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The article explores how the local faith actors (LFAS) comply with humanitarian principles, compared to their international humanitarian counterparts. The report finds that LFAS comply with the humanitarian principles as they resonate with their religious faith and values, and that LFAS’s peacebuilding work has helped other humanitarian agencies to operate freely. The report concludes that secular humanitarian actors should leverage the LFAS’s peacebuilding initiatives to open more space for humanitarian operations. Read more here

This briefing focuses on the historical and socio-political dynamics that need to be taken into consideration by humanitarian agencies when they are providing assistance and protection to South Sudanese fleeing from Khartoum and other parts of Sudan to South Sudan, and to Sudanese fleeing Sudan to seek refuge in South Sudan. Read here

This report explores how climate change can intersect with conflict in South Sudan. Using case studies of Kapoeta and the Mangala-Bor corridor, the report finds that climatic events, such as drought and flooding, remain key contributors to migration and violence, including gender-based violence. To mitigate the effects of climate change on conflict, the report provides conflict-sensitive recommendations for aid agencies and donors operating in both drought and flood-hit areas across the country.

This special issue focuses on the understanding and application of two closely related concepts, “do no harm” (DNH) and “conflict sensitivity”, and their critical engagement in the academic literature. Mary Anderson published her seminal book Do No Harm: How aid can support peace – or war in 1999, which popularised the idea of conflict sensitivity in development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding practice. Since then, many models and tools have been published and considerable efforts have been…

Despite many high-profile interventions, Abyei remains mired in a violent impasse. Conflict between the Ngok and Twic Dinka continues, and the territory’s political future remains in limbo. Attacked from Both Sides: Abyei’s Existential Dilemma—a new Situation Update from the Small Arms Survey’s Human Security Baseline Assessment for Sudan and South Sudan (HSBA) project—discusses the causes for the deadlock surrounding this politically fractured territory, and the catastrophic effect conflict has on its civilians.   Read more…

A convergence of entrenched insecurity and climate change is having serious socio-economic implications in South Sudan where humanitarian conditions, including food insecurity, continue to deteriorate. In 2022, 8.9 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance, out of a population of 11 million. In 2022, the World Food Programme (WFP) provided food assistance to nearly 6 million people. This food assistance has direct and indirect impacts on peace and conflict dynamics. This has led the…

This review report discusses the prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV), including its forms and drivers in South Sudan.Key takeaways: Women and girls in South Sudan face multiple forms of violence across their life course and in multiple settings, with serious impacts on health and well-being. Women and girls in South Sudan experience high levels of violence. Groups who experience intersecting inequalities are at heightened risk of violence (e.g., adolescent girls, women and girls with disabilities,…

With governance increasingly regarded as co-governance, states’ capacity to steer, correct, and discipline a wide range of self-governing actors becomes crucial for states’ effectiveness, efficiency, and democracy. This article investigates that capacity and the relationship between formal institutions and customary self-governance in areas of limited statehood. In South Sudan, the field of land governance can be regarded as an area of limited statehood. As land relations are closely connected to clan structures and intra-familial relationships,…

This meta-analysis provides an overview of the literature available on South Sudan’s regional dynamics. Covering the 2011-2023 period, it explores the relations between South Sudan and its neighbors and the related political, economic and security implications. It provides a selection of relevant publications and extracts some of the most salient questions for donor-funding programming on these topics.

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