2020 Original: English Situation in South Sudan Report of the Secretary-General I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2514 (2020), by which the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) until 15 March 2021 and requested me to report to the Council on the implementation of the Mission’s mandate every 90 days. It covers political and security developments between 1 June and 31 August 2020, the humanitarian and human rights situation and progress made in the implementation of the Mission’s mandate. II. Political and economic developments 2. On 17 June, the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, and the First Vice- President, Riek Machar, reached a decision on responsibility-sharing ratios for gubernatorial and State positions, ending a three-month impasse on the allocations of States. Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Lakes, Northern Bahr el-Ghazal, Warrap and Unity were allocated to the incumbent Transitional Government of National Unity; Upper Nile, Western Bahr el-Ghazal and Western Equatoria were allocated to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO); and Jonglei was allocated to the South Sudan Opposition Alliance. The Other Political Parties coalition was not allocated a State, as envisioned in the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, in which the coalition had been guaranteed 8 per cent of the positions. 3. On 29 June, the President appointed governors of 8 of the 10 States and chief administrators of the administrative areas of Abyei, Ruweng and Pibor. -
South Sudan's
Untapped and Unprepared Dirty Deals Threaten South Sudan’s Mining Sector April 2020 Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Invitation to Exploitation 4 Beneath the Battlefield: Mineral Development During Conflict 12 Indications of Possible Money Laundering 19 Recommendations 20 We are grateful for the support we receive from our donors who have helped make our work possible. To learn more about The Sentry’s funders, please visit The Sentry website at www.thesentry.org/about/. UNTAPPED AND UNPREPARED: DIRTY DEALS THREATEN SOUTH SUDAN’S MINING SECTOR TheSentry.org Executive Summary South Sudan’s mining sector has seen rapid development in recent years, and preliminary reports suggest that the industry could become an engine for major economic growth. However, ineffective accountability mechanisms, an opaque corporate landscape, and inadequate due diligence have exposed the sector to abuse by bad actors within South Sudan’s ruling clique. The Sentry has found that existing laws have proven insufficient bulwarks against abuse, raising concerns that the country’s mineral wealth could do little more than spur the kind of violent competition that has ravaged the oil sector. Although South Sudan took welcome steps to reform the mining sector in 2012, some government officials, their relatives, and their close associates have fostered a weak regulatory environment susceptible to exploitation. In one example of how the privileged few have apparently exploited kleptocratic arrangements, President Salva Kiir’s daughter partly owns a company with three active licenses, while another company with three licenses lists former Vice President James Wani Igga’s son as a shareholder. Ashraf Seed Ahmed Hussein Ali, a businessman commonly known as Al-Cardinal who was placed under Global Magnitsky sanctions in October 2019, reportedly owns the company currently holding the greatest number of licenses.1 In the gold-rich region of Kapoeta, state government officials have begun issuing licenses independently of the central government. -
South Sudan's Financial Sector
South Sudan’s Financial Sector Bank of South Sudan (BSS) Presentation Overview . Main messages & history/perspectives . Current state of the industry . Key issues – regulations, capitalization, skills, diversification, inclusion . The way forward “The road is under construction” Main Messages & History/perspectives . The history of financial institutions in South Sudan is a short one. Throughout Khartoum rule till the end of civil war in 2005, there were very few commercial banks concentrated in Juba, Wau and Malakal. South Sudanese were deliberately excluded from the economic system. As a result 90% of the population in South Sudan were not exposed to banking services . Access to finance was limited to Northern traders operating in Southern Sudan. In February 2008, Islamic banks left the South since the Bank of Southern Sudan(BOSS) introduced conventional banking . However, after the CPA the Bank of Southern Sudan, although a mere branch of the central bank of Sudan took a bold step by licensing local and expatriate banks that took interest to invest in South Sudan. South Sudan needs a stable, well diversified financial sector providing the right kinds of products and services with a level of intermediation and inclusion to support the country’s ambitions Current State of the Sector As of November 2013 . 28 Commercial Banks are now operating in South Sudan and more than 70 applications on the pipeline . 10 Micro Finance Institutions . 86 Forex Bureaus . A handful of Insurance companies Current state of the Sector (2) . Despite the increased number of financial institutions, competition is still limited and services are mainly concentrated in the urban hubs . -
