This evaluation assesses the combined Dutch efforts to promote stability in fragile contexts and break the vicious cycle between (ethnic) tensions, armed conflict, instability and weak governance. It focuses on the period 2015-2022, and includes all Dutch foreign instruments, including diplomatic efforts, development cooperation and military interventions. Read more here

Activists and scholars are seeking to end famine by promoting international legal accountability for starvation. This article deepens our understanding of the relationship between the politics of famine and law by observing the ongoing prevalence and power of legal norms and institutions during times of famine. It reveals the widespread use of hunger courts in famine-prone South Sudan and their role in legally enforcing social networks that provide for the most vulnerable. Based on analysis…

The High Court of Kenya recently handed down a decision that reinforces the role of courts to protect the constitution against executive overreaches. To constitutional lawyers and academics, the decision is a triumph for constitutionalism and the rule of law. In this piece, we discuss lessons that may be drawn from the decision for constitutional consolidation (or amendment) and the role of courts in South Sudan. One lesson is that courts, as custodians of the…

This study asks: in the general absence of a functioning and effective civil administration in Juba’s huge suburbs, how have people negotiated personal disputes and neighbourhood management since conflict began in 2013? Who arbitrates in Juba, and on what terms? This study challenges top-down analyses that see political-military elites managing their ethnic enclaves of followers and fighters through nepotism and gifts. Such patronage requires the complex negotiation of responsibilities and rights, including over community safety…

This paper discusses the legal framework of the traditional justice methods in several African countries, with a focus on South Sudan; the objective of customary law, the role of traditional courts or the forum of elders, and the methods of settlement of disputes. These methods of settlement of disputes are by-products of the practices, customs and traditions of the people that were devised as ways of maintaining peace and tranquillity, and thereby uphold the rule…

This report investigates people’s perceptions of and experiences with violent crimes in South Sudan, and the steps people take in pursuit of justice after experiencing a violent crime. Download

This review provides an in-depth analysis into the new National Security Bill, focusing primarily on resultant public opinion and what the new law constitutes for the South Sudanese general constituency as it complements and cements the existing operational culture of the National Security Service (NSS).

This report (2013), based on field research, investigates the functioning of South Sudan’s police service as a provider of security. The report also reviews the public image of the police, investigating what citizens think about the police contribution to or exacerbation of the security situation, as well as what the public suggests as the best way to reform and improve law enforcement, particularly the public order police, so that it more effectively upholds its duties…

This article explorse the concept of collateral review as an instrument to unite customary law with minimum standars of justice and human rights. Link to publication

This report (2009) shares the findings and considers the policy implications of the first evidence-based survey of community perceptions on policing in Southern Sudan. The survey data provide a snapshot of security issues across the still fragile social and political landscape of Southern Sudan.

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