Governance

This report explores the important role chiefs’ courts play in food security and in addressing hunger in South Sudan by reallocating food to vulnerable community members. Their role is particularly important in view of famine and recurrent extreme food insecurity affecting South Sudan. The authors suggest that chief courts potentially offer useful data for famine early warning and responses but also underline that humanitarian actors engaging with chiefs’ courts should do so with a contextually informed and locally nuanced approach.

Land governance in South Sudan is not only central to nation building, but also a major contributor to conflicts, poverty and under development in the post conflict context. To reinforce the crucial role of land rights and the importance of gender equality in access of the rights, the Sustainable Development Goals indicators 1.4.2; 5.a.1 and 5.a.2 monitors the progress of security of land and property rights for both men and women and countries’ legal framework ability to guarantee women’s equal rights to land. The crisis in South Sudan has led to an increase in land-related disputes. Women’s housing, land and property rights are the most affected which significantly increases their vulnerability. Supporting displaced women to change their lives through land governance is significant in securing economic independence toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Referring to the case of Wau county the paper highlights efforts undertaken to enhance women’s access to land to consolidate peace in South Sudan through improving awareness on women’s rights to land, enhancing institutional capacities from the local to national levels and supporting the land policy formulation process with focus on strengthening the gender perspectives. The paper explores implementation of innovative approaches in fit-for-purpose land administration to enhance women’s access to land and entrenching of gender equality in the development of land policy and land administration practices. With the implementation of the peace agreement, it is recognized that upholding and securing women’s rights to land is crucial in facilitating resettlement, reducing recurrence of conflict and contributing to sustainable peace and stability for better livelihoods envisioned in the Sustainable Development Goals.

International, national and local political discourses often portray the Murle community as principal aggressors and the source of much of the instability affecting former Jonglei State in South Sudan. Although such negative stereotypes are partially driven by actual events, they are also manipulated by certain groups to serve political purposes and informed by the assumption that there is a lack of credible authority structure among the Murle. Changing Power Among Murle Chiefs investigates how Murle customary authorities—in particular, red chiefs—navigate and negotiate political, military and spiritual authority, while simultaneously challenging the view that Murle society has no organic leaderships structures. The challenge is not the absence of leadership structures but rather their abundance and the difficulties they pose for the ability of outsiders to navigate them.