Many people who are displaced, or become ‘trapped’, in the context of diverse humanitarian crises do not fit well within existing legal, policy and operational frameworks for the protection of refugees and IDPs. This raises questions about whether there needs to be – or can be – more systematic ways of dealing with assistance and protection for people affected by ‘crises’ such as environmental disruption, gang violence, nuclear disasters, food shortages and so on.

FMR 45 contains 33 ‘theme’ articles on crisis, migration and displacement, and eight ‘general’ articles on subjects including Typhoon Haiyan, reparations in Latin America, discrimination in Burma, IDPs in Kenya, asylum in Lebanon, and contextualising educational standards.

NAIROBI, 13 February 2014 (IRIN) - A cessation of hostilities agreement signed by parties to the conflict in South Sudan has led to a considerable reduction in violence, although some fighting has taken place recently in Unity and Lakes states.

But the new country’s crisis is far from over - some 870,000 people have fled their homes since fighting began in mid-December - and it has implications well beyond the borders of South Sudan itself. Some of these aftereffects are explored in this article.

Uganda

Uganda is straining to host thousands of newly arrived refugees. It also deployed troops to South Sudan to back President Salva Kiir against forces led by former vice president Riek Machar.

A key provision of the cessation of hostilities agreement is the removal of “allied forces invited by either side from the theatre of operations in the Republic of South Sudan.”

Three days after the signing of the agreement, however, Uganda’s military forces arrived in Malakal, South Sudan, according to the Small Arms Survey’s Human Security Baseline Assessment. In a recent press conference, Uganda’s foreign minister, Sam Kutesa, said that Uganda is “going to stay for as long as the government of South Sudan needs us.”

The Sudd Institute’s director of research, Augustino Ting Mayai, told IRIN that Uganda’s military involvement in South Sudan is directly related to its own interests.

“Uganda is a direct beneficiary of South Sudan’s stability,” he said. “It has minimized security problems related to LRA” - the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group of Ugandan origin now more active in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic (CAR) - “and created thousands of jobs for Ugandans. Uganda is protecting its cake.”

The estimated number of troops Uganda has in South Sudan ranges from 2,000 to 5,000, including air support and tanks. According to a recent Enough Project report, Uganda is also the largest troop contributor to the African Union (AU)-led mission against the LRA, with 1,000 to 1,500 troops stationed in areas of CAR and South Sudan affected by the LRA.

If Uganda stays involved in South Sudan, the Enough Project warns, it risks “drawing military assets away from the counter-LRA mission.”

In an article on the Sudan Tribune, the Sudan Democracy First Group notes, “The military involvement of Uganda, approved by its Parliament, has given the conflict a dangerous regional dynamic and risks undermining the mediation efforts of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), of which Uganda is member.”

Sudan

In a letter to the AU’s Peace and Security Council, 27 civil society organizations warned that while “the international community focuses its attention on events in South Sudan, we fear that the Government of Sudan will be emboldened to further intensify its offensive in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, with deadly consequences for civilians”.

Since November 2013, the Sudanese military’s renewed offensive against rebel groups in these three areas has stressed the humanitarian situation in a country already scarred by years of war. In Darfur, over 450,000 additional people were displaced last year, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).

“[The government] may also exploit the current crisis in South Sudan to undermine ongoing mediation efforts led by the AU, for example with the SPLM-N,” the letter added, referring to the Sudanese rebel group which, before South Sudan seceded in 2011, was a wing of the insurgency that became the political party now in power in Juba.

The Enough Project’s recent Forgotten Wars report says recent fighting in South Kordofan has forced 25,000 from their homes, and over 200,000 Sudanese refugees are seeking refuge across the border in South Sudan.

Akshaya Kumar, the Sudan and South Sudan policy analyst at the Enough Project, warned in an interview with IRIN that this has serious cross-border implications.

“All of the regions are facing increased violence and hostilities, but the Sudanese refugees from South Kordofan's Nuba Mountains, who live in Yida [site of a refugee camp in South Sudan], are likely feeling the impact of South Sudan's conflict the most since the fighting has resulted in significant shifts in the way that they get services and assistance,” Kumar said. “They are trapped between two war zones.”

The International Peace Information Service (IPIS), which recently mapped conflicts along the Sudan-South Sudan border, explains that the recent fighting in South Sudan is “having a profound impact on North-South relations and, by extension, the border dynamics. In this case, the conflict between President Kiir and Riek Machar led Khartoum to opt for increased cooperation with the incumbent regime. Intra-SPLM tensions had been palpable before this point, generating impacts on conflict in the border region.”

Not only is this affecting inter-state and communal relationships in the border, such as trade and pastoral movements, but the Small Arms Survey reported that the SPLM-N was involved in the fighting in Malakal, raising concerns that South Sudan’s conflict could re-shape the dynamics among rebel groups.

