"Will They Protect Us for the Next 10 Years?" Challenges Faced by UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan

The United Nations faces an unprecedented challenge in South Sudan. The country has been devastated by the civil war that broke out in December 2013, just two and a half years after South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan. It is alleged that armed actors on both sides have committed horrific...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2014
Main Authors: Giffen, Alison, Gorur, Aditi, Jok, Jok Madut, Mayai, Augustino Ting
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
International cooperation
Law enforcement
Management of crises
The Henry L Stimson Center
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:The United Nations faces an unprecedented challenge in South Sudan. The country has been devastated by the civil war that broke out in December 2013, just two and a half years after South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan. It is alleged that armed actors on both sides have committed horrific abuses against civilians based on ethnic or political affiliation. Since the start of the conflict, the UN peacekeeping operation in South Sudan has worked hard to cope with challenges for which it was not designed or equipped. Peacekeepers have struggled to find a way to protect the thousands of people who have fled to UN peacekeeping bases across the country and stayed there for nearly a year, and the millions more that remain vulnerable to violence outside the reach of peacekeepers and humanitarian workers. This report examines the mounting challenges that the UN faces in South Sudan in the context of the civil war. It focuses on the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, UNMISS, which remains one of the international community's principal interventions in the country and has the critical capability to protect at least some of the people under threat in the short and medium term.