Peacebuilding

Advantages and Challenges to Diaspora Transnational Civil Society Activism in the Homeland: Examples from Iraqi Kurdistan, Somaliland and South Sudan

Year of Publication
2020
Document Publisher/Creator
Yaniv Voller
NGO associated?
Source URL
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/104138/1/CRP_advantages_challenges_to_diaspora_transnational_civil_society_published.pdf
Summary
Investment in overseas developmental projects is a multifaceted effort which involves a variety of actors. These include donor governments and their departments for international aid, international organisations, recipient governments and the societies in the recipient countries. With relation to the latter, the existence of an active civil society has been identified as crucial for the advancement of socio-political reforms (Putnam 1995; Kaldor 2003; Neumayer 2005). Certainly, aid providers have become more aware of the need to take civil society into account when supporting initiatives aiming to promote democratisation, human rights, and human security in general. The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), two of the largest government-supported aid agencies, have invested resources in exploring the importance of civil society in recipient countries and the avenues for encouraging its further development (DFID 2012; Giffen and Judge 2010; USAID 2014).

More recent works on civil society have recognised, though, the fact that such actors are not confined to particular territorial boundaries. Civil society campaigns are often global, involving elements that operate at the international and transnational levels. One element, nevertheless, has been overall neglected by both policymakers and scholars examining transnational civil society, and that is diaspora communities. The refugees of previous decades, which have evolved into well-established communities in the West, have traditionally played pivotal roles in the reconstruction of their homelands. But as time has gone by, they have become involved in other aspects of state- and society-building in the homeland. As the paper concludes, while there is undoubtedly eagerness among highly motivated and talented diasporans to contribute to social and political changes in the homeland, on the ground, there are difficulties and challenges. These challenges may limit the contribution and hinder diasporan integration in, and contribution to, activism in the homeland. Aid providers and donors should develop clear strategies to incorporate diaspora communities in development programmes. Such integration would help not only to utilise the advantages that diaspora returnees possess when participating in civil society campaigns in the homeland, but could also help these returnees to overcome potential challenges that they face.
Date of Publication
08/09/2020

Transitional Justice in South Sudan: A Case for Sustainable Peace, Accountability, Reconciliation and Healing

Year of Publication
2021
Document Publisher/Creator
Santino Ayuel Longar
Institution/organisation
The Sudd Institute
NGO associated?
Source URL
https://www.suddinstitute.org/publications/show/602b9d3319101
Summary
The justice versus peace dichotomy or lack thereof has spawned both legal practice and international law literature for decades. As the debate pertains to the application of transitional justice specifically against the backdrop of mass political violence or civil wars, some jurists, legal practitioners and other scholars suggest that, on the one hand, justice and peace are mutually exclusive concepts. This implies that neither peace nor justice can be pursued without adversely impacting or displacing the other. Others, on the other hand, maintain that peace and justice are mutually reinforcing virtues, suggesting that the pursuit of one serves to augment the other. While the third school of thought acknowledges that both peace and justice are indispensable virtues for a dignified human life, it contends that an overreliance on the pursuit of justice at all costs is detrimental for sustainable peace. As well, it argues that justice should not be sacrificed on the altar of peace. In this regard, the third way proposes that the stringent standards of pursuing peace and justice should be relaxed in the interest of a balanced solution. Cognizant of the fact that South Sudan is a deeply divided and polarized country, this piece suggests that the most appropriate vehicle for pursuing transitional justice in South Sudan is in the form of truth, reconciliation and healing (TRH) and, perhaps, compensation but not through criminal prosecutions of the actions of key players in the recently concluded conflict. Failure to observe the delicacy of balancing peace and justice only operates to fester the conflict. That is in part because key actors in a mass political conflict are cushioned by their (ethnic) constituencies and in part because, generally, justice deferred solely for the sake of peace may actually breed more insecurity just as sacrificing peace for the sake of justice only yields incendiary results.
Date of Publication
19/02/2021

Access to Health for Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in South Sudan

Year of Publication
2020
Document Publisher/Creator
United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and OHCHR
NGO associated?
Source URL
https://www.csrf-southsudan.org/repository/access-to-health-for-survivors-of-conflict-related-sexual-violence-in-south-sudan/
Summary
Survivors of conflict-related sexual violence continue to struggle to access adequate medical and mental health care, according to a new report issued by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and the UN Human Rights Office.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear, if there was ever any doubt, just how important it is for everyone to have immediate and adequate access to health care,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. “For the survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, it goes beyond treating their physical injuries and psychological trauma. It is quite simply a crucial step in giving them a chance to rebuild their lives and the lives of their families.”

