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Land, Security and Peace Building in the Southern Sudan

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By =D8ystein H. Rolandsen (PRIO)

Executive Summary

Violence and insecurity threatens peacebuilding in the Southern Sudan and the 2011 referendum on self-determination. The Sudan's interim period which started with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) 9 January 2005 is now reaching its final phase but communities in the South still face multiple types of violence stemming from local and regional tensions as well as conflicts at the national and even international level. The underlying causes of this predicament are a tense political setting, a highly militarised society in terms of access to weapons and a lowered threshold to settle disputes with violence, and, finally, lack of institutional capacity to provide security and to prevent, contain and solve conflict in the Southern Sudan. This situation invites the use of violence as a means to further the interests of groups and individuals. The solution lies in a two-stage process starting with short-term drastic measures and proper planning of long-term measures addressing the underlying factors causing this predicament. Only when this first stage is finalised will long-term measures have the desired effect.

The year 2009 has proven to be a particularly difficult year in the South, surpassing Darfur in terms of violent deaths. Although there are different sources of violence and insecurity in the Southern Sudan, local conflicts is by far the one cause affecting most people on a daily basis. Because of their political overtones and potential for overturning the CPA, clashes between Sudan Armed forces and Sudan People's Liberation Army as well as attacks by militias have in previous years received considerable attention from journalists and foreign diplomats. Now however, local violence has come into the limelight as it has become a threat against stability in the Southern Sudan as such. At the local level people are denied the essential peace dividend of tranquillity and security. In addition, local insecurity hinders the provision of most other benefits of peace. At higher political levels local insecurity hinders implementation of two important components of the CPA: national elections in 2010 and the 2011 referendum over the future status of the Southern Sudan. Continued local violence has also fuelled the debate over whether the Southern Sudan would be a 'viable' independent state.