The UN Mission in South Sudan
Mission Mandate
On July 8, 2011, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1996 authorizing the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS). This mission follows the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), which was tasked with supporting the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The new mission is operating in South Sudan and is authorized to consist of 7,000 military personnel, 900 police, and appropriate civilian support.
The Mission’s mandate includes:
- Authorization for civilian protection under Chapter VII of the UN Charter;
- Support for consolidation of peace in South Sudan and fostering of long-term state building and economic development;
- Ongoing advising of the government on national policies including the creation of an inclusive constitutional process and national elections;
- Promotion of independent media;
- Promotion of participation for women in decision-making forums;
- Assistance for the government in conflict prevention, mitigation, and resolution;
- Establishment and implementation of a mission-wide early-warning capacity to prevent conflict;
- Monitoring, investigating, and verifying of human rights abuses; and
- Strengthening of the new country’s security and justice sectors.
Background
In 2005, after 22 years of civil war between the National Congress Party (NCP) in the north and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in the south, the parties signed the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), a settlement which included provisions on security arrangements, power-sharing with the national government some autonomy for the south, and more equitable distribution of economic resources between North and South, including oil. Shortly afterwards, the UN Security Council authorized the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) to support the implementation of the CPA, establishing a number of benchmarks for the peaceful end of conflict, including a referendum on self-determination for South Sudan. In January 2011, 99% of South Sundanese voted to secede from the north, and on July 9, 2011 South Sudan officially became an independent nation. Accordingly, the mission mandate was changed to recognize South Sudan’s independence.
The U.S. has long been invested in the north-south peace process. On July 9 2011, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice reiterated U.S. support for the new Republic of South Sudan, promising the U.S. would be a “true and lasting friend and partner… our support for the cause of peace for the Sudanese people has long been bipartisan and deep, and it will continue to be. We helped broker the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that led us here today, and we will continue to watch over it—and the future to come.” Currently, the U.S. is helping UNMISS promote security and stability in the region, providing the groundwork for long-term stability and meaningful development.
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How This Affects American Interests
- Continued U.S. and UN engagement. The U.S. has been fully invested in the north-south peace process and supported the negotiation and implementation of the CPA to maintain stability in the Horn of Africa and deny potential safe havens to terrorists. Both Republican and Democratic administrations have prioritized U.S. engagement in Sudan, with Presidents Bush and Obama appointing special envoys to help promote peace and security. With a focus on capacity building and economic viability in South Sudan, UNMISS builds upon this longstanding U.S. bilateral support for the world’s newest country.
- U.S. and UN Support for Jonglei State. After more than 120,000 people were displaced as a result of inter-ethnic violence in early 2012, the UN launched a massive humanitarian operation in Jonglei to provide aid to displaced villagers and prevent further violence. Five permanent UNMISS bases are being established in Jonglei state -- on an area roughly the size of Mississippi -- to address the ongoing crisis. As UNMISS Force Commander General Moses Obi described, “We need permanent bases in Pibor, we are not going to leave it again. We are also going to remain in Bor, so that we have presence in Dinka, Murle and Lou Nuer [areas],". In support of the UN mission, President Obama announced the deployed five military advisors to support UNMISS in strategic planning to prevent further violence in the region.
- Building government capacity. The U.S. has expressed strong support for efforts to promote good governance in order to create a viable and secure South Sudan. In recommitting U.S. support for South Sudan on the occasion of its independence, Ambassador Rice stated, “my government will stand with you as you build up the institutions that enshrine your liberty. We will stand with you as you write a constitution for all South Sudanese. We will stand by you as you forge the conditions for lasting peace, prosperity, and justice.” UNMISS is also committed to these goals, with a focus on building long-term state capacity by establishing government institutions and spurring economic development. The mission is also working to establish rule of law and strengthen the country’s security and justice sectors.
Ongoing Challenges
- Continued Violence. Continued violence between ethnic groups within South Sudan as well as Sudan Armed Forces and Sudan People's Liberation Movement along the Sudan - South Sudan border is an ongoing challengefacing UNMISS. In recent months, fighting has erupted between SAF soldiers (Sudan) and southern-aligned forces in the Sudanese states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, displacing as many as 366,000 people. Also, in early January 2012, further inter-ethnic violence struck in Jonglei State when 8,000 heavily armed men from the Lou Nuer ethnic group attacked the Murle village of Pibor. Though heavily outnumbered, 400 UN Peacekeepers were able to curtail the attack and warn Pibor residents of its imminence, reducing casualties. The violence resulted in the deaths of hundreds of villagers and the displacement of more than 60,000 people, leaving them in urgent need of food, clean water, healthcare and shelter.
- Outstanding issues of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA); Oil Disputes. The CPA established a number of benchmarks, a number of which remain unresolved, including how Sudan and South Sudan will share revenues from South Sudan’s oil fields. While South Sudan controls more than three-quarters of the two countries’ oil reserves, South Sudanese oil must be shipped to the north, which runs the refineries and ports from which the oil is exported. On Jan. 28 South Sudan shut down oil exports to the Sudan due to accusations of its government imposing extortionate fees and taking in $815 million of its oil revenue. South Sudan was producing about 350,000 barrels of oil per day. The dispute over oil has far reaching consequences within both governments, including regions disputed between Sudan and South Sudan.
- Outstanding issues of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA); Citizenship. In July 2011, there were between 1.5 and 2 million South Sudanese living in the Republic of Sudan. Over 350,000 South Sudanese have returned to their homeland, but estimated 700,000 more remain in north Sudan where aid officials have expressed increasing concern for their future, with an April deadline approaching for them to either register or leave Sudan. "If you apply mathematics to this situation... it is absolutely impossible to bring 700,000 people in a humane and dignified way" by April, Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said. He believed the majority wanted to return to the south but are stranded in Khartoum and other areas due to a lack of funds, transportation and security. “It’s a huge undertaking, and it needs a very close and constructive cooperation of the two governments”. The rights and protections of these minority communities have still not been addressed by the Khartoum government, creating fear that South Sudanese may become victims of marginalization, discrimination, and violence.
- Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis. The impact of continued violence and restricted humanitarian access to disputed border regions, including Abyei, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states, coupled with severe food insecurity in many regions has led to a massive need for humanitarian aid in South Sudan and Sudan. Food insecurity in many regions of the North and South is predicted to reach the most severe levels, just short of famine, by March. And more than 366,000 people remain either internally displaced or severely affected by the conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Some 109,000 others have fled to South Sudan and Ethiopia. Furthermore, strategic delivery of aid is extremely difficult due to deplorable infrastructure conditions in much of the south and limited access , both by Khartoum’s restrictions on humanitarian movement and difficult terrain.
February 2012
