Protection, Transition and Reintegration

The Protection, Transition and Reintegration (PTR) Section of UNMISS is the interface between the Mission and a variety of partners who provide critical humanitarian services to internally displaced people.Photo by Nektarios Markogiannis/UNMISS.

Who we are      

The Protection, Transition and Reintegration (PTR) Section was established in July 2021, following the reconfiguration and amalgamation of the Protection of Civilians Unit and the Relief, Reintegration and Protection Section to contribute to the attainment of the Mission’s three-year strategic vision as mandated by the Security Council. The Section focuses on delivering UNMISS’ protection of civilians mandate, supporting returns, and transition efforts to enhance durable solutions, and creating conditions conducive to humanitarian assistance delivery for populations affected by conflict and climate-related security risks.

What we do

  • Protection: enhancing protection of civilians through engagement and dialogue with national and sub-national authorities to establish a protective environment for civilians, with a specific focus on internally displaced persons, returnees, women, youth, and children.
  • Transition: promoting coherent planning and implementation of integrated strategies for stabilization, coordinated transition of service delivery, durable peace between peacekeeping, humanitarian, and development partners, and the government.
  • Reintegration: promoting the creation of a secure environment for safe, informed, voluntary, and dignified returns, relocation, resettlement, or (re)integration into host communities for internally displaced persons and refugees, given conducive conditions.

PTR seeks to accomplish these efforts leveraging quick-impact projects (QIPs), programmatic activities, and other funding mechanisms, and frameworks, including the Partnership for Peace, Recovery and Resilience (PfPRR), Reconciliation, Stabilization and Resilience Trust Fund, and Peace Building Fund.

Brief achievements

  • Strengthening government capacity and accountability towards its primary responsibility to protect civilians and administer redesignated protection of civilian sites, through workshops and sessions for government representatives at state, county, payam and boma level, and strengthening early warning mechanisms including community protection networks. 
  • Providing site administration of Malakal protection of civilian site to address physical threats, maintain the site’s civilian character, create conditions within which humanitarian actors can deliver services unimpeded, and advise on integrated response options to address the influx of internally displaced persons and their needs following violent clashes in Upper Nile in mid-2022.
  • Supporting progress towards development of 10 State Action Plans to promote implementation of the National Framework and Action Plan on Return, Reintegration and Recovery, focusing on restoration of basic services and access to livelihoods, operationalization of the state-level task force on solutions in 4 States, and facilitating movement of members to assess potential return areas, resulting in returns to Pochalla, Baidit, and Diem Jalab.
  • Managing and administering the award of Mission’s QIPs in support of UNMISS strategic priorities to establish and build community confidence in the Mission and create an improved environment for implementation of the Mission’s mandate, including 50 QIPs projects (2021 – 2022) that support rule of law institutions, basic services, and women’s empowerment.
  • Strengthening government capacity and accountability towards its primary responsibility to protect civilians and administer redesignated protection of civilian sites, through workshops and sessions for government representatives at state, county, payam and boma level, and strengthening early warning mechanisms including community protection networks. 
  • Providing site administration of Malakal protection of civilian site to address physical threats, maintain the site’s civilian character, create conditions within which humanitarian actors can deliver services unimpeded, and advise on integrated response options to address the influx of internally displaced persons and their needs following violent clashes in Upper Nile in mid-2022.
  • Supporting progress towards development of 10 State Action Plans to promote implementation of the National Framework and Action Plan on Return, Reintegration and Recovery, focusing on restoration of basic services and access to livelihoods, operationalization of the state-level task force on solutions in 4 States, and facilitating movement of members to assess potential return areas, resulting in returns to Pochalla, Baidit, and Diem Jalab.
  • Managing and administering the award of Mission’s QIPs in support of UNMISS strategic priorities to establish and build community confidence in the Mission and create an improved environment for implementation of the Mission’s mandate, including 50 QIPs projects (2021 – 2022) that support rule of law institutions, basic services, and women’s empowerment.

The road ahead

PTR will continue to collaborate with Mission components and sections, the UN and Humanitarian Country Teams, development actors, government, civil society organizations and communities and  work to promote joint strategic and complementary initiatives.