This Week in South Sudan – Week 37 – Monitoring South Sudan

New report from the Institute for Security Studies (ISS): “How the AU can promote transitional justice in South Sudan”
The Government of South Sudan (GoSS) summoned the U.S. Embassy’s charge d’affaires to formally protest the recent US sanctions against three current and former GoSS officials.
During his recent visit to Juba, the British Minister for Africa, Rory Stewart, appealed to GoSS to take the lead and bring an immediate end to the on-going civil war.
The Minister of Justice, Paulino Wanawilla, presented a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the AU on the establishment of a hybrid court for deliberation in Parliament.

GoSS is considering lifting state subsidies on fuel as a cost saving measure. In 2017, these subsidies are expected to consume USD 183 million from a total of USD 820 million, while USD 453 million is paid in export fees to Sudan.

Floods have reportedly displaced more than 100,000 people in South Sudan. In Bor town at least 1,200 households are affected as houses have been washed away and hundreds of families lack shelter and food.

Wednesday 13 September

The Red Cross halted its operations across the Equatoria region after a staff member was killed on 8 September. The halt in operations affect more than 22,000 people scheduled to receive aid deliveries.
According to a GoSS spokesperson, allowing former SPLA chief of staff Paul Malong Awan to travel out of the country can risk destabilizing the Bahr el Ghazal region.

According to the American Under-Secretary for Political Affairs, Tom Shannon, the countries in East Africa must do more to pressure South Sudan’s political leaders to end the conflict.

GoSS opposes IGAD’s proposal to allow free movement within the East African bloc, saying open borders raise defense concerns.
President Salva Kiir reiterated his unwillingness to let Riek Machar’s return to Juba in any official capacity, saying Machar can only return as a private citizen.
The Guardian, in pictures “Portraits of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda”
LA Times, in-depth coverage of the dangers and violence South Sudanese children face on their often-solitary walk to safety in Uganda.

UNMISS has withdrawn 30 humanitarian aid workers from the Aburoc area, Upper Nile State, following recent clashes.

Al Jazeera on sexual abuse and violations of South Sudanese women: “’Thousands of women raped and assaulted’ in South Sudan”

This Week in South Sudan – Week 37