“Recent fighting will certainly impact conflict dynamics in Sudan's border areas,” Kumar told IRIN.

Interdependence

Since, as the Sudd Institute’s Mayai pointed out to IRIN, “Khartoum is as critical to Juba as Juba is to it,” and “instability in either of the states means instability in the other,” then not only are conflict dynamics related, but peace processes are similarly intertwined.

“Most worryingly,” the Sudan Democracy First Group warns in their article, “the talks in Addis continue to reproduce the worst historic trend of Sudanese negotiations: they only include the armed actors, and South Sudanese society has a very little role, other than to suffer the consequences of the violence and their so-called leader's political aspirations.”

Kumar, of the Enough Project, suggests, “South Sudan's peace process should definitely be informed by our past experience in Sudan, particularly on the need for a comprehensive approach, a national dialogue instead of stove-piped negotiations, and inclusion of civil society stakeholders.”

Exploring the same theme in a recent Foreign Policy article, George BN Ayittey wrote: “The track record for face-to-face negotiation in post-colonial Africa - and in Sudan itself - is abysmal. Instead of trudging down the same, well-worn path toward failure, South Sudan should look to traditional modes of conflict resolution to end the current standoff.”

Similarly, Sudan can learn from the South Sudan’s experience to address its own internal conflicts, particularly how the failure to give concessions can harden opposition to the regime.

Jerome Tubiana, senior Sudan analyst at ICG, said, “If Khartoum realizes that military action in South Kordofan, Darfur and Blue Nile is as useless as a proxy war with South Sudan, and if pragmatic views on South Sudan extend to the war areas in the north, the government in Khartoum now has an opportunity to launch a genuine national dialogue.”

bb/am/rz

(London, 13 February 2014): The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) condemns the use of cluster munitions in South Sudan following reports that the UN Mine Action Service has found new cluster munition contamination near the town of Bor on the road to Juba, capital of South Sudan. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon condemned the use of cluster munitions in South Sudan in a statement issued yesterday. The Cluster Munition Coalition calls for an immediate investigation into this new use of cluster munitions.

“We condemn any use of cluster munitions as these banned weapons have no place in warfare,” said Sarah Blakemore, director of the CMC. “Cluster munitions cause unacceptable harm to civilians and should never be used.”

“Use of cluster munitions anywhere by anyone is outrageous. This incident must be investigated immediately. It is irresponsible to cause more contamination in South Sudan given the indiscriminate nature of the weapon and the current burden of cluster munition contamination that the country struggles to clear. Governments worldwide should speak out against further use of cluster bombs to protect people, especially children and women from being harmed in South Sudan and worldwide.” Said Geoffrey L. Duke, Secretariat Team Leader of South Sudan Action Network on Small Arms (SSANSA)

It is unclear if the government forces of South Sudan, opposition rebels or Ugandan forces are responsible for the use. Ugandan forces are assisting South Sudan in its clashes with rebels. South Sudan has not joined the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which comprehensively bans the weapon. Uganda has signed it, but not yet ratified.

South Sudan already suffers contamination from past use of cluster munitions. According to Cluster Munition Monitor, CMC’s research publication, at one point, cluster munition remnants were identified in all 10 states of South Sudan.

A majority of the world’s nations have comprehensively banned the use of cluster munitions through the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which came into force on August 1, 2010 A total of 84 states are party to the Convention, which bans cluster munitions and requires clearance of contaminated areas and assistance to victims. Another 29 states have signed but not yet ratified the Convention. The Cluster Munition Coalition calls on all states including South Sudan to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions without delay.

For more information contact:
Jared Bloch, Media & Communications Manager, Tel: +41 786 83 4407+41 786 83 4407, Email: jared@icblcmc.org.

02/13/2014 18:56 GMT

by Jenny VAUGHAN

ADDIS ABABA, February 13, 2014 (AFP) - The Sudanese government and rebels opened peace talks in Ethiopia on Thursday amid UN calls for a ceasefire to end three years of fighting that has affected over one million people.

The government said it was committed to ending the gruesome violence at the opening of the African Union-led negotiations in Addis Ababa, the first time the two sides have met since talks collapsed last April.

"We have come to this round of negotiations to achieve peace that would rescue our people from the plights of war and destruction," said the head of Khartoum's delegation, Ibrahim Ghandour.

But the rival Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) party questioned the government's sincerity, accusing them of aerial bombardments and blocking humanitarian assistance.

"There is a lot of rhetoric from Khartoum that they are for change. It will be tested today," SPLM-N chief negotiator Yassir Arman told AFP.

The chief mediator of the talks, former South African president Thabo Mbeki, said both sides "will stay in Addis Ababa until an agreement is reached."

