The paper
discusses the Causes of Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV), gang rape outside
the United Nations Protection (UNPOCs) sites in South Sudan; and refugee camps
on the borders. It also explains R2P failure, humanitarian delivery aid mechanisms
and the negative impact of Aid Distributions (do no harm) on lives of women and children and failure to meet the needs of women in particular. It explores
workable concrete solutions to prevent (SGBV), gang rape crimes as well as
provides the UN peacekeeping force in country with some ideas how to protect
IDPs in POCs, which could reduce (SGBV) in the current political and
humanitarian crisis in South Sudan. In addition to this, its addresses the role
regional forces can play to protect Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) in UNPOC
Sites in South Sudan as well as refugee camps outside South Sudan.
The paper
does not go into the question of SGBV within the UNPOCs or sites and the
refugee camps. It seems the major problem is outside the POCs sites and it
draws conclusion with recommendations.
It argues that, it is time for United Nations
Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to move from an inactive stance and face its
failure to protect civilians; reexamine critically its culture of report
writing, its system of distributions of solid food aid; its ignoring the need for
distributing firewood or providing solar cooking stoves; its inadequate medical
centres for (SGBV) victims; and the logistical gaps that affect the
investigative body with the mandate to document (SGBV) crimes and preserve
evidences for future persecutions, namely the Human Rights Commissioners (OHCHR,
2017).[1] The paper commences with (SGBV).
The other issue is the culture
of reporting within the UN system. The culture of reporting has never yielded
substantive results on the ground as well as improves safety of women IDPs in
both Darfur camps and POCs in both Sudans.
[1] The
Human Rights Commission was established under the auspices of the United
Nations with mandate to monitor, investigate, verify and report on abuses,
violations of human rights, violations of International humanitarian law and
the most serious crimes in South Sudan since December 2013 by inter alia
collecting and preserving evidences of human rights violations and abuses and
violation of international Humanitarian Law and by supporting criminal
proceedings before the hybrid court and national, regional and international
tribunals with jurisdiction over such crimes (OHCHR 2017).
provide protections and safety to POCs
populations in South Sudan (UNMISS/OHCHR 2017).
1. The Causes of Sexual Gender Based Violence
(SGBV).
The
frequent SGBV crimes against women, girls and boys around and outside UNPOCs
sites and refugee camps are some examples of failure of R2P and the UNMISS. Failure of R2P in poor military
protection of civilians specially women victims of gang rape who were caught up
in search for firewood and absence of patrolling areas around UNPOCs sites and roads
leading to markets. Additionally, it seems that there was lack of positive
interactions between IDPs populations in the POCs and peacekeeping forces. The positive
interactions, is the most important elements of R2P and UNMISS mandate in
protection of citizens, vulnerable and defenseless women, young girls and boys
who cannot defend themselves in this current civil war. The UNMISS and R2P failed
to provide military protection, adequate food, womens’ needs as well as
protections of women who ventured outside POCs sites in search of food and
firewood and ended up victims of SGBV.
The
current rape data collected in South Sudan shows that the youngest patient
treated due to rape and several times physical assault was a 5 year old boy.
33% of patients experienced sexual violence in South Sudan, 23% during the
journey to Uganda, 19% at the border areas and 18% in the refugee settlement or
reception centres (MSF Report 2017).
Below
are stories of gang rape-
Adot sought shelter at the POC
site in Malakal UNMISS base on 24 December 2013. One morning a few days later,
she left the base to collect firewood. When she was on her way back, and only a
short distance from the base, four Nuer SPLA-IO soldiers attacked her.
“I saw four soldiers coming
towards me. I tried to run but they told me they would shoot me if I ran… They
asked me if my husband was alive. I did not reply. Then they told me to undress
myself and to lay down. I refused and they started beating me with sticks. I realized
that they were going to kill me if I continued resisting, so I undressed and
laid down. Two of them held my legs and they told one of the others to put a
stick into my vagina. So the soldier penetrated my vagina with a stick and I
started bleeding immediately. I was brought back to the POC by women who also
came to collect firewood. I was admitted in the hospital and stayed there for
seven days.” (Amnesty International 2017: p.g27).