Conflict and Crisis in South Sudan's Equatoria
SPECIAL REPORT NO. 493 | APRIL 2021 UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE www.usip.org Conflict and Crisis in South Sudan’s Equatoria By Alan Boswell Contents Introduction ...................................3 Descent into War ..........................4 Key Actors and Interests ............ 9 Conclusion and Recommendations ...................... 16 Thomas Cirillo, leader of the Equatoria-based National Salvation Front militia, addresses the media in Rome on November 2, 2019. (Photo by Andrew Medichini/AP) Summary • In 2016, South Sudan’s war expand- Equatorians—a collection of diverse South Sudan’s transitional period. ed explosively into the country’s minority ethnic groups—are fighting • On a national level, conflict resolu- southern region, Equatoria, trig- for more autonomy, local or regional, tion should pursue shared sover- gering a major refugee crisis. Even and a remedy to what is perceived eignty among South Sudan’s con- after the 2018 peace deal, parts of as (primarily) Dinka hegemony. stituencies and regions, beyond Equatoria continue to be active hot • Equatorian elites lack the external power sharing among elites. To spots for national conflict. support to viably pursue their ob- resolve underlying grievances, the • The war in Equatoria does not fit jectives through violence. The gov- political process should be expand- neatly into the simplified narratives ernment in Juba, meanwhile, lacks ed to include consultations with of South Sudan’s war as a power the capacity and local legitimacy to local community leaders. The con- struggle for the center; nor will it be definitively stamp out the rebellion. stitutional reform process of South addressed by peacebuilding strate- Both sides should pursue a nego- Sudan’s current transitional period gies built off those precepts. -
Conflict in South Sudan and the Challenges Ahead
Conflict in South Sudan and the Challenges Ahead Updated September 22, 2016 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R43344 Conflict in South Sudan and the Challenges Ahead Summary South Sudan, which separated from Sudan in 2011 after almost 40 years of civil war, was drawn into a devastating new conflict in late 2013, when a political dispute that overlapped with preexisting ethnic and political fault lines turned violent. Civilians have been routinely targeted in the conflict, often along ethnic lines, and the warring parties have been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The war and resulting humanitarian crisis have displaced more than 2.7 million people, including roughly 200,000 who are sheltering at U.N. peacekeeping bases in the country. Over 1 million South Sudanese have fled as refugees to neighboring countries. No reliable death count exists. U.N. agencies report that the humanitarian situation, already dire with over 40% of the population facing life-threatening hunger, is worsening, as continued conflict spurs a sharp increase in food prices. Famine may be on the horizon. Aid workers, among them hundreds of U.S. citizens, are increasingly under threat—South Sudan overtook Afghanistan as the country with the highest reported number of major attacks on humanitarians in 2015. At least 62 aid workers have been killed during the conflict, and U.N. experts warn that threats are increasing in scope and brutality. In August 2015, the international community welcomed a peace agreement signed by the warring parties, but it did not end the conflict. The formation of a Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNU) in late April 2016, six months behind schedule, followed months of ceasefire violations. -
PERIPHERAL VISION Views from the Borderlands SEMI-ANNUAL BULLETIN SPRING 2020