The opening of the talks came as the UN urged the Sudanese government and rebels to declare an immediate ceasefire so aid can reach more than one million civilians.

"Both parties in these talks are urged to declare an immediate cessation of hostilities allowing humanitarian teams to provide much needed support to these areas," the head of the UN mission in Sudan, Ali Al-Za'tari, said in a statement.

As the two sides met in the Ethiopian capital, government bombing continued, said Ryan Boyette, founder of the Nuba Reports website based in South Kordofan.

Boyette said a Sukhoi jet dropped several bombs at a school on Thursday afternoon, and then several more near a watering point for animals.

"We don't bomb any civilian areas," army spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad told AFP earlier Thursday, adding the military "will continue its job" until a ceasefire is reached.

There are no reliable figures for how many people have died in the Kordofan region and Blue Nile state, where the SPLM-N has been fighting for nearly three years, drawing support from among their non-Arab populations.

The UN says an estimated 1.2 million have been displaced or otherwise affected in the two areas which both lie on the South Sudan border.

• Ethnic diversity -

Sudanese authorities have restricted access to the war zones for aid workers, journalists and foreign diplomats, although relief has reached people in government-controlled zones.

There has been no aid access into SPLM-N areas from within Sudan since 2011, and a senior UN official last year said people were surviving on roots and leaves.

"I urge both parties to ensure that the welfare of civilians in these states is an absolute priority during these talks," Za'tari said.

In the western Darfur region, another ethnic minority rebellion has dragged on for 11 years.

Insurgents there have joined the rebels from Kordofan and Blue Nile in a "Revolutionary Front", fuelled by complaints of economic and political neglect of their far-flung regions by the Arab-dominated regime in Khartoum, led by President Omar al-Bashir -- who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

SPLM-N spokesman Arnu Ngutulu Lodi told AFP that Sudan's regions have been marginalised by an "elite" in Khartoum.

"We need to go to a more meaningful comprehensive settlement," he said late Wednesday.

The Ethiopian talks come two weeks after Bashir appealed for a political and economic "renaissance," with peace as the top priority. He repeated an invitation he made over the past year for a broad political dialogue, including with the rebels.

But diplomats say there was also something new -- acknowledgement by Bashir's 25-year-old regime of the country's ethnic diversity, even after the secession in 2011 of overwhelmingly non-Arab South Sudan.

The talks could be the start of a much broader national dialogue, drawing in opposition parties and other groups, to address discontent in outlying regions and ease pressure on a sanctions-hit, indebted economy starved of hard currency since South Sudan broke away with much of the country's oil reserves.

"The government, especially after the recent speech of the president, recognises that the first step to achieve the goals of the national consensus is to heal the wounds of the war," the pro-government Sudan Vision wrote in an editorial this week.

jv-it/sas/jmm

"There is no doubt any more that both sides to the conflict [in South Sudan] have been involved in numerous human rights violations," said Ivan Šimonović, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights.

Mr. Šimonović visited the country last month to investigate violations resulting from the intense fighting that broke out in mid-December between rebel forces and the government. He met with survivors of a mass shooting in a police station, where hundreds of victims were shot, as well as with survivors of a massacre of women in a church compound.

"We have to address human rights violations no matter who commits them, whether it’s pro-government or opposition forces," he said. "Our position is impartiality."

Mr. Šimonović said the current situation in the country is "very bad and a matter of great concern."

“What started as a political struggle [between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar] has degenerated into an ethnic conflict, and, as a result, thousands have been killed,” Mr. Šimonović said, adding that the humanitarian situation is also very dire. Over 800,000 people remain displaced.

Though a second round of peace talks began in Addis Ababa yesterday, Mr. Šimonović said that, for sustainable peace, “there is a long way to go, and it will require much more than bilateral dialogue between two forces that are in conflict now. It will require inclusion of civil society—of religious leaders, of elders, of women.”

Mr. Šimonović said its highly important to address the social and economic underpinnings of the current crisis, and have an open dialogue. He said it is particularly important that there is freedom of expression and freedom of the press which "are violated at the moment."

Mr. Šimonović said that in human rights work, thorough investigation is crucial to reconciliation. “When I talked to displaced persons, to the victims, I noticed that they have completely different perceptions of how the conflicts started, who the victims and who the perpetrators are. And the difference is based on their ethnic affiliation—whether they are Nuer or Dinka.”

“So, for any sort of reconciliation, it is important that they know the facts: that both sides have been quite involved in human rights violations and committed crimes. However, for this to be accepted, you have to investigate individual cases of violations and report on them.”

Mr. Šimonović said a comprehensive report on the human rights violations committed in the country after December 15, 2013 will be released by the end of April 2014.

The interview was conducted by Bianca Selway, research assistant in the peacekeeping program at the International Peace Institute.

