The use of child soldiers has been increasing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. To understand the implications of this on regional security, the study employed a strict textual analysis of the relevant literature on the use of child soldiers in these countries. The study found that the limited protection of refugee camps, poverty, and kidnappings are the major factors contributing to the recruitment of child soldiers. Moreover,…
repository
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.
In September 2018 the warring parties in South Sudan signed the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS). The R-ARCSS will be implemented in a daunting environment – over the course of the five-year conflict, political and security arenas have grown increasingly fractured. For the agreement to succeed, political and military leaders must convince the population of South Sudan and the broader international community that they are…
This report presents a comprehensive survey of the sources and mechanisms of weapon transfers into South Sudan’s civil war since the start of the conflict in December 2013. It has three core findings, all of which may be relevant for the enforcement of the international arms embargo that the United Nations Security Council imposed on South Sudan on 13 July 2018. First, South Sudan’s immediate neighbours have been the main conduits, and sometimes sponsors, of…
Resilience and self-reliance have become central in humanitarian responses to refugee situations. Based on a two-year longitudinal qualitative study, this article explores how South Sudanese refugee youngsters in Uganda imagine and act towards their futures, and questions what resilience and self-reliance can mean in the temporary space of the refugee camp. Youngsters need to become accustomed to a future without substantial progress, or be ready to play the game of chance. As such, a resilience…
The five-year-old civil war in South Sudan is an unparalleled humanitarian and security crisis, causing the largest exodus of refugees on the African continent since the Rwandan genocide and leaving over a third of the population displaced and two-thirds severely food insecure. Beyond the human toll on South Sudan’s long-suffering citizens, the country’s unraveling underscores the shifting political and security fault lines in the Horn of Africa. This Special Report surveys the region’s various interstate…
Like the rest of the world, South Sudanese in Kenya were shocked when the Kenyan police started storming their residences, arresting and detaining many of them in police center in Nairobi, Nakuru, Lodwar, Eldoret, and Nyeri, among others. This came following a strongly worded statement by Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for the Interior, Fred Matiangi, concerning what he described as “illegal immigrants,” or foreigners working in Kenya without employment permits. In a government’s initiative that reflects…
A UN mission has largely succeeded in keeping the peace in Abyei, an oil-rich area claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan. But there has been less progress made on the mission’s work in aiding political mechanisms to determine the final status of Abyei and demilitarise and demarcate the border. As the UN Security Council debates the mission’s scope, these mechanisms deserve ongoing support.
In many countries around the world (especially in Africa), the livelihood of pastoralists depends largely on trekking over vast areas of land in constant search of water and pasture for their animals. This nomadic life brings certain challenges including a constant desire to escape adverse conditions of animal health, government taxes and security threats. Pastoralists try to adapt to constantly changing conditions in the wider context of their existence. This applies to both the physical…
Spoilers on the battlefield and in the negotiations process have completely undermined the search for peace in South Sudan. After numerous threats from the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the lack of any meaningful and escalating consequences for significant cease-fire violations and obstruction has emboldened spoilers on all sides and led to a spiraling of the conflict. The recently signed Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) agreement offers no respite, as it was…
Curious to broaden your search to Sudan?
Try our sister facility CSF