This report covers the period 1 January 2012 to 31 June 2012
Overview
Since the independence of the Republic of South Sudan on July 9 2011, the process towards recognition of the South Sudan Red Cross (SSRC) has seen remarkable progress with the adoption of the “Red Cross Act” by the National Assembly in January 2012 and the formal signature into law by President Salva Kiir in April 2012. A membership drive launched in January 2012 brought the remarkable recruitment of over 2,000 persons of all ages, origins and walks of life and the organization of assemblies by July 2012 in all but one of the ten branches to elect governing bodies, thus preparing for a very first national General Assembly planned for October 2012. At the same time, the recruitment for key positions to strengthen the National Society headquarters’ structure progressed well albeit slowly due to difficulties in identifying suitable and competent candidates among the many applicants.
The decision by South Sudan in January 2012 to halt all oil production and export through Sudan due to an unbridgeable gap in the positions on transit fees for the use of Sudan’s pipelines and Port Sudan brought a significant cut of government income (approximately 90%) in an already very dire economic situation. The consequences were increasingly felt towards mid-year and the third quarter.
In April 2012, heavy fighting broke out around one of the most important oilfields of Sudan. Presently, a cessation of hostilities holds in a generally volatile atmosphere between the two countries. Other remaining contentious issues such as border demarcation, Abyei and the status of southerners in the North contributed further to uncertain and a generally tense environment. Although slower than initially feared, the arrival of tens of thousands of people originating from the South of Sudan brought additional pressure on already vulnerable communities in the bigger urban agglomerations. In May 2012, IFRC decided to launch an Emergency Appeal for “Returnee and Host Communities” and as a result shifted most of the activities and resources planned in the Long Term Planning Framework (LTPF) to the Appeal.