Bianca Selway: Today, I welcome Ivan Šimonović to the Global Observatory. He is the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, heading OHCHR's (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) office in New York.

My first question for you is: Last month, you visited South Sudan to look into cases of human rights violations during the fighting that broke out in mid-December 2013. What is the situation on the ground at the moment?

Ivan Šimonović: The situation is very bad and a matter of great concern. What started as a political struggle has degenerated into an ethnic conflict, and, as a result, thousands have been killed. I myself had the opportunity to talk to victims of such crimes. For example, I met with survivors of a mass shooting in a police station, where hundreds of victims were shot, as well as survivors of a massacre of women in a church compound.

Now, I think it's highly important to highlight that the United Nations has, I would say, [been] involved in an unprecedented protection of civilians exercise. We opened our gates to all civilians, and tens of thousands of them—currently about 80,000—have been under our protection.

Now, let me finally say that the humanitarian situation is also very dire. We have about one third of the population desperately needing humanitarian assistance to sustain themselves. However, because of lack of access, because of fighting, because of looting of our stocks, we are not able to help them all. Food security is going to deteriorate. Because of fighting, quite a large part of the population in affected areas has not been able to tend to their crops. So, the situation is very difficult.

BS: In addition to your office's work investigating human rights violations in South Sudan, the UN peacekeeping mission UNMISS is also mandated to monitor and report on abuses. How do OCHCR and UNMISS work together on the ground?

IS: UNMISS has a human rights component. The head of the human rights component, director of that component, Mr. Ibrahim Wani, has a dual reporting line. So, while the head of component reports to the Special Representative of Secretary-General, Hilde Johnson, he also reports to the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay. This reporting, and especially public reporting, is highly important. It is important because it's a deterrent for crimes not to be committed, but also it’s important that people are informed of the hard facts related to human rights violations, their victims and their perpetrators.

When I talked to displaced persons, to the victims, I noticed that they have completely different perceptions of how the conflicts started, who the victims and who the perpetrators are. And the difference is based on their ethnic affiliation—whether they are Nuer or Dinka. So, for any sort of reconciliation, it is important that they know the facts: that both sides have been quite involved in human rights violations and committed crimes. However, for this to be accepted, you have to investigate individual cases of violations and report on them.

Therefore, I have discussed with UNMISS public reporting of human rights components, and we have agreed that by mid-February, we will be have an interim report mapping the violations of human rights, which require additional human rights investigation. We have also agreed that a comprehensive report on human rights violations committed after December 15, 2013 will be released by the end of April 2014.

BS: You mentioned human rights reporting, which I guess leads me to my next question, which is: the government of South Sudan has been accused of committing numerous human rights abuses against its own citizens. So how does the UN both work with the government of South Sudan while also on human rights abuses which the government itself may be responsible for?

IS: There is no doubt any more that both sides to the conflict have been involved in numerous human rights violations. Our position is impartiality. We have to address human rights violations no matter who commits them, whether it’s pro-government or opposition forces. We are impartial in this respect, but we are not neutral. We are siding with the victims, no matter their ethnicity or political orientations. Besides the divide between Dinka and Nuer, there is a far more important division, and it's the division between victims and perpetrators. And we have victims and perpetrators on both sides.

BS: Recently the African Union's Peace and Security Council decided to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations and other abuses committed by all sides during the armed conflict in South Sudan. What do you think of the challenges and benefits of such an approach by the African Union? And what do you envisage OHCHR's role to be with regard to the commission?

IS: I welcome very much the decision of the African Union to establish a commission of inquiry. It is important that it's an African initiative—it's somehow unprecedented that there is a human rights investigation of this sort launched by the African Union. So, success of that commission is important for South Sudan, but it’s also an important precedent.

In this regard, the Human Rights Office supports the establishment of this commission. We have shared with the African Union our materials, including terms of reference of some previous commissions of inquiry that we have established, the ways on how to structure a competent secretariat of a commission of inquiry and criteria for selection of qualified and independent commissioners. Of course, there are challenges. The main challenge is to ensure that this commission of inquiry is successful in meeting international standards. In this regard, it's on the African Union to make it a success. On our behalf, on behalf of OHCHR, we will do everything to support them. However, the final success—or lack of it—is on the African Union and its commission.

BS: That leads me to my final question, which is, given everything that you've seen, how do you think the recent peace talks in Addis will affect the human rights situation on the ground in South Sudan?

IS: Well, it's certainly better to have at least a ceasefire which is occasionally broken than not to have it at all. But from ceasefire to sustainable peace there is a long way to go, and it will require much more than bilateral dialogue between two forces that are in conflict now. It will require inclusion of civil society—of religious leaders, of elders, of women. And in this respect, I think it's highly important that in South Sudan, there is an open dialogue on the way forward and how to address root causes of this conflict. In this respect, it's particularly important that there is freedom of expression and media freedoms—that are violated at the moment. It is highly important to address also social and economic underpinnings of the current crisis.

