JUBA, 24 December 2024 – More than 90 percent of South Sudanese respondents interviewed during a perception survey commissioned by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) confirmed the importance of elections being held and almost all intended to vote.

The survey, conducted in April and May 2024, interviewed 2,231 people across the 10 states about the economy, security, peace and democracy, civic space and the impact of UNMISS’ activities.

While there is overwhelming support for elections, respondents pointed to obstacles that need to be overcome, including lack of preparations, security, political cooperation, and funding. In addition, 78 percent felt international support is needed for peaceful, free, fair and credible elections to be held.

While 57 percent of respondents believe the media can report freely in South Sudan, 69 percent feel the same freedom does not extend to the public, and 32 percent reported that a member of their household had been intimidated, threatened, arrested or attacked for publicly sharing their views.

“Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. All South Sudanese should be empowered to express their views without fear,” said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS, Nicholas Haysom. “As the country prepares for its first post-independence elections, all stakeholders, including the Government and its agencies, must work to create a safe and inclusive environment so that everyone can freely and fully participate in political, democratic, and nation-building processes.”

The survey also identified significant security concerns, with 53 percent of respondents perceiving South Sudan to be very or somewhat unsafe. Looking at the past five UNMISS surveys, there was a sharp spike in insecurity in 2023 with the number of respondents feeling unsafe rising from 23 to 57 percent. This declined slightly to 52 percent this year but concerns clearly remain.

Asked about future peace, 77 percent felt the situation was likely to either improve (44%) or at least remain the same (33%), while 11 percent said it would worsen. Looking at the trend, optimism about sustainable peace has declined from a high of 92 percent in 2020 to around 77 percent in the past two years.

In terms of UNMISS’ work to support South Sudan, 79 percent of respondents felt the mission was performing much better (24%) or better (55%) in protecting civilians, a 10 percent improvement compared to 2023.  

In addition, 88 percent reported that UNMISS’ work to promote human rights had a significant (32%) or at least a little impact (56%) in preventing violence and abuse of civilians. A similar number (87%) reported UNMISS had made very much (31%) or at least a little difference (56%) in preventing and resolving intercommunal conflict, while 13 percent said it had no impact.

Overall, 84 percent perceived the peacekeeping mission to be performing very (46%) or somewhat well (28%), while 18 percent reported it to be acceptable and one percent poor.