UNMISS ‘ing’ in South Sudan
“They left their tanks, they left their guns, they left their ammunition – they were just running.
There were no peacekeepers in POC (protection of civilian) sites”, recalled an internally displaced person (IDP) who survived the violence that engulfed Juba, the capital of South Sudan from 8-11th July 2016.
Another survivor tells the case of missing blue helmets, “They are here for protection but when the real fighting comes, they run.…It seems that they… don’t understand why people are in the POC sites—that we came here because of government actions of killing people…It is known to everyone what happened here. How can the UN not act? How can they still think that they can work with the government?”
A ‘still born’ nation
The fighting and intense sexual violence that engulfed Juba in July 2016 illustrates the quandary in South Sudan, world’s youngest nation ravaged by war & famine. Five years ago, Juba was a sea of celebration. South Sudan’s independence in 2011 after decades of civil war was feted as the triumph of international diplomacy.
Two years later, a political power struggle between President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and vice president Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer revealed intractable tribalism and ethnic fissures that has brought the people and the country to its knees. This war, Africa’s worst, has imperilled nearly every pillar the young nation’s future rested on: oil production, agriculture, education, transport and most especially unity, which was so proudly on display six years ago.
“Here humans were being treated worse than animals.”
An eyewitness who has requested anonymity recalled his visit to Juba, shortly after the civil war in December 2013, “While moving inside the city I came across the now bombed complex of Reik Machar's house and tanks right outside. Was told that many of his Nuer body guards died while he fled towards the north with as many supporters as possible.”
“At the office, our fuel trucks (some of them had been fired upon while coming back from deliveries to other hinterland states) were being inspected for leakages and the drivers some of them in shock were sharing stories and videos of dead bodies lying on the road. Here humans were being treated worse than animals. Bodies lay on the dirt roads like how we see bodies of cats and dogs on highways and nobody to remove them. It was just pathetic.”, he recollected.
When asked about the state of lawlessness in Juba, the eyewitness said that, “there was and still is a state of lawlessness and with a depleted police presence the city was not very safe specially during night. Whereas before the fighting started going out for dinners was pretty
normal.” His worst experience was he visited his friends in the Indian Army at the United Nations (UN) Tomping base. He recalls, “this sea of rag tag tents with thousands of Nuer's all around, distressed and sheltered in deplorable conditions. There he met his company’s local partner who had taken shelter as he was a Nuer.
“We were able to smuggle him out in a few days to Kenya”, he said. The descent into civil war was sudden and brutal.
‘Lost generation’
According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimate, the war now in its fourth year has led to displacement of 2 million people internally. 1.5 million South Sudanese are seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. The Bidi Bidi refugee settlement in
Uganda is believed to be the world’s second largest. Some 87 per cent of South Sudanese refugees in the region are women and children. Most of the children are separated from their parents and a majority of them are not enrolled in school, creating a ‘lost generation’.
“someone breaking into a mortuary and shooting dead bodies because they do not belong to their own ethnic group”
Ever since the violence that broke out in 2013, the conduct of government of South Sudan & opposing groups suggests deliberate targeting of civilians based on ethnic identity. Recently, a South Sudanese general resigned citing abuses by the security forces against civilians. "Terrorizing their opponents, real or perceived, has become a preoccupation of the government.", he stated in his resignation letter.
Numerous reports prepared by the UN, African Union (AU) & non-governmental organisations about the situation of human rights in South Sudan since 2013 have documented credible allegations of widespread human rights violations which may amount to war crimes. These reports scathingly point out that government forces and non-state armed groups in South Sudan have failed completely in upholding the principle of distinction between combatants, non-combatants, and civilians.
Civilians have been shot in cold blood on the streets, in their homes, while seeking sanctuary in churches & hospitals. Places of refuge have often turned into veritable traps for civilians.
In his testimony to AU Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan (AUCISS), Lt Col Joe Ndahure, Operations and Training Officer of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) recounted a macabre account of, “someone breaking into a mortuary and shooting dead bodies because they do not belong to their own ethnic group”
In South Sudan, a process of ethnic cleansing is underway.
After a visit to the country in November 2016, UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng gave a grim warning to the security council, “Last week, I saw all the signs that ethnic hatred and targeting of civilians could evolve into genocide if something is not done now to stop it.” A warning which he had to renew on 7th February 2017.
“Where were we when the lights flashed red for the people of South Sudan?”
On the morning of 23rd December 2016 at precisely 0933hrs, the members of international community convened in the security council chamber, also known as ‘the most important room in the world’. An enormous mural by Per Krogh that symbolises ‘the promise of future peace and individual freedom’ watches over the members. They had before them a draft resolution which read, ‘Arms embargo’. The council proceeded to vote on the draft resolution before it. A vote was taken by show of hands.
The draft resolution was not adopted. The council had a chance to curb the flow of weapons to South Sudan but instead it took a big gamble that South Sudan leaders will not initiate mass atrocities. Just a few days back, the United States’ ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power had regrettably told the council, “History is going to show what each of us did, where each of us stood, when the sirens were blaring. Where were we when the lights flashed red for the people of South Sudan?”
Yet again, the chamber for peace had failed in promising peace. Yet again, the members of international community have mocked Per Krog’s mural. What, if anything, had the UN learn from the genocide in Rwanda, Srebrenica and chapters past?
Swapping food for arms?
According to a confidential UN report, the government of South Sudan keeps buying more weapons, even as the country has descended into a famine largely caused by Juba’s military
operations. The resulting cataclysmic devastation can be seen in the ruins of razed homes and public buildings, and of course in desolation of once thriving food markets. Over 40% of the country’s population is reduced to being a hunter-gatherer, sometimes surviving just on water lilies for months.
