Summary
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) was established on 8 July 2011, under Security Council Resolution 1996 (2011), following the country’s declaration of independence.
Since then, UNMISS’ mandate has consistently been renewed by the United Nations Security Council, which has determined that the situation in South Sudan continues to pose a threat to international peace and security.
UNMISS’ most recent mandate, under Resolution 2820 (2026), requires the mission to protect civilians, create the conditions conducive to the safe, timely and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance, use targeted good offices to support the peace process and prevent escalation of political violence, and monitor and report on human rights and international humanitarian law violations and abuses.
Context
On 9 January 2005, a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), ending decades of war. The CPA called for a referendum to take place to determine the status of Southern Sudan. It was held in January 2011, with 98.83% of participants voting for independence.
On 9 July 2011, South Sudan became the world’s newest nation.
Just two years later, on 15 December 2013, violence broke out in the capital Juba and quickly spread to other parts of the country, resulting in a nationwide political and security crisis. There were widespread human rights consequences, with thousands of people killed during the hostilities, especially in areas of greatest military confrontation. The parties to the conflict were deemed responsible for ethnically targeted attacks on civilians and a failure to comply with international human rights and humanitarian law.
The humanitarian situation rapidly deteriorated. Within the first month of the crisis, almost 500,000 people were displaced within South Sudan, and 74,300 people had crossed into neighboring countries. These numbers continued to rise, with 900,000 people displaced by the end of February 2014. Civilians who had tipped into the “acute” or “emergency” categories of food insecurity increased from 1.1 million to 3.2 million.
When the conflict erupted, tens of thousands of civilians fled to UNMISS compounds in Juba, Bor, Akobo, Bentiu, Malakal and Melut to seek refuge. The Mission opened its gates and, together with humanitarian partners, provided protection and other assistance as the crisis unfolded. The massive influx of civilians into United Nations premises was unprecedented and placed a huge strain on the mission’s resources. To give the Mission adequate capacity to cope, the Security Council increased the overall military and police strength under Resolution 2132 (2013).
On 27 May 2014, the Security Council adopted Resolution 2155 (2014), reprioritizing the UNMISS mandate to focus on protection of civilians, human rights monitoring and reporting, and support for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
In August 2015, the parties to the conflict signed a peace agreement. However, this fragile peace did not last, with intense fighting erupting again between the two sides over several days in July 2016, with significant loss of life, looting and destruction of properties, widespread sexual violence, and displacement.
On 12 September 2018, a new landmark Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) was signed by the parties and a Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity formed. The Agreement provided for an eight-month pre-transitional period and a term of office of 36 months. However, since that time, there has been four extensions of the transitional period, the implementation of the Agreement remains incomplete, and elections have been delayed.
The political and security situation continues to deteriorate, with increasing violations of the ceasefire, including direct conflict between forces aligned with the main parties to the peace agreement, the unilateral removal of opposition appointees in the government, detention and trial of First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar and other individuals, as well as the spillover effects of the conflict in neighboring Sudan which is inflaming local tensions and placing strain on already scarce resources.
The humanitarian situation is catastrophic, with those in need of assistance increasing from nine to 10 million this year and more than 7 million people facing acute food insecurity. An estimated 92 per cent of the population continues to live below the poverty line, underscoring the scale of vulnerability facing communities across the country.