This thesis focuses on GBV against women and girls in conflict and post-conflict societies with a particular emphasis on South Sudan. It notes that women and girls are disproportionately affected by gender-based violence, and other consequences of war, including displacement and loss of livelihood. The generally weaker social capital that women tend to possess is often a precursor to wanton abuse at the hands of both friend and foe. A United Nations Human Rights Commission situation report on South Sudan, the country has had an incredibly difficult experience for the people who were the victims of conflict as violence has completely eclipsed the rule of law. Women and girls continue to encounter gender-related violence in form of rape, defilement, sexual slavery and very many other human rights abuses such as forced prostitution, domestic violence and sex trafficking. Coupled with this, their needs are undermined and not adequately addressed by duty-bearers and state actors. This is the case despite the availability of national legal provisions that declare the protection of women and girls as a guiding principle. This study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of GBV against women and girls in South Sudan. To achieve this, the study offers an understanding of the nature and architecture of South Sudan as a conflict and post-conflict state, and the causes and contributing factors of GBV against women and girls in South Sudan. It also identifies the consequences and effects of GBV against women and girls in South Sudan and examines the legal framework for the protection of women and girls in South Sudan.   The study engages the feminist framework to place the study into perspective. It argues that the main factors leading to GBV against women and girls stem from the patriarchal nature of South Sudanese culture, which is further evidenced in the institutional structures. The study engages a qualitative research approach that is based on a descriptive analysis to offer a normative reflection on how conflict shapes societal attitudes towards women and girls. Being non-empirical, the study uses a library research method of investigation to incorporate available sources with relevant unpublished sources. The findings show that South Sudan is characterized by divided loyalty to two publics namely formal institutional structures and traditional cultural structures. It indicates that the strong formal and informal patriarchal institutions and practices grounded in violence and misogyny still exist giving men a hegemonic status which promotes aggressive behaviour and devaluation of women whilst serving to legitimize GBV against women and girls and prevent access to justice. The study shows that the prevailing laws in South Sudan are not sufficient to protect women and girls in South Sudan from GBV since many of these laws are enacted and enforced by men who oftentimes are the perpetrators of violence against women and are protected by patriarchal cultural and formal institutions. Finally, the study proposes adopting a human rights approach in an ethnically plural state, institutional reforms, legal reforms and increased resource allocation to GBV prevention.

The question regarding what makes child trafficking persistent in conflict and post-war settings has been subject to intense debate. The human trafficking literature makes general conclusions that trafficking is a by-product of civil wars, and in the process child traffickers exploit the breakdown of the rule of law. As such it is perceived that the governance of the problem of child trafficking can be effective whenever peace and stability is realised and when legal frameworks for protecting children are in place. Prompted by these assertions, I conducted a field study in South Sudan, a country emerging from one of Africa’s longest running and most brutal civil wars fought between the government in Khartoum and Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). The Sudan’s civil wars ended after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005. Whilst the termination of the war raised expectations that the international anti-trafficking conventions, treaties and customary laws protecting children would have enforcement powers and would guarantee the rights and safety of the child, the peace failed to deliver on these expectations. Based on empirical data obtained through an intensive micro-level qualitative research conducted in South Sudan over three months, the research findings reveal that a number of challenges pose serious difficulties in enforcing international counter-trafficking legislations and child protection instruments. These challenges are compounded by the interplay of the emerging socio-economic and political development in the post-independent South Sudan.

