Peacebuilding

Building a Foundation for Justice in South Sudan: An Agenda for the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGONU)

Year of Publication
2021
Document Publisher/Creator
The Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG)
NGO associated?
Source URL
https://www.csrf-southsudan.org/repository/building-a-foundation-for-justice-in-south-sudan-an-agenda-for-the-revitalized-transitional-government-of-national-unity-r-tgonu/
Summary
Addressing the legacies of mass human rights violations is a daunting task for any society emerging from conflict. The challenges are all the more complex in South Sudan, where people have struggled with civil wars, state repression, and developmental neglect for generations. With the current conflict, transitional justice – or the range of judicial and nonjudicial measures that countries emerging from a period of conflict or authoritarian rule use to address past human right violations – has come onto the agenda for the first time. However, the foundational elements that are required for transitional justice interventions to succeed are lacking. Political leaders are largely uninformed about the role that transitional justice can play in restoring peace, and some are deeply uncomfortable with the notion of scrutinizing and holding people accountable for wartime abuses. Survivors are conspicuously absent from discussions about how best to address the legacies of the conflict, and human rights advocates are confronted with an ever-shrinking civic space. Moreover, there are real fears that the tense peace that currently exists among most armed groups could collapse at any moment and the country could return to full-scale civil war.

The uncertainties of the current situation make it all the more important for South Sudanese to develop a carefully considered plan for transitional justice that identifies priorities and sequences activities in a manner that sustains and builds momentum over time. Most importantly, transitional justice interventions must be tailored to the context and designed and implemented in a manner that is meaningful to South Sudanese. Transitional justice in South Sudan will be a generational undertaking. While the current generation may not realize the full rewards of their efforts, it is nonetheless incumbent upon us to begin the process and establish a strong foundation that subsequent generations might build upon.
Attachment
Date of Publication
11/01/2021

The Future and implementation of the R-ARCSS in South Sudan

Year of Publication
2020
Document Publisher/Creator
Christopher Zambakari, Jok Madut Jok and Et al.
NGO associated?
Source URL
http://www.zambakari.org/uploads/8/4/8/9/84899028/zambakari_06.15.2020_the_future_and_implementation_of_the_r-arcss_pages.pdf
Summary
In this selection of articles on the Future and Implementation of the R-ARCSS in South Sudan scholars/experts including Christopher Zambakari, Remember Miamingi, Peter Adwok Nyaba and Jok Madut Jok explore the R-ARCSS and its implementation by focusing on different issues such as the delays in the implementation of the agreement, the security sector reform, and the number of states.
Date of Publication
09/09/2020

Trade, peace-building and hybrid governance in the Sudan-South Sudan borderlands

Year of Publication
2019
Document Publisher/Creator
Øystein H. Rolandsen
NGO associated?
Source URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/14678802.2019.1561628
Summary
Trade and markets in weak states are often discussed in relation with violence, security and peace-building. A case in point are marketplaces in the Sudan-South Sudan borderlands where communities separated by insecurity and hostility meet, not only to trade but also to negotiate and exchange information. This does not imply that establishment of such markets automatically results in peace and stability. Based on new empirical research on the Amieth market in Abyei – an area contested by the two Sudans – I argue that such markets rely on security guarantees negotiated between a set of heterogenous societal groups and that the overall impact of such border markets is largely determined within a context of hybrid security governance. The conclusion emphasises that without a proper analysis of this context, external assistance to such borderland markets might just as well enable violent conflict actors as being a tool for peace-building.
Date of Publication
04/03/2021

‘No one can stay without someone’ Transnational networks amongst the Nuer-speaking peoples of Gambella and South Sudan

Year of Publication
2020
Document Publisher/Creator
Freddie Carver, Duol Ruach Guok and Et al
Institution/organisation
The Rift Valley Institute
NGO associated?
Source URL
http://riftvalley.net/publication/no-one-can-stay-without-someone
Summary
Over the last 50 years, the various conflicts afflicting South Sudan have caused massive displacements of people. Latest estimates suggest there are more than 1.5 million internally displaced people (IDPs) within the country’s borders, with another 2.2 million refugees displaced outside the country, as a result of the most recent conflicts. Policymakers generally see these populations as highly vulnerable—being less able to provide for themselves and their families away from their original homes—and at risk of involvement in cross-border conflict dynamics. Thus, responses by state actors to these movements tend to focus on managing potential conflict, providing humanitarian assistance for displaced communities, and supporting, facilitating or (in some cases) forcing populations to return to their home areas.

This report aims to better inform those working on humanitarian assistance, particularly to populations on the move, peace and development in South Sudan and the region, particularly international actors less familiar with these dynamics. Billions of dollars are spent on humanitarian and peacekeeping programmes globally every year, yet, despite being critical to the lives of millions of ordinary people, transnational networks are missing from most analyses. The report’s concluding section includes a set of recommendations intended to help international policymakers formulate an informed response to these transnational dynamics.
Date of Publication
10/09/2020

Hybrid governance in South Sudan: the negotiated state in practice

Year of Publication
2021
Document Publisher/Creator
Peter Hakim Justina and Willemijn Verkoren
NGO associated?
Source URL
https://www.csrf-southsudan.org/repository/hybrid-governance-in-south-sudan-the-negotiated-state-in-practice/
Summary
This article draws on empirical data collected in Yei River County, South Sudan, to contribute to debates on hybrid governance in Africa. Current literature offers a limited understanding of the practical workings of hybridity, and particularly of whether and under what circumstances hybridity may meet the interests and solve the problems of citizens. This article discusses how subsequent historical attempts at state-building have left a complex and layered governance system and analyses how this system functions on the ground in Yei River County, focusing on the land and justice sectors. The empirical analysis reveals institutional development to be ongoing and to be shaped through continuous negotiations among local stakeholders. Whilst in the land sector, this process produced power imbalances and violence, in the justice sector, unexpected institutional cooperation improved access to justice for local citizens. Important factors in determining these institutional outcomes have been what we have termed the two P’s: pragmatism and power.
Date of Publication
10/06/2021