1. Context
This fact sheet presents the key findings of a recent REACH assessment in the UN House Protection of Civilians (PoC) area. The motivations for the assessment were twofold: one, internally displaced persons (IDPs) were not receiving important messages from non-governmental organizations (NGOs); and two, tensions between communities in the PoC area were rising.
Humanitarian actors have struggled to communicate with the internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in UN House since their arrival in mid-December 2013.
These challenges complicate the dissemination of important messages which can negatively impact effective aid delivery. A lack of understanding among humanitarian actors on governance structures, both traditional / tribal (chiefs) and recent (block leaders) has compounded these communication challenges.
Second, UN House hosts an ethnically diverse group of individuals, composed primarily of a variety of different Nuer tribes (of South Sudanese nationality) as well as smaller populations of foreign nationals, namely Ethiopians, Somalis, and Eritreans. In recent weeks, tensions have begun to rise within and between some of these groups, creating aspirations for future relocation within the PoC area.
To address these two challenges, REACH undertook an assessment with the following goals:
To better understand the demographic composition of the IDPs, namely their national and tribal backgrounds, as well as their numbers and spatial distribution in the site.
To better understand leadership structures and sources of information, in hopes that this will contribute to more effective community mobilization and service provision.
To better understand the intentions of these various communities in the PoC area with respect to potential relocation.
This research hopes to contribute to an improved understanding of these groups- their reasons for potential relocation, their relationship with the governance structure, and their spatial distribution throughout the PoC area - which will support humanitarian actors operating in the site with community mobilization, outreach, and potential relocation.
Data collection included information about the IDPs in UN House:
Place of origin and most recent residence
Ethnic background at tribal and sub-tribal levels
Potential reasons to relocate within the PoC area and information sources
Awareness of community and block leadership