Seven government soldiers gang
raped Nyabang on 20 July 2017 when she left the Juba POC site, intending to
collect food from the World Food Programme warehouse on Yei Road, which she
heard had been looted.
She recounted the words of her attackers:
“They spoke to me in Dinka,
saying that I must be a Nuer woman. They told me, ‘You woman from Dr. Riek
supporters…we are going to show you today. We are going to rape you and you
will produce our kids through your vagina, your anus and your mouth’… all of
them raped me… they penetrated my vagina, anus and even they inserted their
penises inside my mouth… They raped me simply because I am a Nuer… They told me
I should blame Dr. Riek Machar for what happened to me (ibid: p.g:36).
Nyabang told researchers that a
military sergeant participated in gang raping her, along with six other
soldiers, until she fell unconscious. His only instruction was that his
subordinates should only rape her vaginally. She recounted, “He [the sergeant]
ordered them saying, ‘Stop raping her through her anus, please use her vagina’.
After that they decided to use my vagina (ibid: p.g. 37).
Some of the Nuer women attacked
along Yei Road were abducted by government soldiers. On 27 July, Nyamachar made
the difficult decision to leave the POC and go to the market.
“We [myself and other women]
knew that it was very dangerous for Nuer women and men to move outside the PoCs
for fear of being raped and killed. But for us women, we just closed our eyes
to save our children from starvation. Our children were really dying of hunger
in the POCs because we spent many days without food. Since the war broke out in
July, the UN had never distributed food.”
On her way back from the market,
Nyamachar encountered a large group of armed soldiers at the Yei Road
checkpoint. One soldier forced her to enter his car and took her to a
government military camp outside of Juba.
“He pushed me into the car and I
was driven off … When we reached [the military camp], this soldier took me
inside his room and raped me many times. He raped me immediately when we
arrived, again after one hour, and again in the middle of the night. The
following day, I discovered that there were some other Nuer women that they
kept…as sex slaves…I stayed with this soldier for three days…[then] he called
another soldier to come and rape me. This soldier raped me five times before
they released me.” Nyamachar said she
spent approximately one week held in the military camp (ibid:p.g. 37).
Recently
an attack in Juba, the capital city, was reported widely.
Organized forces in military uniforms used color of
their authority to rob, rape, and kill women, girls, boys and men in the day
light and at night. On Oct 13th, in the absent of R2P in Juba, SPLA soldiers’ gang
raped two young girls in Juba Muniki residential areas (News & Politics,
Oct, 2017). It is safe to say that even non-IDP civilians in
major cities have difficulties getting, finding and buying charcoal and food
and fall prey to violence in overcoming these difficulties.
2-R2P Failure
My position is that, these cases of rape as described above could have been prevented
if the R2P had been effective and efficient. Let us begin with what are R2P
elements. It has become part of the mandate of UN peace keeping troops in South
Sudan, where it was first initiated.
The UNMISS Mandate on peace keeping and protection
The United Nations
Security Council Resolution 2155 (2014) of
May 27th, 2014 mandated 12,500 UNMISS peacekeeping forces to protect
civilians; monitoring and investigating human rights;
creating the conditions for delivery of humanitarian assistance and supporting
the implementation of “the 2014 Cessation
of Hostilities Agreement (CoH)”.
The protection of civilians clauses (I), (II) and (V) state the following: To protect civilians under threat of physical violence, irrespective of the source of such violence, within its capacity and areas of deployment, with specific protection for women and children, including the continued use of the Mission’s child protection and women’s protection advisers; and to deter violence against civilians, including foreign nationals, especially through proactive deployment, active patrolling with particular attention to displaced civilians, including those in protection sites and refugee camps, humanitarian personnel and human rights defenders, and identification of threats and attacks against the civilian population, including through regular interaction with the civilian population and closely with humanitarian, human rights and development organizations, in areas at high risk of conflict including, as appropriate, schools, places of worship, hospitals and the oil installations, in particular when the Government of the Republic of South Sudan is unable or failing to provide such security (UNSC 2014).
