Attachments
CONTEXT
Overview
Due to a confluence of factors, including protracted armed conflict, increased poverty, food insecurity, economic collapse and pervasive environment degradation, South Sudan is in the midst of a prolonged humanitarian crisis. People’s humanitarian needs continue to rise, with an estimated 9.4 million South Sudanese, including 2.2 million women and 4.9 million children, in need of humanitarian aid and protection services in 2023.
The cumulative effects of the conflict continue to be deeply felt. 9.4 million people are considered to be in dire need of humanitarian assistance
While conflict between parties to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) has been on the decline since the deal was signed over four years ago, violence has persisted, and by many accounts, intensified in different pockets of the country. Conflict in Equatoria has continued, exacerbated by growing fractionalization. Elsewhere, localized and sub-national violence has escalated, including in Warrap and Jonglei States where renewed fighting between groups has had dire consequences for populations who were only just beginning to recover from shocks, including recent flooding. Event tracking similarly recorded more than 215,000 IDPs displaced as a result of localized conflict between January and the end of May alone2 . Accordingly, social cohesion, which was fragile even before the R-ARCSS agreement, has been continuously undermined by the cumulative impacts of sustained insecurity over the past year, further encumbering the prospects for peaceful co-existence between host, displaced and returning populations and threatening to reverse some of the gains made with respect to returns since the peace agreement came into effect in September 2018.
The outbreak of fighting in Sudan on 15 April 2023 resulted in an influx of people fleeing the country, with more than 111,000 individuals, including 93 per cent of South Sudanese nationals, crossing border entry points along the Sudan-South Sudan border, as of 12 June 20233 . The conflict in Sudan has already affected South Sudan’s economic outlook, particularly in northern States that rely heavily on imports from Sudan, leading to an increase in food prices and exacerbating food insecurity and negative coping mechanisms.
Conflict is not the only shock that South Sudanese populations have had to grapple with in the past few years; pervasive environment, including flooding, as well as increased poverty and economic distress, have deepened humanitarian needs and led to forced displacement.
Women and girls, in particular, continue to bear the brunt of protracted insecurity and other shocks related to natural disasters and disease, posing considerable challenges to the full realization of their rights and the rights of other vulnerable groups. At the start of 2023, over half of the population (6.6 million people) were estimated to be facing a ‘Crisis’ or worse levels of acute food insecurity4 , with continued conflict, heavy flooding and economic collapse having sunk many populations into an even worse situation. Many displaced peoples’ homes, as well as livelihoods, have been devastated and the poverty and economic burden induced by displacement and violence has deprived them of the resources that they need to rebuild their lives.
IOM further recognizes that the extreme vulnerability of displaced populations in South Sudan brings with it a profound power differential between its personnel and the South Sudanese population generally and especially those residing in protection of civilians (PoCs)/IDP camps that are dependent on humanitarian assistance provided by aid organizations such as IOM. This creates an environment of heightened vulnerability to sexual exploitation and abuse. In fact, South Sudan is one of the countries in the world from which the highest numbers of allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse have been reported. IOM, as one of the agencies with the largest footprints across the country, plays a key role in leading and contributing to collective efforts to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse.
IOM continues to scale up and respond to people’s immediate humanitarian needs, while at the same time trying to address more proactively some of the drivers of vulnerability by building resilience, promoting peacebuilding, strengthening preparedness and reducing disaster risk across the country. Recognizing the protracted nature of the conflict and associated humanitarian crisis in the country and the continuous, and worsening shocks facing local populations, IOM continues to provide life-saving assistance in tandem with supporting