This British Academy/Leverhulme-funded research investigated the health and justice service responses to the needs of South Sudanese refugees living in refugee settlements in Northern Uganda who had been subjected to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and torture. It involved the collection and thematic analysis of the narratives of 20 men and 41 women who were refugee survivors of SGBV and torture, including their experiences in South Sudan, their journeys to Uganda and experiences in refugee…
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CSRF Research Repository
The CSRF Research Repository aims to support greater contextual knowledge for policy makers, programme managers, and implementers by providing a searchable repository of research, analysis, and resources, and providing periodic updates on new research and analysis.
Improved security and access to justice are urgent priorities for the people of South Sudan, who have been targeted by government and opposition forces since the beginning of the civil war in December 2013, and affected by violence between and within communities. A variety of groups and institutions aim, or claim, to provide people with security and justice, from the police, military and courts, to customary leaders and the armed opposition. As most people cannot…
In much of the world, security and justice are mostly provided not by formal bodies, such as state police services or judiciaries, but by informal, non-state actors. Meanwhile, international donors invest millions of dollars in funding to reform and strengthen security and justice provision in conflict-affected and fragile contexts. To be relevant and effective, such support must be informed by an understanding of which actors and institutions are actually fulfilling security and justice functions. Critically…
Spiritual and divine authorities play a prominent role in mobilizing armed violence. This article provides a micro-history of a contemporary Nuer prophetess (guan kuoth) in South Sudan who mobilized hundreds of armed men including in support of current anti-government rebellions. The article grapples with apparent paradoxes in her approach to kume (a broadly defined notion of government) and customary law. This prophetess rejects logics of authority associated with the kume. At the same time, she champions the continuity…
In 2013, Africa’s newest state, was on the brink of collapse. Internal armed conflict, serious human rights violations and a divided government led to the death or displacement of thousands of people. A 2015 peace agreement ended the conflict and created a range of transitional justice mechanisms to address the country’s past. None of these mechanisms are operational. Violence returned in 2016 necessitating a revitalised peace process. This report assesses South Sudanese citizens’ perceptions of…
On 11 July 2016, at the end of four days of fighting between government and opposition forces in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, government soldiers stormed the Terrain ‘Hotel’, a residential compound that was home to South Sudanese and East African and Western expatriates. There they began a violent rampage of systematic looting, rape, gang rape, and abuse—including one killing—of the civilians sheltering in the compound. The Government of the Republic of South Sudan (GRSS)…
South Sudan’s customary authorities play an important role in local government, justice, and as intermediaries or brokers between local communities and the government. While significant attention was paid to the role of customary authorities in South Sudan’s statebuilding project prior to the country’s secession in 2011, the start of South Sudan’s civil war in December 2013 reoriented the focus towards humanitarian activities. Making Order Out of Disorder, which synthesizes and expands on the reports from…
The South Sudan intermittent conflicts and civil wars have attracted national, regional, and international interventions. Dominated by politically led conventional ideologies of peace approaches that revolve around suppression, negotiation, and mediation, such approaches have not achieved sustainable peace in the region. The case for societal customs presented here demonstrates a contrary view. Historically, the Nilotic Lwo ethnic groups of South Sudan, that is, Dinka and Nuer, have fought each other but utilised their customs in…
This report presents findings from a survey of 677 households in four towns in South Sudan – Nimule, Torit, Wau and Yei. The survey gathered data on respondent perceptions of and experiences with HLP disputes. South Sudan is currently experiencing a crisis of displacement on a scale that not been seen since the height of the previous civil war in the mid-1990s. In just five years, the current conflict has displaced two in five of…
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…
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