It is a country which has high GDP for the area, of about $1,800 dollars per person per year, but extremely low level of social development. Half of the population is malnourished and lives below the poverty line. We have very high illiteracy rates about two thirds of the population are illiterate. South Sudan also has one of the highest maternal mortality and child mortality figures in the world.

There is a long list of prerequisites for a more sustainable and more inclusive political system. We need security sector reform. It is a waste to have about over half to two thirds of the resources of the country, of its budget, to be spent on security forces. There is a need for sustainable development and to ensure that there is social development. The oil production and the resources are, at the moment, wasted on fighting, and on maintenance of very, very large number of security forces.

And the fact is, that oil will not last forever. The opportunity to use it for social development is right now.

BS: Well, Mr. Šimonović, thank you so much for meeting with the Global Observatory today. We very much appreciate your time.

IS: Nice speaking to you.

Originally published in the Global Observatory

12 February 2014 - The Youth Technology Development Organization launched a free wash project at Juba Military Hospital today to help wounded soldiers.

“We the youth volunteered to help the wounded soldiers to wash their cloths and bed sheets for peace and unity in this nation,” said Organization Chairperson Thomas Muto Samuel, adding that the project was especially aimed at soldiers without relatives.

Moses Mawel Majak, one of the patients, thanked the organization for its remarkable help to wounded soldiers and appealed to the youth organization to continue assisting victims of violence at hospitals.

The organization will also carry out activities such as sports, peace building and agriculture in Juba’s Munuki, Kator and Northern Bari payams as part of the six-month free wash project.

The project is funded through individual contributions by youth.

“They came to kill us, so we fled.”

Martha Acher’s voice is quiet but steady as she tells the story of the day, in late January, when she and her six children fled their home in Jonglei State. Now Martha and her family are sheltering in a small and dusty compound in Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile State in South Sudan’s north-eastern corner.

The compound is normally used by the State Ministry of Labour, but is now the temporary home for several hundred people. Many sleep outside, without any protection from the blistering heat of the days and the surprising chill of the nights.

Read the full report on OCHA.

(Feb. 13, 2014) More than 400 IDPs settled in Yei, Central Equatoria State are in need of humanitarian assistance.

The IDPs left their homes, when fighting broke out last December.

Since the conflict erupted in December last year ,more than four hundred people have sought shelter in the former UNMISS compound in Yei. Some of the IDPs I spoke say they don’t have access to enough food, medical facilities or security.

IDPs in Nimule, Eastern Equatoria State are receiving humanitarian assistance from International NGO, Plan International.

The assistance includes food, nonfood items, child protection, water and Sanitation.

Plan International is also providing assistance to IDPs in Awerial, Lakes State.

The organization’s regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Roland Angerer visited South Sudan and says the organization is exploring ways of providing assistance to IDPs in Pibor, Jonglei State.

“where we have found ways to actually engage and support the internally displaced people and particularly the children who are suffering in the situation and I want to see how our team and our people are working in this circumstances.”

11/02/2014 – For Mawut, who lives in a refugee settlement in Adjumani, it is clear, “This is politics. The men know this.” he tells me, adding “But the women and children.” he pauses “they will fight it out and bring [their] differences here into the settlement.”

Mawut, a 23 year old South Sudanese refugee is talking about the political crisis in his country which has been marked by wide-spread abuses against civilians on the basis of political affiliation with ethnic undertones.

He recently fled the fighting in Bor town, Jonglei and crossed the border into northern Uganda with his family. Only his father decided to stay there. We are discussing the number of times he has been uprooted from his home in his lifetime. He tells me, this is the third time his family has had to flee. The first was in 1991, when he was only ten years old.

In his impeccable English, Mawut who was educated in Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, translates for his sister Diing Mangar. Child on hip, Diing explains that they were ‘chased out’ of Bor town in Jonglei in spite of having history there.

Diing has also fled conflict a few times, she explains: “The first was in 1991, then in 2004 and now.”

In the same day, I meet Nhial who is 21, he escaped from Juba with some of his family, others are still taking refuge in the UN compound in Juba. Nhial is waiting to move into a refugee settlement in Kiryandongo in central Uganda.

Originally from Malakal, in South Sudan’s Upper Nile region, Nhial and his family have lived in Juba for over 8 years. “We had hopes for our new country.” he explains “We voted and now we were targeted and hunted down.”

Anne Sophie Laenkholm is the protection adviser for the European Commission’s Humanitarian aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO). She has just come back from Juba and elaborates “Men are often more vulnerable when fleeing in these sorts of context because they can be recruited to fight and because they can be perceived as fighters because they are men.”