The study focuses on the north and south Sudan conflict and seeks to investigate the continuing threats to a return to war between the two parties since the 2005 Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and after the independence of South Sudan. The study critically analyses the CPA and investigates the dilemmas faced by the two Sudans and examines the conflict resolution/transformation process. This thesis relies on data generated from key informant interviews and archival data as primary sources; complemented by secondary sources of data obtained from books, journals, research documents and relevant literature on the area. The study analyses the background of the north-south Sudan conflict, analysis of the CPA, implications of the negotiation, mediation and the implementation processes of the CPA and the referendum, post-referendum, the post-independence issues and the conflict resolution efforts. These are discussed in order to find the reasons as to why the CPA emerged as it did and its effectiveness. The study uses the concept of the conflict resolution/transformation approaches and their methods (mediation, negotiation and peacebuilding), the Galtung ABC theory and the Liberal peace theory as tools to guide the study in order to measure the data collected from the field. The results of the analysis suggest that history, the mediation and the negotiation process viewed to have been narrow and non-inclusive, the content of the CPA itself, the problems of the previous processes before the referendum, the referendum of Southern Sudan and the Abyei referendum failure provided the basis of the origins of the post-referendum and the post-independence issues. These issues are responsible for the dilemmas faced by the two states and eventually the tensions and the threats to a return to war which exist up to the present. All these issues lie at the heart of the difficulties of the conflict resolution process and the relationship problem of North and South Sudan. However, the 2005 CPA had partial success in that it achieved partial negative peace which in turn led to the separation of north and south Sudan.

No description available.

Yes / The civil war in South Sudan raises the all-too familiar problem of the crisis of state formation and nation-building in post-colonial Africa. Based on extensive field research in Sudan and South Sudan between 2005 and 2013, this chapter argues that the international response to post-independence nation-building and post-liberation-war peacebuilding was not predicated on coherent and consistent timing and sequencing. If anything, the case of South Sudan illustrates that the rather inconsistent, uncoordinated post-war peacebuilding and statebuilding, as well as the lack of domestic legitimacy and ownership of the post-liberation-war peacebuilding and nation-building interventions, aggravated the fundamental grievances leading to the outbreak of the December 2013 civil war. What is more, South Sudan demonstrates how events on the ground and the pursuit of the strategic interests of the key national, regional, and international stakeholders framed and determined the nature, scope, timing, and even the sequencing of post-war peacebuilding and nation-building.