The report, titled “Access to Health for Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in South Sudan,” takes an in-depth look at the adequacy of health care available in Unity and the Central and Western Equatorian regions, which account for 85 percent of conflict-related sexual violence cases documented between January 2018 and January 2020.

It found that funding for public health care in South Sudan has not been prioritized, with just 1.2 percent (USD 14 million) of the national budget allocated for this purpose. This has resulted in international organizations using donor funding to try to fill the gap. Despite the enormous financial investment, the medical response for survivors of sexual violence remains weak.
Date of Publication
09/09/2020

Women in Mainstreaming Peace and Security in South Sudan: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward

Year of Publication
2021
Document Publisher/Creator
Abraham Kuol Nyuon
NGO associated?
Source URL
https://www.csrf-southsudan.org/repository/women-in-mainstreaming-peace-and-security-in-south-sudan-lessons-learnt-and-way-forward/
Summary
The paper examined the essence of women in Mainstreaming Peace and Security in South Sudan by exploring lessons Learned and Way forward. The study has assessed some instruments used in support of UN Resolution 1325 to empower women in promoting peace and security within the country. The paper has examined UNSCR 1325 by understanding the essence of women participation, the execution of the resolution by developing the policy framework, and understanding the avenues applied by women to participate in peace and security in South Sudan. The paper has found out that, R–ARCSS is a great opportunity South Sudan’s gender mainstreaming by complying with UN resolution 1325. The purpose of this study was to articulate the desired end state of Women in Mainstreaming Peace and Security in South Sudan: Lessons Learnt and way forward to serve as a platform for discussions at the highest level of decision–making and to provide a guide for further detailed planning in achieving gender mainstreaming within South Sudan.
Attachment
GIJASH01.pdf340.3 KB
Date of Publication
05/04/2021

Speaking Truth to Power in South Sudan: Oral Histories of the Nuer Prophets

Year of Publication
2019
Document Publisher/Creator
Jedeit J. Riek and Naomi R. Pendle
Institution/organisation
The Rift Valley Institute
NGO associated?
Source URL
http://riftvalley.net/publication/speaking-truth-power-south-sudan
Summary
Prophets—those recognised as having been ‘seized’ by a divinity—have played an important role in the history of South Sudan, particularly that of the Nuer people. They were seen as being powerful political actors and, alongside chiefs, important intermediaries for the colonial authorities. However, the influence of the Nuer prophets goes much further than mobilizing or de-mobilizing the Nuer population to or from violence. In the UN Protection of Civilians Site (POCS) in Bentiu, where over one hundred thousand war-displaced now live, the histories of the prophets have become a means through which POCS residents explain both the spiritual causes of war and their current predicament.
Speaking Truth to Power focuses on the life of Kolang Ket—a major prophet in the early twentieth century. His story, as recounted in the Bentiu POCS, includes his seizure by the deity known as MAANI, how he has wielded political authority and his legacy, which extends to the present day. Acknowledging the influence of the prophets is important to those trying to understand the contemporary political reality of South Sudan. This, by extension, can help external actors to assist the South Sudanese population in shaping a more sustainable, locally relevant peace, which goes beyond the fragile elite deals normally agreed by the country’s politicians.
Date of Publication
10/09/2020

Adaptive Peacebuilding in Greater Jonglei

Year of Publication
2021
Document Publisher/Creator
Peacebuilding Opportunities Fund
NGO associated?
Source URL
https://www.csrf-southsudan.org/repository/adaptive-peacebuilding-in-greater-jonglei/
Summary
This ‘Lessons Learned’ Paper combines a narrative section with the peacebuilding principles that the team has identified through the process. The narrative element below deliberately also takes the updates as they were written at the time, rather than re-editing after the fact. Whilst this makes for a less flowing narrative, it allows another angle of engagement for the reader; seeing what the team was emphasising as the process iterated. The hope is that, collectively, this document provides a practice-based stimulus for discussion, reflection and critique among others working in the peacebuilding space, both in Greater Jonglei and more widely in South Sudan.
Date of Publication
18/06/2021