Nhial continues “When we were in Malakal, we were displaced a couple of times and we moved within Upper Nile state – but this is the first time from Juba. My grandmother and sisters have been to Uganda before, seeking help, this is my first time here.”

Nhial’s native home, Malakal in Upper Nile, has been the site of violence and lootings also of humanitarian goods. This, in spite of a recent agreement to cease hostilities signed in Addis Ababa by government and opposition forces.

According to the United Nations, some 875 000 South Sudanese have now been uprooted from their homes by the conflict in the last weeks. Of these, nearly 740 000 within South Sudan’s vast borders and over 135 000 seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. Humanitarian aid agencies are struggling to provide clean water, basic shelter, medicine, and food to the increasing numbers of destitute families.

Both Mawut and Nhial, point the finger at ‘them’ – the other ethnic group – as the problem and the reason for their displacement. Both have the emotional scars to prove it; lost family members and assets.

“The conflict has divided the country. There have been atrocities committed by all communities. It will take time to heal,” says Laenkholm.

The South Sudanese parents that I met are tired of fleeing their homes with nothing and rely, once again, on hand outs. The young and the youth pleaded for and simply want uninterrupted education. The elderly craved peace after decades of struggle. For all of them, the wounds of the trauma are fresh and their healing depends on political will. There are high hopes for this fledgling country to cease hostilities and reconcile the differences between different communities.

One community already took matters in their own hands. Laenkholm explains: “While in Juba, I heard about women from the two different communities who got together, met the local in charge and took to the streets protesting against the violence against civilians and asking for a cessation.”

Malini Morzaria, ECHO Regional Information Officer for Central East and Southern Africa.

( Feb. 13, 2014) The Ministry of education has received a donation of 5,000 school bags for school going children.

The bags were donated by a Chinese company as a contribution towards the education sector.

The bags were received by Vice President James Wani Igga and will be distributed to the different schools.

Central Equatoria State’s Health Minister Emmanuel Ija Baya represented the Minister of education at the event. Ija says they will be dispatched to the different States.

“Out of this I think they are five thousand, and they are going to be distributed first of all to the state Ministry of Education schools both secondary and basic schools, of course the Number is not enough but I have recommended that if possible if the company can actually can produces more and try to give us at the nominal price.”

Ija says the girls will be given priority to encourage the retention of girls in schools.

13 February 2014 – Welcoming the start of the latest round of talks between South Sudan's sparring factions aimed at resolving the crisis in the country, the Security Council today stressed that the dialogue will only succeed if “fully inclusive”, and called for all detained and formerly detained political leaders to be allowed to take part in the process.

In a wide-ranging statement to the press that also addressed the Security Council's ongoing concerns about human rights violations and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the world's youngest nation, the 15-nation body expressed strong support to the mediation effort being led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and welcomed the start of the second round of the political talks between South Sudan leaders on February 11.

The talks, between the Government of South Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), are taking place in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, achieved a ceasefire last month between the two sides. What began as a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy president, Riek Machar,erupted into full-scale conflict in mid-December.

Over the past two months, thousands of people are believed to have been killed by the fighting and some 870,000 others have fled their homes, 145,000 of them to neighbouring countries and 75,000 to the bases of the UN Mission the country (UNMISS).

Security Council members in their statement condemned violations of the ceasefire agreement by all parties, resulting in further violence, death and destruction and urged the establishment by IGAD of the Joint Technical Committee, as well as immediate deployment of the Monitoring and Verification Mechanism.

Urging full cooperation with IGAD and UNMISS, the Council called for redeployment and/or progressive withdrawal of allied forces invited by either side, and warned of the “serious consequences” which could result from any regionalization of the conflict. The Council also noted with serious concern recent reports alleging indiscriminate use of cluster munitions by parties to the conflict.

As for the fresh round of talks, the Council noted that the exercise now under way between the parties is intended to foster an inclusive political dialogue and national reconciliation ensuring durable peace and rule of law in South Sudan, “while addressing the underlying causes of the conflict and preventing further escalation of inter-ethnic violence and division.”

They welcomed the release of seven of the detained political leaders on January 29 and urged the immediate release of the remaining four detained leaders, “so that they can join Government, political, civil society, women, youth, traditional and religious leaders in participating in the political dialogue and a reinvigorated constitutional process.”

Stressing that the dialogue will succeed only if it is fully inclusive, the Council therefore called for all the detained and formerly detained political leaders to be allowed to take part in the political process and supported the intent of the IGAD Special Envoys to host a series of public consultations in support of national dialogue, as mandated by the IGAD Heads of State.

In the statement, Council members strongly condemned widespread violation of human rights and international humanitarian law, including “targeted violence against civilians and specific ethnic and other communities”, that have resulted in the loss of many thousands of civilian lives.