Let us look
at what is the practice in fact compared to the expectations of the mandate.
For example, the current protection practices by the UNMISS constitute daily
patrols during the day time in the major cities in South Sudan, cleaning
(grabbed collection) of Juba city, directing traffic and pedestrians, teaching
locals taekwondo, karate and cricket.2 Such activities
to maintain do not serve, even violate, the mandate to protect victims from
violence and to save (SGBV) all civilians from victimized by gang rapes carried out by any rebel groups or Sudan
People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) military and its illegitimate ethnic dinka
militants when they go in search of extra food, water and firewood to save
their starving children from hunger in the UNPOC sites or refugee camps. Despite
even their daylight patrols, the UN troops are unable to prevent the SGBV
occurring as described above by actual victims. As there are no night patrols
as of yet, though this is being discussed as necessary because of findings of report
of the UN in August 2017, any efforts to
get food or firewood or water at night are totally unprotected by UN troops.
Obviously this practice reveals even more clearly the ineffectiveness and inefficient
of the R2P doctrine.[1]
Thus in summary the “Elements” of the R2P embrace three temporal phases:
1. The responsibility to prevent:
to address both the root causes and direct causes of internal conflict and
other human-made crises putting populations at risk.
2. The responsibility to react: to respond to situations of compelling
human need with appropriate measures, which may include coercive measures like
sanctions and international prosecution, and in extreme cases military
intervention.
3. The responsibility to rebuild: to provide, particularly after a
military intervention, full assistance with recovery, reconstruction and
reconciliation, addressing the causes of the harm the intervention was designed
to halt or avert (Weiss, 2006:p.23).
On
Nov 11th, 2016, Mr. Adama Dieng, the United Nations envoy on
genocide prevention visited Yei city. While in Yei, Mr. Dieng was encountered
with stories of victims of tortures, detentions, and rapes. Among many Yei city’s
IDPs population who voluntary appeared and testified before UN officials was
Rev. Lasu. He was later arrested, tortured, murdered by the South Sudan
national security (SSNS) agents and his body was found on the Yei –Juba road.
This incidence suggests that, R2P and UNMISS failed to protect IDPs as well as
to provide protection to human rights witness who came forward with information
about crimes against humanity. Lacks of protections and patrolling have forced
many IDPs to leave major cities in South Sudan at a high rate of 3,500 persons
per day (UNHCR, 2017).
Lack
of protections and safety of witnesses may also, deter many not to come forward
with evidences and may not help work of human rights investigative body. This
explains the basis of the obligation to report human rights abuses weaknesses
of the reporting culture of UNMISS outside the peacekeeping troops who have the
mandate to protect, also it raises many questions such as what are the terms of that mandate? What are problems
of poor implementation?
The UN relied on the regional body
of the African Union (AU) to do similar duties of UN human rights investigative
body and this create duplication of work and AU has its own weaknesses in this
field. Additionally, the
body set up by the OHCHR and UNMISSES Human Rights to oversee human rights
violations, but the body is inactive, and cannot guarantee witnesses safety in
the country as well as this defeat the overall purpose and mandate of the body.
Protecting, and providing safety to witnesses as well as documenting and
preserving crimes evidence is the only way victims will have hope in international
legal system, will deter rogue government form using their soldiers contrary to
international humanitarian and human rights standards and rebel criminals as
well.
3. Negative Impact of Aid Distributions on
Women and Failure to meet the needs of women in particular
Under the R2P mandate the UN troops are to create
the conditions for delivery of humanitarian assistance and support the
implementation of “the 2014 Cessation of
Hostilities Agreement”.
In order to create such conditions, the UN troops
must be made aware of why protection has to be designed according to the needs
of the civilians being protected and how not fulfilling these needs can expose
them to danger and violence. In this regards the food and water culture in
South Sudan plays a key role and is a key causes of the SGBV that women,
children and boys sufferings from.
