Peacebuilding

This essay assesses UNMISS as a case study of Japan’s foreign policy which is being implemented in order to fulfill its strategic national interests. In order to trace these interests firstly, it analyzes UNMISS as Japan’s tool to attain the international power; secondly, as an economic strategy to secure its access to the oil and other critical natural resources in Africa; and thirdly as a political strategy to outweigh China’s strategic influence in the region. Before assessing these three different strategic interests, this essay describes Japanese peacekeepers’ activities in a way to consolidate peace in post-conflict South-Sudan

Cueibet – a county in Lakes state – is the current epicentre of intra-communal violence in the state. Although most people living in the county are from the Gok Dinka sub-tribe, relations among people from various clans within the Gok Dinka have been conflict-ridden, exacerbated by an abundance of small arms and light weapons in civilian hands.

This brief provides a context update about the current situation in Cueibet –a county in Lakes state in South Sudan.

The authors present safety and security challenges identified by communities, authorities and civil society for all levels of government, and national/international organisations to consider.

They also provide recommendations for how best to address the challenges identified such as the easy availability of weapons, cattle raiding, weak justice systems and a lack of security services to turn to.

This Briefing Paper examines how UN peace operations are using casualty data to enhance the implementation of key elements of their mandates, including the protection of civilians (PoC), the promotion and protection of human rights, and conflict prevention, thereby contributing to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.1: ‘Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related deaths rates everywhere’.

It argues that, in the absence of data from state institutions, UN peace operations can be a good alternative source of data in conflicts where they operate for measuring SDG 16 Indicator 16.1.2: ‘Conflict-related deaths per 100,000 population, by sex, age and cause’. The paper assesses the current casualtyrecording efforts of three of the largest UN missions operating in highly volatile contexts: the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). The aim is to obtain a fuller understanding of these missions’ functions—and the gaps in aligning their data collection efforts with the fulfilment of elements of their mandate and the recording of data relevant to SDG Indicator 16.1.2.

This briefing paper examines changes to wedding rituals and the nature of marriages in the Bentiu Protection of Civilians site and adjacent areas of Rubkona and Bentiu towns. The authors draw from interviews and focus group discussions with displaced residents in the Bentiu PoC and with residents in the adjacent towns of Bentiu and Rubkona to highlight how the shift from a cattle-based economy to one entailing greater use of cash has affected these life events. The researchers also examine changes to bride wealth and corresponding shifts in the engagement of relatives, community members, and social networks in the rite and process of marriage. Depending on their gender, age, and social positioning, respondents offered different views on the extent to which these changes were welcome or detrimental. The authors reflect this diversity of perspectives in the analysis that follows.

The question of changes to marriages is relevant for humanitarian practitioners, decision-makers, and researchers. First, consistent with research in South Sudan and other contexts, we show that weddings and marriages are not only privately important for those who directly participate in them, but also carry broader social and symbolic significance for the community. Second, weddings and marriages provide a useful lens for examining the effects of cash on social connectedness, as well as the effects of livelihood loss—in the form of cattle, in particular—on new and existing relationships. Finally, an examination of weddings and marriages allows for a gender- and age-informed analysis of how social relationships are reconfigured during conflict and displacement. The authors pay particular attention to how norms around the regulation of gendered relationships have evolved during the course of conflict and displacement, and the ways in which livelihood changes affect those norms.