They also expressed concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation and fast-approaching rainy season, that when combined with the existing food insecurity crisis of 3.7 million South Sudanese, “may result in famine in 2015 and regional instability”. In this regard, they demanded that all parties refrain from any acts of violence against civilians, especially women and children, and to expedite the safe and unhindered access of humanitarian organizations for the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance.

The Council reiterated its steadfast support for UNMISS and its vital mission on behalf of the international community to protect civilians in South Sudan, including foreign nationals, conduct human rights monitoring and investigations, and facilitate assistance to populations in need.

With that in mind, the 15-nation body strongly condemned all actions by Government and opposition forces that obstruct or impede the work of UNMISS and threaten its personnel and stressed that all such actions must cease. Deploring violations of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the Council demanded that all parties cooperate fully with UNMISS, cease obstruction to the implementation of the mission's mandate, and respect the inviolability of its protection sites, aircraft and vehicles.

“In this regard, [Council members] renewed their call to the Government of South Sudan to immediately accept those additional troops and police, without conditions and regardless of country of origin,” the said in the statement, adding that armed threats and attacks on United Nations personnel and facilities are unacceptable and may constitute a violation of international law.

The statement follows up on a briefing to the Council yesterday by Hervé Ladsous, Under Secretary-General of UN Peacekeeping Operations, Valerie Amos, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and Hilde Johnson, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of UNMISS (via videoconference from Juba).

This is a summary of what was said by the UNHCR spokesperson at today’s Palais des Nations press briefing in Geneva. Further information can be found on the UNHCR websites, www.unhcr.org and www.unhcr.fr, which should also be checked for regular media updates on non-briefing days.

Yesterday, UNHCR released a non-return advisory for South Sudanese fleeing the current conflict, which has so far uprooted some 870,000 people.

The conflict since mid-December 2013 has displaced 738,000 people within South Sudan and 130,400 people who have fled to neighbouring countries, primarily Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda. Nearly 60 percent of the internally displaced people have sought refuge in or around UN bases in South Sudan.

The conflict began on 15 December with an exchange of fire in the capital, Juba, between presidential guards and soldiers loyal to the former vice president, Riek Machar. The confrontation later grew into widespread violence across South Sudan, where the political and security situation remains fluid despite the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement on 23 January 2014.

UNHCR welcomes the decision of most Governments in the region to recognize persons who fled South Sudan as refugees on a prima facie basis, as well as their generous response and cooperation with UNHCR and other humanitarian actors. It encourages other countries to do the same and to facilitate humanitarian access and delivery.

Considering the continued violence, UNHCR’s guidelines note that people fleeing South Sudan are likely to meet the criteria for refugee status under the 1951 Refugee Convention, or the 1969 OAU Convention. The OAU, the Organization of African Union, is the continental body renamed the African Union.

UNHCR therefore recommends that States refrain from returning nationals or residents of South Sudan to the country, unless cases involve people who may have committed serious human right violations.

UNHCR’s advisory against forced returns to South Sudan remains in effect until security, rule of law and the human rights conditions improve enough to allow for safe and dignified returns.

For more information on this topic, please contact:

In Nairobi: Kitty McKinsey (Regional) on mobile +254 735 337 608 In Geneva, Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba on mobile +41 79 249 3483 Daniel MacIsaac on mobile +41 79 200 7617

END

February 15, 2014 (NIMULE) - An hour ride on a motorcycle from Nimule, a South Sudanese town bordering Uganda, is Melijo where around 2,000 people are sheltering under trees having been displaced by the two-month-old conflict in South Sudan.

Elderly men sit facing northwards where visitors watching newcomers arrive to the camp, which has been labelled "illegal" by the Eastern Equatoria state authorities as internally displaced people (IDPs) moved there without the local government’s approval.

Samuek Deng Awuol was displaced to Eastern Equatoria from his home in the Newsite area of Juba after he witnessed intense fighting between mutinying soldiers aligned to former Vice President Riek Machar and forces loyal to the government of President Salva Kiir, which began on December 15.

President Kiir accuses Machar and others of staging a coup, but this is denied by all the accused despite Machar, who is now leading a rebellion of forces consisting of defected soldiers and armed civilians.

At least 10,000 people have been killed according to some estimates, while 707,400 people are displaced inside South Sudan and at least 149,700 have fled to nearby countries. Uganda hosts about 70,000 people.

Eastern Equatoria, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), is currently home to 59,200 people, most of whom are from Jonglei state. The region, which lies to the north of the capital, Juba, has seen some of the worst fighting since the mid-December outbreak of violence.

Those displaced in Melijo are just a handful of 35,000 people registered in Nimule district, according to South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC).

International and local aid agencies started distributing food and utensils to IDPs in Nimule in late January. When schools re-opened for students on February 3, the displaced who had sheltered in classrooms said they were left with no option, but look for nearby land to stay in.