Food
culture and fire wood collection in Sudan and South Sudan are the
responsibility of women. Women’s daily activities consist of walking in groups
for long distance early each morning and before sunset, during the day and
evening to fetch water either from a river, or boreholes that are not near
villages. Search for water around water sources are places where women socialize
and offer social support to each other.
Water is used for drinking, washing needs, cooking traditional foods known as ugali and Kisra (flatbread), porridge, preparing tea, coffee and heating water for baths. This explains why the culture of preparing food in both Sudans takes more than five hours or so. Furthermore, cooking processes require fire wood, and most women in urbanized cities such as Juba, Malakal, Torit and Wau buy charcoal. However, these days, it is very difficult to find, get and buy charcoal and fire wood in markets across South Sudan.
The
reason is most charcoal and firewood traders have either left the village or
been displaced due to insecurity. Insecurity and population displacement
together triggered food and water insecurity. The
insecurity contributed to increased charcoal prices in the markets. For
instance; the current price of one sack of charcoal is $2000SSP (average $16US)
and before 2013, it was around $20SSP while average employee salary is $300SSP. In addition to this, for
many there is no access to the markets at all, even if they could afford high
prices, the economy has collapsed, farmers can no longer produce food, and
public servants have not been pay for the last ten month or so.
Other factors contributing to rise of charcoal scarcity are
most major natural forests are inhabited by different rebel groups and the
major producer cities in Equatoria States are controlled by SPLA soldiers and illegitimate ethnic dinka
paramilitary of Mathiang Anyor3 that is
carrying on targeted killings of civilians and traders on the roads
(Johnson, 2016).
Thus, the issues of food/water availability
and insecurity are major contributors to GBV, gang rape and armed attacks on
civilians in the UN POC sites and refugee camps.
The aid packages delivered to
the civilians in the UNPOC sites do not include as standard non-food items such
as water, firewood, charcoal, solar ovens for cooking.
Since charcoal trade is number one factor leading
to deforestation in both Sudans, it ideal that solar ovens can be perfect
solution deforestation.
While the traditional IDP camps or
refugee camps make provisions for water and cooking, the POC sites are at a
disadvantage. The reason lies in the conditions under which the POC camps were
created in South Sudan.
The term POC site is newly
invented and it has entered the humanitarian lexicon after the 2013 political
and humanitarian crisis in South Sudan. When conflict broke out between the
forces loyal to Dinka President Kiir and those of former Nuer Vice President
Machar, violence erupted and led civilians fled their neighborhoods with the hope
to take safety at the UNMISS premises in the capital Juba.
When
IDPs reached the UNMISS gate, the
peacekeeping forces prevented them from entering the UN compound in Tomping
west of Juba Airport, but later on they were allowed after consultation between
NY and UNSGR. This was the first time that IDPs physically ran into UN premises
for safety- this was unusual.
Similarly, it was the first time
that, UNMISS was faced with this situation, without guidance, ill-prepared, did
not have contingency plans to receive and deal with needs of thousands of IDPs
as well as providing protection for them. The 2013 violence which spread across
the country creates new kinds of camps for IDPs, this time on UN premises.
This
has generated several predicaments. Other UN agencies and NGOs are specialized
in dealing with, organizing and managing IDP and refugee camps on sites
provided by the national or local government. They were not called in to manage the
situation of IDPs in the UN peacekeeping compounds in South Sudan. To this day
there is lack of coordination and communication with such agencies and NGOs. Even
some NGOs are baffled, because they have distinct policies about limits to
dealing with military troops or working in militarized environment. The
dilemmas as how remain unresolved fully even with deployment of additional
protection forces.
Another issue that stands out very
clearly was the fact UN forces are not well-trained in the international humanitarian
field. They are combat troops with hardly any humanitarian training even in
their own national milieus. Combat duty and defensive troop protection as well
as civilians took priority and created many problems: no food aid, no water, no
protection against SGBV, no management of ethnic tensions within the sites, and
lack of policy guidelines on cooperation among the INGOs. For instance; MSF
have setup medical centres to treat SGBV in Upper Nile States and this
initiative should have been extended to other POC sites in Equatoria States.