Yes / This article examines the key features of state failure that have adversely affected the goal of state-building and peace-building in South Sudan. Drawing on interviews with sections of local and international stakeholders in South Sudan, the article analyses the major areas of state reconstruction and peacebuilding that the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) government has failed to address proactively, areas and issues that seem directly or indirectly linked to the political crisis that started in December 2013 and the relapse into armed conflict. The paper also analyses the recent political developments and ongoing peace process in South Sudan and proffers some complementary policy intervention measures that could be implemented to strengthen the peace process. / This article was made possible through support from the Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) research grant, with funds provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Les programmes de construction de l'Etat soutenus par la communauté internationale depuis la fin des années 1990 dans des contextes d'après-guerre sont souvent considéré ineffectifs. En analysant l'entreprise de state-building au Sud Soudan dans une perspective historique, cette thèse montre comment ces programmes, supposés apolitiques et techniques, s'entrelacent avec le processus de plus longue durée de formation de l'État, avec son caractère cumulatif et négocié. Cette négociation a lieu dans une arène crée par les programmes internationaux dans leurs rencontres avec les acteurs locaux. On se concentre sur trois secteurs d'interventions qui donnent aux 'communautés locales' un rôle très important en tant que sujets avec des droits collectif: la création d'un système de gouvernement décentralisé, la livraison de services publics et la réforme du système foncier. L'administration des droits collectifs à la terre, aux services et à l 'autogouvernement par les autorités traditionnelles comporte un chevauchement entre la sphère coutumière et celle bureaucratique de l'État, ce qui encourage l'ethnicization de la politique Sud Soudanaise. Le développement de politiques et de cadres légaux de ces trois secteurs établit des 'règles du jeu' qui les acteurs aperçoivent devoir respecter dans leurs interactions quotidiennes avec l'État pour accéder à ses ressources. Deux dynamiques émergent par ces interactions : une fragmentation ethnique horizontale, et des liens verticaux de patronage. Les discours sur l'efficience et l'efficace de l'administration définissent donc un sujet communautaire qui produit une repolitisation ethnique du processus de state-building à travers l'appropriation de ces discours pour la part de la population locale des autorités traditionnelles. / State-building programs supported by the international donor community since the end of the 1990s in post-conflict contexts have often been considered ineffective. Analyzing the state-building enterprise in South Sudan in a historical perspective, this thesis shows how these programs, portrayed as technical and apolitical, intertwine with the longer term process of state formation with its cumulative and negotiated character. This negotiation occurs in an arena created by the encounter between international programs and local actors. The thesis will focus on three sectors in which the “local communities” have been given an important role as right­bearing subjects: the local government reform, the delivery of basic services and the land reform. As collective rights to land, services and self-rule are managed by traditional authorities, the customary sphere overlaps with the bureaucratic sphere of the modern state, encouraging the ethnicization of South Sudanese politics. The formulation of laws and policies in these three sectors provides the “rules of the games” influencing local actors' interaction with the state, as they understand them to be necessary to gain access to state resources. Two kinds of dynamics emerge from these interactions: horizontal ethnic fragmentation and vertical patronage relationships. Discourses on administrative effectiveness and efficiency create a communal subject which contributes to re-politicize (and ethnicize) the state­building process through the appropriation of these discourses by local population and their traditional authorities.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-25T12:22:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Jeane Silva de Freitas.pdf: 1197797 bytes, checksum: 363b8ac9901fe26f43c12bd71402c2d9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This dissertation aims to discuss the effectiveness of the mediating role of the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) in solving the conflict in Southern Sudan. We argue that this action mediating impacted considerably in the negotiations between the republic of Sudan and the republic of South Sudan, since: (i) it was established a ceasefire in hostilities between the warring parties, especially in the border regions between the two Sudanese states; (ii) an active effectiveness on the part of the peacekeeping operations of the UN and AU to ensure civilian protection and humanitarian aid in face of escalating violence in the region; (iii) the establishment of the most significant agreements regarding the outstanding issues, especially regarding the creation of a demilitarized zone in Abyei. First, we discussed International Mediation Theory in Post-Cold War Era to clarify its main assumptions, thus considering the importance of mediation in solving international crises, taking as a basis the various types mediators. Then we carried out a descriptive presentation of the case study, the conflict in Southern Sudan, seeking to discuss the implications of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and its subsequent implementation in 2005. In this case, we sought to emphasize issues related to wealth distribution, delimitation of borders and sovereignty of Abyei. Finally, we examined the mediating role of the UN and the AU, as a means of conflict resolution, facing these outstanding issues arising from the CPA in 2011- 2012. To do so, we pointed up its successes and failures in driving this conflict mediation process and the maintenance of peace in warring areas. Given the above, we point the central question of this study: what is the level of effectiveness of the UN and the AU as mediating institutions in building and promoting peace in South Sudan? Before the points raised, we argued that mediation effectiveness could be observed in terms of humanitarian impact on the region, actions issued by the UN Security Council and the African Peace Council in curbing violence in the States of Jonglei and Abyei. Therefore, this dissertation is structured based on qualitative analytical, exploratory and descriptive research on issues of Conflict Resolution, International Mediation, and Regional and International Organizations. / Esta dissertação tem como objetivo debater a efetividade do papel mediador da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) e da União Africana (UA) na resolução do conflito do Sudão do Sul. Argumenta-se que essa atuação mediadora impactou de forma considerável nas negociações entre a república do Sudão e a república do Sudão do Sul, uma vez que: (i) percebeu-se um cessar-fogo nas hostilidades entre as partes beligerantes, especialmente, nas regiões fronteiriças entre os dois Estados sudaneses; (ii) uma ativa efetividade, por parte das operações de paz da ONU e UA, em assegurar a proteção civil e a ajuda humanitária em face da escalada da violência na região; (iii) o estabelecimento de acordos mais significativos em relação às questões pendentes, principalmente no que se referiu à criação de uma Zona Desmilitarizada em Abyei. Discute-se, inicialmente, o estudo com uma compreensão teórica acerca da Mediação Internacional no pós-Guerra Fria visando a esclarecer suas principais premissas. Considerando-se a importância da mediação na resolução de crises internacionais, tomaram-se por base os variados tipos de mediadores. Em seguida, passou-se para a apresentação descritiva do caso prático, o conflito do Sudão do Sul, buscando-se discutir as implicações do Acordo Geral de Paz (CPA) e sua posterior implementação, em 2005. Nesse caso, procuraram-se ressaltar as questões relacionadas à partilha das riquezas, a delimitação das fronteiras e a soberania da região de Abyei. Por fim, analisou-se o papel mediador da ONU e da UA, enquanto meios de resolução de conflitos, frente a essas questões pendentes, resultantes do CPA, no biênio 2011-2012. Para tanto, apontou-se seus acertos e falhas na condução do processo de mediação desse conflito e na manutenção da paz nas áreas beligerantes. Diante do exposto, volta-se para a pergunta central desse estudo: qual a efetividade da ONU e da UA, como instituições mediadoras, na construção e promoção da paz no Sudão do Sul? Frente aos pontos levantados, argumenta-se que a efetividade da referida mediação pôde ser constatada em termos do impacto humanitário no terreno, das ações emanadas pelo Conselho de Segurança da ONU e pelo Conselho de Paz Africano em conter a violência nos Estados do Jonglei e Abyei. Portanto, esta dissertação se estrutura à luz da pesquisa qualitativa-analítica, exploratória e descritiva sobre os temas da Resolução de Conflitos, da Mediação Internacional e das Organizações Regionais e Internacionais.