Awuol, who is in his 70s, said the government has to help displaced people like himself start a new life.

"We are strong people. We could help the government if we are given food and medicines. We shall build [a] school for our children here," Awuol told Sudan Tribune in Melijo on Friday.

He said that his experience of living in camps during the civil war, when around four million people were displaced, means he is confident he can help those displaced in Melijo form a functioning community.

South Sudanese rebels - who now form the ruling party (SPLM) and a large section of the national army (SPLA) - fought the Khartoum government for over two decades until a 2005 peace deal led to independence in 2011.

The current conflict was triggered by a dispute between the SPLM leaders over the party’s future and an internal power struggle for the chairmanship between President Kiir and three other senior figures including Machar, who was sacked as Vice President in July along with many of those who are now opposing the government.

Eastern Equatoria’s government does not want the displaced people to settle in the Nimule area, according to the state information minister Clement Laku Chimchim.

Chimchim said "security concerns" prompted the state government to ask for the relocation of IDPs to Kapeota, some 200km east of Nimule.

The IDPs in Melijo, however, said they want the government to focus on urgent needs of the vulnerable people.

Awuol, describes himself as a "serial displaced person" from the 1980s through to 2005 both from the SPLA’s conflict with Khartoum and the various conflicts between South Sudanese armed groups that characterised the civil war.

Many of the fault lines from the infamous split in the SPLA led by Machar in 1991 have been revisited in the current fighting on political, ethnic and military allegiances, exposing the lack of national building and meaningful reconciliation since the SPLM came to power in 2005.

"People who are here did not want to go to Uganda. I was in Nimule since December but just wonder ’what are we going to get in Uganda? Why should we leave our country?’ " said Awuol, a view shared by the people sitting around him.

The displaced people said they moved from Nimule town to Melijo as they felt that their plight was going unnoticed by the UN and other aid agencies.

"We were not chased away from Nimule by anybody. Only that we thought the UN cannot see us there and that is why came to this bush," said Aruar Deng Bair, 60.

"We need clean water, health centre and education for the surviving children," she added.

The events of the last two months have reminded many of the displaced about the experiences they were trying to forget about the trauma of the civil war.

Aruar said she witnessed "some people drown in the [White Nile] river, others were killed during the fighting" when she fled Bor in December at the peak of the conflict over Bor, the Jonglei’s capital

The conflict over Bor revived Aruar’s memories of what she witnessed in 1991 when Machar’s forces attacked Bor, killing as many as 2,000 Dinkas, according to Amnesty International.

Sitting in one makeshift shelter, is a young woman who gave birth to a baby girl a week ago. She named her daughter "Nyariing". "Nya" is a Dinka word for a girl and "riing" means "fleeing," she explained.

"I took her for immunization once, but I don’t know what will happen next time because there is no health center here," she told Sudan Tribune, asking to remain anonymous to protect her child’s identity.

Another woman gave birth to twins under a tree in Nimule after she had fled to Melijo with her family.

"The rain is about to begin and if it rain then we shall suffer more," said John, the woman’s husband, who requested Sudan Tribune to withhold his surname.

The fighting between anti-government forces and government troops is reviving memories of Sudanese civil war. The current conflict, which observers view as having an ethnic dimension, has in many cases seen members of South Sudan’s largest tribe, the Dinka of President Kiir against the Nuer to which Machar belongs killed.

However, tribe is not the only factor in the conflict, illustrated by the fact that many of Kiir’s political supporters are Nuer and many of those opposing Kiir’s rule are from his Dinka ethnic group.

Awuol, called on South Sudan’s leaders, who are currently negotiating in Ethiopia, to end the cycle of violence before more lives are lost.

"I fled to Lobone [in Eeastern Equatoria] during the first fighting of Riek [Machar in 1991] and I am now here again in Rieks’ second spilt," said Awuol, who is a Dinka.

The SPLM government and rebels calling themselves the SPLM-in-Opposition, signed a fragile ceasefire agreement on January 23, which has been violated by both sides over the last few weeks.

The second round of talks resumed this week in Addis Ababa under regional mediators. Machar’s delegation - and the third bloc formed from SPLM officials who were released from Juba last month having been detained over allegations that they were behind December’s alleged coup attempt - insist that the four remaining detainees be released and the Uganda forces who have fought alongside the SPLA withdraw from the country.

So far Juba has refused both demands but Sudan Tribune understands that the government’s chief negotiator has returned the South Sudanese capital for consultations with President Kiir.

The talks, with have been relocated to a resort outside Addis Ababa, are also expected to focus on the root causes of the conflict that, in the medium term, can be traced back to Kiir’s sacking of his entire cabinet July 2013 and the subsequent increased opposition to his rule from disaffected senior officials.

(ST)