However, it is not clear in the policies of the UN or the NGOs to what extent
NGOs wish to cooperate with troops (MSF report 2017).
___________
3. Mathiang Anyor
4. Recommendations: The Role Regional
Forces can Play to Protect IDPs in United Nations Protection of Civilians
(UNPOC) Sites in South Sudan as well as Refugee Camps in the neighboring
countries.
4.1 Lessons from
Darfur, west Sudan
IDP
camps abound in Darfur for more than 13 years. The common denominator between
the IDPs of Abu-Shuko, Zam Zam,
and Tuwela in the Darfur region of Sudan and the IDPs in the UNPOC sites in
South Sudan is gender violence- gang rape
crimes, lack of protection, and ineffective and inefficient food aid
distributions (Embassy Newspaper May, 2005). The causes of gang rape between
the two camps are lack of firewood or sufficient firewood substitutes or solar
ovens for cooking; insufficient food aid, milk for infants and lack of water.
The only difference between these two types of camps is that, the IDPs camps in
Darfur are not accommodated within the peace keeping compounds in Sudan. UNAMID
troops have not been overrun by IDPs.
The camps are run by United Nations Higher
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM),
while in South Sudan IDPs camps are within UN premises. Gender violence and
gang rape crimes are committed by both the SPLA soldiers, illegitimate ethnic dinka
paramilitary of Mathiang Anyor, and SPLA in Opposition
(SPLA-IO) rebels; while in Darfur mainly by Janjaweed4 illegitimate
militias of National Islamic Front, that have conducted the ethnic genocidal cleansing
in Darfur, concentrating its indigenous
population into camps where they are more easily controlled, gang raped,
exploited and liquidated. The UNAMID has also the mandate to protect such
communities, but has been ineffective and failed (UN reports).
The mandate of the UNAMID has been extended for one year more to
provide protection to IDPs camps in Darfur, SGBV
cases continue to increase and Darfur IDPs are now forgotten and living at the
mercies of genocidaires criminals of Khartoum government. Many of the protection measures again SGBV
have been left to other agencies, e.g. World Food Program (WFP) in its food
camps. It introduced SAFE measure to
protect against rape of women gathering firewood for cooking or water. Solar
ovens were also introduced. Manufacturing of fire material other than firewood
within the camp by the IDPs themselves was also introduced and special carriers
for water that reduce the time women need to fetch the water and get back to
the camp in time (See WFP
SAFE Materials).
In the agricultural seasons many
IDPs left the camps to return to their fields for two reasons mainly – to
preserve their rights over the land and to plant their own food to supplement
the food aid. Without UNAMID protection, they were victims of government militia
and rebel assaults.
Having worked in both Sudans for many years,
and an eye witness of gang rape crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan and read
the recent Amnesty International report- “Do Not Remain Silent” Survivors
of Sexual Violence in South Sudan Call for Justice and Reparations on the gang rape crimes against women, girls, boys and men in
Juba,Yei, Malakal, Bor and Wau, the only conclusion the readers can reach to is
that, the R2P mandates of UNAMID and UNMISS of civilians protection have failed
as result of insecurity, South Sudanese IDPs are fleeing their villages and
cities daily at high rate of 3500 person per day (UNHCR, 2017), and large number of Darfur IDPs settled in Northern Bahar
Al-Ghazal in South Sudan and were forced to take refuge either in Chad or
Central Africa Republic (double migration), and the UN officials on the ground
and the NY headquarter have failed to learn from measures taken earlier in
Darfur and to assess why they did not result in full protection (Amnesty Report
2017).
In the Amnesty
International report 2017, the victims of gender violence and gang rapes living
under the ‘protection’ of the UNPOC sites described in detail their suffering in
forays outside of the UNPOC sites for lack of food, water, cooking supplies,
provided the reasons of venturing out of UNPOCs and how they are subjected to
gang rapes.