Comprehensive Analysis of South Sudan Conflict: Determinants and Repercussions

Year of Publication
2020
Document Publisher/Creator
FREDERICK APPIAH AFRIYIE AND ET AL.
NGO associated?
Source URL
. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168- ssoar-67602-7
Summary
South Sudan, which separated from Sudan in 2011 after nearly 40 years of civil war, was embroiled in a
new devastating conflict at the end of 2013. This happened when political disputes coupled with preexisting ethnic and political fault lines became brutal. This conflict has mostly targeted civilians and most often, ethnic groups, and warring parties have been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The conflict has resulted in a major humanitarian crisis, mass displacement and mass atrocities against South Sudanese citizens. Notwithstanding, instability in South Sudan has made the country one of the most dangerous countries for humanitarian aid workers in the world, especially as majority of them have lost their lives during their operation. In view of this, the article seeks to interrogate the main driving forces that triggered the deadly conflict and also the ramifications brought upon the population as well as the country.
Date of Publication
11/09/2020

UNDP South Sudan: Study on the Traditional and Changing Role of Gender and Women in Peacebuilding in South Sudan

Year of Publication
2021
Document Publisher/Creator
UNDP South Sudan
Institution/organisation
UNDP South Sudan
NGO associated?
Source URL
https://www.ss.undp.org/content/south_sudan/en/home/library/democratic_governance/women-gender-role-peacebuilding-south-sudan.html
Summary
This report is the result of a short-term study on the traditional and changing roles of gender and women in peace-building. The study involved field research in five locations (Aweil, Bentiu, Bor, Rumbek and Torit). The purpose of the study is to research how the traditional and changing roles of women/ girls and men/boys, conflict dynamics in South Sudan and to recommend to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), potential partners, on possible further peace initiatives. This study contributes to UNDP’s work with women, with regard to resolving peace and security issues in the region. The study offers critical analysis in understanding the unique potential contribution of South Sudanese women in national reconciliation and peacebuilding. The study aims to enable the government of South Sudan and international donors to more effectively mainstream gender initiatives into their policies, programs and future activities.
Date of Publication
01/09/2021

Orchestrating peace in South Sudan: Exploring the effectiveness of the European Union’s mediation support

Year of Publication
2020
Document Publisher/Creator
Patrick Müller & Julian Bergmann
NGO associated?
Source URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2020.1751616
Summary
Previous research has primarily focused on the EU’s high-profile involvement as direct mediator in peace negotiations. Conversely, less attention has been devoted to the EU’s support to third parties’ mediation efforts, which is a significant component of its mediation activities. Addressing this research gap, this article develops a conceptual framework for the systematic analysis of EU mediation support, identifying key mediation support techniques and the conditions for their success. In terms of mediation support techniques, the EU may rely on “endorsement”, “coordination”, “assistance”, and “lending leverage” to empower and steer third party mediators in line with its mediation objectives and values. We illustrate the utility of the conceptual framework for the EU’s support to IGAD in mediating in South Sudan’s civil war. We find that the EU has contributed significantly to IGAD’s empowerment in terms of endorsement, coordination, assistance, and lending leverage. Simultaneously, our analysis also points to important challenges in the EU-IGAD relationship, which relate to challenges concerning strategic engagement with IGAD’s internal politics that are marked by diverging interests and ties of its member states to the conflict parties.
Date of Publication
14/09/2020

Lessons from Stabilisation, Statebuilding, and Development Programming in South Sudan

Year of Publication
2019
Document Publisher/Creator
Siân Herbert
Institution/organisation
K4D (Knowledge, Evidence and Learning for Development)
NGO associated?
Source URL
https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/14883
Summary
This rapid literature review collates lessons from major evaluations and learning reviews from development, state-building and stabilisation programming in South Sudan since independence in 2011. Key findings include: a) Donors in South Sudan have had to transition from humanitarian to development aid and back and forth a number of times as conflict has broken out. Donors need options to cope with a nonlinear state-building process as South Sudan’s political settlement has been, and will remain, very challenging; b) The sustainability of programmes in South Sudan has been limited as typically funding will not continue beyond the project, and as there is a high turnover of donor staff due to the difficult and dangerous living and working conditions. This is a major challenge for donors; c) Many donor programmes are identified as being “relevant” to the context and needs. However, South Sudan’s security situation holds back the achievements of many programmes. This rapid literature review found a lot of evaluations and reviews of programming in South Sudan, with many focussed on humanitarian programming (not covered in this query), and development programming, and few focussed on stabilisation. This review has endeavoured to only include evaluations of programmes that occurred after 2011, however, where it does include papers that analyse the period before and after 2011, it attempts to separate off only the lessons relevant to the post-2011 period (e.g. it only includes a little bit of information on the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Southern Sudan (MDTF-SS) as this closed in 2012) (Fafo Institute for Applied International Studies, 2013). The literature is mostly produced by practitioners, policy-makers, and think tanks.
Date of Publication
15/09/2020