On top of this is the problem of access to humanitarian organisations. Both the government and rebel forces have attacked humanitarian convoys and warehouses, making it difficult to deliver aid to the hardest-hit areas.
“Warehouses that had food, precious seeds & necessary agriculture equipment were looted”
The heavy fighting that erupted in Juba 2016 led to widespread looting in the warehouses of World Food Program (WFP) & Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). “Warehouses that had food, precious seeds & necessary agriculture equipment were looted for over more than three weeks,” points a report by an Independent Special Investigation that looked into the violence and the response of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The lootings continued until the generators, vehicle spare parts, and even metal wires had all been removed.
The report whose only ‘Executive Summary’ is accessible, noted that the peacekeeping force failed to operate as a unified command. In the South Sudan, UNMISS has been repeatedly been caught on the frontlines of active conflict. Artillery, tanks, helicopters have been used, sometimes within meters of the UN compound. During the Juba violence, two Chinese peacekeepers were killed and several others were injured.
Undoubtedly, the mission faces enormous challenges in pursuing its mandate. The mission has been unable to carry out routine patrols in sensitive areas, failing in fulfilling the very reason of its existence in South Sudan. A military official from UNMISS explains this in an interview
to Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), “We have lost our freedom of movement, so there is no way we can actually do protection of civilians”
But.
“When the Mission does conduct patrols, its soldiers peer out from the tiny windows of armoured personnel carriers”, the Secretary General appointed special investigation stated in its executive summary. This risk averse or “inward looking” posture has resulted in a loss of trust and confidence – particularly by the South Sudanese – in the will and skill of UNMISS.
“they were not mandated to take action outside POC sites.”
In addition to patrolling, the peacekeepers have failed to address sexual violence. In one case, the peacekeepers failed in responding to an act of sexual violence that was committed in close proximity to the POC site.
On 17th July 2016, soldiers from Sudan People’s Liberation Army, the army of Republic of
South Sudan assaulted a woman walking on a dirt road near a POC site in Juba. Witnesses interviewed by CIVIC said, “they heard the woman screaming for help as the soldiers dragged her along the road, towards the pedestrian gate.”. Near the gate sits a UN Police guard tower.
Less than 10 meters away, were peacekeepers stationed around an Armoured Personal Carrier
(APC). It seems likely that the peacekeepers saw the abduction right in front of their eyes. At the minimum, they would’ve heard the woman scream.
Peacekeeper’s response?
A humanitarian official told in an interview to CIVIC that, “they were not mandated to take action outside POC sites.”
Responsibility to Protect?
The Rwandan genocide is often cited as the motivation behind the UN’s controversial ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P) resolution, under which if a state manifestly fails its own responsibilities then the international community has the responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian other peaceful means to safeguard human rights.
But today, R2P is trapped in a Catch-22 situation. “At its heart, the problem with R2P is the conflict between principles and realpolitik.”, says Savyasaachi Jain, senior lecturer at Swansea University whose area of expertise includes conflict reporting. He explains this further, “The principles underlying R2P are complicated by issues of legitimacy, the motives of actors, national sovereignty,
geopolitical considerations, the harmful effects of intervention, In reality it is almost impossible to separate the geopolitical interests of actors from their actions.”
“Members of the international community should be willing to lead and take initiative of increasing the mandate of UNMISS. But I don’t think anything will happen until an African country takes the initiative”, says Tonny Brems Knudsen, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University.
The AU seems to be one body with political credibility to take charge. But their role in mediating the crisis in South Sudan seems unlikely. Furthermore, Gorm Rye Olsen, professor at the Roskilde University, whose areas of research includes international politics and foreign policy explains, “the troops contributing African countries have their own agenda and their own interests which may not have anything to do about improving the situation in South
Sudan.” He further says that, “They may also be preoccupied with getting money from donor countries and not least, they contribute troops to reduce international criticism of their domestic human rights abuses”.
Stop the flow
South Sudan is country awash in weapons. An arms embargo now might seem belated but it could help stop a renewed flow of weapons to fragile country.
The UNMISS needs to be proactive, not only reactive.
In order to avoid violence that erupted in Juba 2016, the mission needs to enforce a forward leaning and highly mobile posture. It needs to take a stronger stance in reasserting Mission’s freedom of movement, including by not agreeing to government imposed restrictions. It is
evident that such restrictions endanger lives and paralyse the mission.
The security council should utilize the full spectrum of council member’s authority to address limitations on troop movements.
“How many more clues do we all need to move from our anxious words to real preventative action?”
“The multitribal coalition that won South Sudan from Sudan is long dead.”, says Andrew S. Natsiosjan in his op-ed for The New York Times.
‘South Sudan is not a failed state but a failed transition’, writes Mahmood Mamdani, member of AUCISS. In his op-ed titled, ‘Can the African Union save South Sudan’, he points out that the AU needs to initiate a second transitional process. But as mentioned earlier, this will require a major shift in regional interests - signified by a consensus in the UNSC and the AU.
As I write this feature, critical evidence is being lost every day in South Sudan. As physical evidence degrades and witnesses are killed or disappear, the barbaric acts committed in South Sudan will get covered in a ‘smokescreen’ of inactions. In his address to the security council, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator,
Stephen O'Brien asked the council members, “How many more clues do we all need to move from our anxious words to real preventative action?”
We are bystanders to mass atrocities and genocidal killings in South Sudan. The crucial question is, why?