All the victims said that food distributed in the UNPOC sites is
insufficient and they had to search for additional food and milk supplies for
children and infants, lack of water and most importantly there was no firewood
or charcoal to cook solid food aid such as brown and white beans, rice, red and
brown split lentils, no solar ovens. As they
ventured out in search for food, encountered either SPLA or rebels in bush and
soldiers so brutally gang raped, and as result some became unconscious, fainted
and find themselves into POC sites. The lucky ones received medical treatment
and others didn’t; however, some women were raped and died or were killed by
perpetrators (Ibid: p.25, 28, 29, 31 & 33).
The current food
aid distribution defeats the overall purpose of DAC “do no harm” and new efforts are required to ensure that more
realistic approaches and workable solutions are in place in order to prevent (SGBV) crimes around UNPoCs in Sudan and South Sudan. The donors’
effort to help IDPs in the UNPOCs are commendable do save some lives; however,
aid distributions require changes in new ways of thinking, new assessments that
will provide positive experience rather than negative and should not cause
directly and indirectly intended or unintended consequences on recipients.
4.2 Suggested
Improvements
4.2.1 Increase
amounts of food aid, water, cooking instruments
The overall
analysis of the Amnesty report 2017 substantiated that most (SGBV) crimes against women, underage girls, boys and men around
UNPOCs in South Sudan are committed by South Sudanese men in military uniforms
and in rebels controlled areas. The reasons given by most women were that
humanitarian food aid provided by International non-governmental Organizations
(INGOs) was insufficient and require firewood or alternatives which are not
provided as part of the aid package.
The best approach to resolve firewood
problems is for the INGOs to purchase durable easy-to-use solar cooker that can
be delivered to the UNPOCs sites for under $20, complete with 4.25- liter
cooking pot and glass lid. This type of solar cooker is almost indestructible
and will make perfect ugali in an hour or two with no stirring until right at
the end, and it will never burn out, but most importantly it will save women,
younger girls and men lives as well as prevent them venturing out of UNPOCs.
The UNMISS can
discuss with the IDPs the possibility of sending out patrols to protect those
who return to their fields to plant so that they have more food.
Moreover, in an
event of lack of UNMISS funds to purchase solar cookers, part of 16000 UN
protection forces in South Sudan should organize convoys to escort women to
market either on foot or by vehicles to buy firewood as well as other daily or
weekly necessities. Another workable solution is for the UN and INGOs should
delivery firewood, charcoal, propane gas and water to IDPs in POCs sites. The
market convoy can be twice or three times a week based on consultation with
women IDPs.
The UN and INGOs
should revise the current humanitarian aid distributions system and need
assessment to include increasing daily and weekly food ration, provide
charcoal, firewood, propane gas, solar cookers, hygienic articles for women and
girls, water, and infant milk and arrange escorts convey to drive women to
market (see Enough 2015, and Amnesty International). These measures will
definitely reduce and put an end to (SGBV) crimes
against women as well as save lives in war zones areas and refugees camps, but
overall strategy is to fulfill UNMISS mandate.
4.2.2 Night patrols
The current practice
of UNMISS in South Sudan is to undertake daily patrols during the day time
inside Juba. This is not the best patrol practices to deter organized criminals
and this should be modified to night joint UNMISS and SPLA forces. The paper
condemns any unauthorized SPLA forces from movement within Juba between 2100-0600
hours, in major cities where the IDPs are concentrated and UNMISS mandate
should be extended to include areas around refugee camps where killings are
happening daily.
The reasoning behind night patrols is to prevent criminals
within SPLA forces who are committing rape, killings and looting in major
cities in the country and rebels from looting humanitarian aid from refugees at
gun points and the sale of food aid in neighboring countries market. The
protection should include South Sudanese women engaging in cross border trade
and smuggling. Also, most gang rape crimes occurred at evening and night times
according to the witnesses in the Amnesty Report (Amnesty 2017), so it makes perfect
sense for the UN protection forces to patrol the major cities and POCs at night
to deter SPLA soldiers. It ought to expand night patrols to all major
cities such as Juba,Wau, and Malakal which are experiencing high rate of
killing, rapes, and robbers.