Internal displacement is one of the most significant challenges in the world today, and violence, conflict, and climate-related disasters have engendered millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) on the globe. Despite this, the IDP-population is a marginalised group on the international agenda and stay primarily under governmental protection and assistance. This makes the adequacy and durability of solutions and governmental management of IDPs crucial. The number of IDPs continues to rise every year, and many nations have evident difficulties in IDP-management, negatively affecting prospects for sustainable peace. Previous research has primarily focused on singular aspects of IDPs and solutions of such. Less has been written in terms of a broader and more comprehensive understanding of government management of internal displacement. Several scholars, researchers, and experts have stressed the urgency to pay more attention to the issue and consider IDPs a concern beyond humanitarian responsibility. This study seeks to increase the understanding of governmental management of IDPs from a broader and more holistic point of view. This by comparing two cases that have faced high numbers of IDPs in a "post-conflict" context (Uganda and South Sudan) and applying the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Framework on Durable Solutions for IDPs as a guide and analytical tool for comparison. The study finds that the governments have managed the situation with similarities and dissimilarities but have both faced difficulties in providing durable solutions and adequate response to IDPs' plight. Accentuated is also the insufficiency of establishing national instruments covering durable solutions when the political will or national capacity is absent. Reflected in the IDP-situations and trajectories examined, the primary obstacles for adequate response and management have been solely or a combination of such. The study also accentuates the interconnection of IDP-management and peace processes. For peace to be sustainable, and for solutions for IDPs to be durable, simultaneous progress of peace processes and IDP-management is crucial.

The relationship between environmental change and violent conflict has increasingly received attention in recent years. Most of the research has focused on fast-onset environmental disasters, rather than slow-moving environmental processes, however. This thesis aims to contribute to filling that gap by assessing the effect of decreasing land productivity on the intensity of violent conflict by theorizing that pastoralists and farmers affected by decreasing land productivity must turn to drastic measures to provide for themselves, increasing the intensity of violent conflict in the process. This is done through a structured, focused comparison that assesses four states in South Sudan, Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Warrap and Lakes in the period of 2014 through 2019. Due largely to the lack of data, no clear and systematic support for the hypothesis or the causal mechanism is found. The thesis suggests that future research should focus on interviewing affected people on the ground or to attempt to study decreasing land productivity through more quantitative methods.