South Sudan: Grave Violations Against Children Declined Following Revitalized Peace Agreement and UN Engagement with Parties, But More Remains to Be Done
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New York, 11 January 2021 – Encouraging signs of progress are reflected in the third report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict in South Sudan released today. Covering a period of nearly two years (July 2018 – June 2020), the report highlights the significant decrease of violations against children since the signing of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of SouthSudan (R-ARCSS) in September 2018. Nevertheless, the situation remains concerning and numerous challenges still need to be addressed for the protection of children affected by the ongoing conflict.
South Sudan: Humanitarian Snapshot (December 2020)
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People continued to reel from the impacts of flooding which affected over 1 million people in 2020. Physical access to the hardest-hit Jonglei and Greater Pibor Administrative Area remained challenging, deepening people’s vulnerabilities. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report estimated that 5.8 million people, almost half of the population, were likely to face Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse acute food insecurity in December, an increase by over 1 million from the same time last year. This included about 11,000 people likely to be in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) acute food insecurity in Pibor County. Food prices remained high. Sub-national violence and insecurity continued to uproot people. Some 25,000 people fled to Juba due to sub-national violence in Terekeka County, Central Equatoria. In Lainya County, Central Equatoria, some 3,500 people were displaced after the South Sudan People s Defence
UN: Grave violations against children decline, more needs to be done
A new report by the United Nations states that since the signing of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) in September 2018, there has been a significant decrease of violations against children.
However, the report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict in South Sudan released yesterday covering a period of nearly two years (July 2018 – June 2020), cautions that more needs to be done for the protection of children affected by the ongoing conflict.
The report also verified more than 700 grave violations against children across the country, with Central Equatoria state being the most affected region. The violations are attributed to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) and government security forces, including the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF).
South Sudan armed group apologises over arrest of UN staff 17th Dec 2020 | Source: BBC
Armed groups still control various regions in South Sudan
South Sudan s main opposition group, the Sudan People s Liberation Army In Opposition (SPLA-IO), has apologised following a report that its forces had last month arrested UN staff.
The group is a signatory to a 2018 peace agreement that ended six years of conflict and saw its leader, Riek Machar, appointed as vice-president.
Ceasefire monitors on Tuesday reported that the SPLA-IO forces arrested and detained UN staff and civilians at Farajalla village in Western Bahr El-Ghazal State.
Maj Gen Martin Abucha, a SPLA-IO representative, condemned the incident.