While the UNMISS
has not yet implemented night patrols of the peace keeping troops, there are SPLA
force night patrols. The current composition of SPLA force night patrols
consist of soldiers mainly from one ethnic group either Dinka and Nuer, communicate
in one tribal language and this kind of composition facilitates looting, raping
stealing, targeted killings and crimes cover up in Juba city much easier.
As mentioned the UN
has reported that it is aiming to increase the number of patrols at night on
the basis of a report (Al-Jazeera
2016/11) this year that day time patrols are
insufficient. Why the UN did not from the start have night patrols is unknown.
Perhaps this deficiency reflects on the knowledge gaps that arise from poor
reporting. For it is common knowledge that gang rapes take place in Juba every night.
No doubt in other cities as well. The UN ought to explain publicly this gap in knowledge
and if known why night patrols did not take place.
As mentioned above
in addition to night patrols there can be patrols accompanying those who return
to plant their fields to supplement their food rations.
4.2.3 Reporting Human
Rights Violations
The UN should
accelerate funding for the establishment of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan and its logistics as outlined in the ARCSS
of 2015 as well as to establish an
independent mechanism (e.g. An Independent Commission for justice and
accountability) to assist in investigating violations in the country, preserve
evidences, conduct extensive video /audio interviews with survivors and
witnesses to collect SGBV cases. This is the only way victims will have hope in
international legal system as well as will deter government soldier and rebel
criminals. The UUMISS should establish a system to protect and provide safety
to witnesses. Currently, the discussion is centered on the establishing hybrid
court and human rights investigative body to investigate crimes against
humanity and persecute war criminals within South Sudanese forces as well as
rebels groups; but, in practice there is lengthy delay in the implementations
and funding.
On
another hand, ARCSS should be replacing with new agreement that has larger
framework to include current opposition groups as well as new IGAD
consultations initiatives.
4.2.4 More authority to UNMISS troops
Juba is not South Sudan, and South Sudan is bigger than Juba city. The
overall UNMISS strategy should not focus only on better planning, preparation
and establishment of a weapons-free-zones around the POC sites in Juba, but new
strategy should empower peacekeeping forces with power to arrest, detain, fight
back and enter into combat against law breakers; but most importantly
strategy is should focus on put an end to political crisis in the country and
search new strategy to achieve peace as well as establish technocrat transitional
government to prepare the country for fair, free and transparence general
elections in 2020.
4.2.5 Medical support
The UNMISS should
establish well equipped medical centres in the UNPOCs across the country
equipped with psychiatrists, psycho-social therapists and trauma
counselors to treat gender violence
cases as well as to help survivors
of sexual violence to restore their physical and psychological well-being.
The UNMISS should
strengthen its existing partnership linkages with MSF which has expertise in
medical field. They ought to coordinate operations and logistics together and
benefit each other experiences. But if INGOS have policies against cooperation
with military, then the UNMISS ought to rely on its own resources to fund the
medical help needed physically for assaulted civilian victims of any gender and
personnel for mental illnesses and support for victims who lose limbs in
attacks on civilians.
4.2.6 Expand number of POC sites and better equip
The UNMISS should establish new POC sites to accommodate newcomers and to
avoid repeat of evictions of a grandma in Bentiu POC camp (MSF, ‘Grandma’).
To improve POC sites, the
UNMISS should supply each IDP’s household in the POC sites with (10’x30’) Tent
that has with 6 removable windows side wall. Tent can protect IDPs from
sickness that are resulted directly to the overcrowded and deplorable
conditions as well as provide IDPs with tempera shelters. Tent and access to adequate water, and
sanitation can improve the basic conditions and positive environment in the POC
sites.
4.2.7 In-Sites Conflicts
The UNMISS should support the
work of traditional authorities
(Chiefs) in some POCs sites with operation and logistics, but should not rely
on them 100% as some cases might require police investigation (LSE). Where
police investigation is needed IDPs ought to be consulted on how much they
trust the national South Sudan police and require strict observation of police
interactions with IDPS by the UN Police Observers, who are often excluded from
national police interrogations.
