South Sudan

This research in Jonglei explores how people living in parts of Twic East and Bor counties of South Sudan understand ‘protection’. What do they value, and how do they go about protecting themselves and their families, and communities?

Key Findings

• Aid agencies should focus on their own processes to establish why they have trouble absorbing local priorities.
• If UNMIS is to fulfil its mandate to protect civilians it will only be by understanding the drivers of internal violence and supporting the GoSS to develop the capacity to provide internal security as well as external.
• Livestock security is of particular importance in Jonglei due its social and economic status. Incomplete disarmament and inadequate protection from the government or UNMIS means people are rearming to protect their assets against the cycle of raiding and counter-raiding taking place on a daily basis.

The Government of South Sudan has limited capacity to police the whole country to avoid banditry and local clashes – it is more concerned with nation-building and matters of ‘external’ security. The international community does not have the means to provide local security even if they had the will. Implicitly aid workers shy away from having to be responsible (and accountable) for something as complex as ensuring security, preferring to see ‘protection’ in terms of humanitarian protection rather than the safety and security issues that have been shown to be most relevant to local people in the current research.