PERIPHERAL VISION Views from the Borderlands SEMI-ANNUAL BULLETIN SPRING 2020 THE STAKES IN THE SYRIAN-TURKISH BORDER ZONE Kheder Khaddour In March 2020, Russia and Turkey agreed to a ceasefire in Idlib Governorate. This followed a fierce military campaign waged by the Syrian regime and its armed forces aimed at regaining control over large parts of Syria’s northwest. Under the terms of the deal, Turkey will be allowed to keep a foothold in Idlib. In practical terms this means it will have de facto control over the local economy. The Turks have already invested heavily in the area, and have deployed large numbers of troops in Idlib. The end result is likely to be the creation of a border zone between Turkey and Syria after the Turkish military connects the different areas it has come to control in northern Syria. So far, Turkish military operations have created four such border zones, each named for the military operation in which Turkey seized territory. The Euphrates Shield operation in 2016 and 2017 led to Turkish control over northern Aleppo Governorate. In 2018, Turkey took northwestern Aleppo Governorate through its Olive Image: A Syrian boy walks past a graffiti in the northern city of Azaz Branch operation. In 2019, it used its Peace Spring operation to occupy areas east of the Euphrates River. Finally, in the rebel-held region of Aleppo province, near the border with in 2020 the Turkish army launched an operation in Idlib called Spring Shield. Turkey. Photo by NAZEER AL-KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images. The dynamics of Syria’s civil war changed fundamentally following the Russian intervention in September 2015. -
Interna Tional Edition
Number 2 2014 ISSN 2196-3940 INTERNATIONAL South Sudan’s Newest War: When Two Old Men Divide a Nation Carlo Koos and Thea Gutschke A political power struggle between South Sudanese president Salva Kiir and former vice president Riek Machar resulted in violent clashes between ethnic army factions in December 2013. Since then fighting has spread across South Sudan and claimed the lives of around 10,000 people. Analysis South Sudan has experienced several insurgencies since gaining independence in 2011. Nevertheless, the current war has the potential to be more destructive to the country than previous ones because both parties – President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and his opponent, former vice president Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer – are instrumentalizing ethnic identities and pulling their communities into their personal feud. A number of latent issues have contributed to the current crisis. These include South Sudan’s dysfunctional political system and inadequate political leadership, the historical distrust between the Dinka and the Nuer, and the country’s unhealthy EDITION dependence on oil rents. The civilian population is carrying the cost of the conflict. More than 10,000 people have been killed and more than one million displaced since the outbreak of the latest violence. Livelihoods have been destroyed and more than 3.7 million people, approximately a third of the population, are estimated to be at risk of food insecurity. The short- and long-term economic consequences for South Sudan are harsh. Oil production has dropped by 40 percent, severely affecting the state’s budget. Trade has suffered. In the long run, political instability will jeopardize foreign direct investment in South Sudan. -
Hostilities Between Sudan and South Sudan a Timeline of Recent Events
Hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan A Timeline of Recent Events April 2012 February 11, 2012: Sudan and South Sudan sign a “non-aggression” pact during talks in Addis Ababa agreeing to “respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and to “refrain from launching any attack, including bombardment.” 1 March 13, 2012: Sudan and South Sudan initial two agreements in Addis Ababa that, if signed, would grant South Sudanese and Sudanese citizens certain freedoms in the other state, and commit the two states to a timeline to demarcate the agreed-upon areas of the North-South border.2 The round of talks concludes in a new “spirit of coopera- tion,” and with the announcement that the agreements would be signed in a bilateral summit attended by the two heads of states in Juba.3 March 23, 2012: Pagan Amum, South Sudan’s chief negotiator in talks with Sudan over outstanding post-independence issues, travels to Khartoum and personally delivers a letter of invitation to the President al-Bashir to join in a summit with Kiir in South Sudan. Bashir accepts the invitation.4 March 26, 2012: Clashes break out between Sudan’s and South Sudan’s armies in the disputed oil-rich area of Heglig.5 Both sides trade accusations about who instigated the violence. Southern officials accuse Khartoum of bombing southern troops in the disputed border area of Jau and of launching a ground attack on South Sudan bases south of Heglig oil field. Khartoum denies bombing Jau and accuses South Sudan of attacking Heglig with the support of Darfur rebels.