South Sudan: Enough Project Outlines Measures to Counter Communal Violence
By Staff Writer
JUBA---Enough Project—the Washington-based anti-genocide lobby group—has come up with a raft of urgent measures to stop communal violence currently raging in South Sudan. Since its independence last year, the Republic of South Sudan has successfully addressed many critical issues, but it remains plagued by setbacks and challenges, many of which result from decades of war and neglect.
Most recently, inter-communal violence in Jonglei state reveals the security, political, and economic challenges South Sudan faces today. The Enough Project’s latest report lays out detailed policy steps critical for tackling inter-communal violence in South Sudan.
While violence in South Sudan is often cyclical, it is not inevitable. There are steps the South Sudanese government and international community can take to resolve inter-communal tensions and mitigate violence. To foster a sustainable peace, short-term efforts must de-escalate the crisis and address humanitarian needs, while long-term efforts focus on the root causes of violence.
The potential for internal violence in South Sudan is, sadly, not new. During Sudan’s second civil war, south-on-south violence, perpetrated largely along ethnic and communal lines and fueled primarily by the Khartoum government and its proxies in the South as well as the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army, cost a great many lives. The tip of the iceberg is the resurgence of conflict between the Lou-Nuer and Murle communities of Jonglei state, but below the surface, other potential inter-communal crises exist throughout South Sudan.
Inter-communal violence in Jonglei and throughout South Sudan, while traditionally cyclical in nature, is not inevitable. The causes of this violence go beyond the retaliatory nature of cattle raiding and touch upon broader issues of accountability, reconciliation, political inclusion, state effectiveness, development, and the proliferation of arms among the civilian population. Actors outside of the immediate conflict, including, for decades, the government of Sudan, and now politicians in South Sudan and militia groups with linkages to Khartoum, have also exacerbated the violence. The effort to build the new nation’s political, legal, and social systems and the recently initiated process to draft a permanent constitution offer a unique opportunity for the RSS, supported by the international community, to find solutions to the more systemic causes of this and other such instances of inter-communal violence throughout the new nation.
Urgent and intensified efforts are needed to deescalate the crisis in Jonglei and address the immediate needs of local populations. As well, robust action on the part of the government in Juba, supported by the international community, to address the systemic causes of the violence could foster a sustainable peace between Jonglei’s communities and prevent further attacks on civilians. In addition, leaders and politicians from the Lou-Nuer and Murle communities, as well as other RSS officials, have a responsibility to actively deter future violence and not to exploit the current chaos for political gains.
The report, “Urgent Steps to Counter Inter-Communal Violence in South Sudan,” recommends key initiatives that the Republic of South Sudan and the international community should focus on to prevent further attacks on civilians in the short term and foster lasting peace in the long term.
“This cycle of violence can be broken with the right interventions," said John Prendergast, Enough Project co-founder and a co-author of the report. "Inter-communal violence in South Sudan is not inevitable. The Juba government and Sudanese churches can play a crucial role in brokering a sustainable agreement between the two parties, but diplomatic efforts must be robustly supported by the UN mission in South Sudan and donor governments. And much more must be done by the South Sudan government, the UN mission and the UN Security Council in urgently protecting civilian populations."
In the short term, actors should strengthen inter-communal reconciliation efforts, which would involve bringing the two feuding communities – the Lou-Nuer and Murle – into dialogue on accountability and compensation, among other things. Civilian protection efforts in the form of UN peacekeepers and South Sudanese army and policy units must also be strengthened, the report states.
“South Sudan’s responsibility to protect its civilians begins with support to the grassroots reconciliation process that should remain under the churches' leadership. This support should include the delivery of security and services to the affected communities and high-level engagement to address the political spoilers that may arise during the process,” said Amanda Hsiao, Enough Project South Sudan field researcher and report co-author. “In their parallel efforts on the ground, it is critical that the Sudan Council of Churches deepens their engagement with youth in both communities.”
Long-term efforts should focus on accountability for those who organize inter-communal violence and increasing representation in government for underrepresented communities. Other long-term initiatives aimed at ending the cyclical violence include increasing state authority and bringing infrastructure and economic opportunities to the greatly underdeveloped Jonglei state.
“South Sudan, with the international community’s support, must begin to address systemic causes of inter-communal violence, such as a lack of accountability, and the need for greater inclusion of diverse ethnic communities at high levels of government,” said Jennifer Christian, Enough Project policy analyst and report co-author. “This will be critical to ensuring the security and viability of the country going forward.”