4.2.8 Livelihoods
training
In the Darfur IDP
camps, the specialized UN agencies and NGOs/INGOs introduced livelihoods
trainings, e.g. food for education. Taking a lesson from this, the UNMISS
mandate should establish literacy classes, small skill trader training, and
small business enterprise training in the POC sites to equip IDPs with some
knowledge for future use in lieu of organizing cricket and tawkenodo sports.
4.2.9. The UNMISS
should be mindful of Charcoal Trade Leading which can lead to Deforestation
in South Sudan
Conclusions
The UNMISS DPKO
needs to take a hard look at its POCs mandate in terms of its implementation.
It can ask for more women peace keepers, ask for more troops trained in
humanitarian crises, turn over the management of POC to specialized agencies
and concentrate on its military/policing powers, or use the help of UNHCR/IOM
to transfer as many civilians as possible to proper refugee and IDP camps.
Long-term POC confuses the situation by duplicating the mandates of specialized
agencies. A POC sites can only be temporary situation with a clear plan of
transfer. The peace keeping mandate becomes otherwise too diluted and peace
keeping funds are diverted.
About the author:
©Hüstin Läkü, Sr., is
a native South Sudanese, and educated in South Sudan, Sudan, Egypt,
Germany and Switzerland. He is a graduate of University of Fribourg in Switzerland; Caux
Scholars Program in Switzerland, and University of Ottawa in Canada.
His
current research topic Title: Evaluating South Sudan Governance: From
Perspective of Federated Forms and/or Devolution; Politics of Foreign Aid in
Africa-The Myth of Foreign Aid in Africa: Case Sudan and South Sudan and the
Role of Agricultural in South Sudan’s Economic Development.
Läkü,Sr, helped create Sudan Health Care and Education Project
(SHCEP) to improve public health care and Education in South Sudan through
knowledge transfer, professional development and capacity building. Through SHCEP, Hüstin
working with university-based Canadian physicians and 190
medical professionals in the County of Cornell in the U.S.A., he brought about
the donation of ten railroad carloads of medical training equipment, wheelchairs,
medical textbooks, nursing and health sciences, physic, Chemistry, Biology and
English textbooks worth about one million dollars and equipped 13 medical clinics around Central
Equatoria State.
Currently,
he is working on new projects, building partnerships between Carleton and Ottawa
universities, and Juba University; building a school for girls in Eastern
Equatorial State; and Seed for Democracy for South Sudan (SfDSS).
The
mission of SfDSS is to prepare South Sudan, to understand and adopt the
democratic processes and practices that would help it ensure future peaceful
transference of power from successive governments.
Hüstin
Läkü, Sr., is a recipient of Dr. Martin Luther, Jr, Dream Keepers Award, and
Queen Elizabeth II model for Humanitarianism.
Endnotes:
1.
The Human Rights Commission was
established under the auspices of the United Nations with mandate to monitor,
investigate, verify and report on abuses, violations of human rights,
violations of International humanitarian law and the most serious crimes in
South Sudan since December 2013 by inter alia collecting and preserving
evidences of human rights violations and abuses and violation of international
Humanitarian Law and by supporting criminal proceedings before the hybrid court
and national, regional and international tribunals with jurisdiction over such
crimes (OHCHR 2017).
2.
Japanese Engineers Members of UNMISS Support First
National Karate Competition in South Sudan.
3.
Mathiang
Anyor are is located at the Luri training centre
west of Juba city. Luri is a Bari community land grabbed by Kiir in order to
establish his cattle ranch. These illegitimate para military groups were funded
by the national budget. The recruitment and composition of tribal groups are
mainly from Awiel and Warrap States PM and Kiir’s home states. They operate
independent of SPLA with strict tribal mandate to shot and kill rape, loot and
grabbed non dinka lands and properties. The groups lack military training as
well as rules and regulations and it replaces the existence security sectors.
4.
Janjaweed are paramilitary
trained, armed and paid by Khartoum regime and responsible for killing, raping,
torturing, insecurity, human rights violations, crimes against humanity and
Darfur genocide.
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