The UN Peacebuilding Commission’s (PBC) ambassadorial-level meeting on South Sudan calls for collaborative approaches towards attainment of sustainable peace through full implementation of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement.

Sustained engagement from the international community, including the United Nations system and regional and sub-regional organizations remains a critical tool in supporting South Sudan’s ongoing national peacebuilding priorities. These were the calls that were made during the UN Peacebuilding Commission’s (PBC) first ever ambassadorial-level meeting on South Sudan on 26 October 2022 that emphasized more sustainable and collaborative approaches towards the full implementation of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement.

In a first of its kind in South Sudan the PBC meeting, whose theme was “Building Peace through Institutions and Governance”, sought to formulate ways through which the UN could further support South Sudan in strengthening its national and local institutions to address the root causes of conflict and develop capacities to deliver services responsive to the needs of the population. The meeting also offered an opportune platform for the government to update the PBC on its peacebuilding efforts, with a specified focus on accountable governance, public finance management and the delivery of public services at the local level.

Over the past four years, South Sudan has achieved significant milestones in its peace process, despite the slow implementation of the revitalized peace agreement, which was extended for two additional years in 2022.The signing of the in September 2018 and the subsequent formation of a unity government in February 2021 marked the end of the pre-transitional period. In 2020, South Sudan undertook accelerated efforts for the implementation of economic reforms in cooperation with the UN system. The two-year Joint Programme was put in place to strengthen public financial management and increase budget allocation to social services in line with the South Sudanese National Development Strategy (NDS).[1] With the NDS up and running 15% of south Sudan’s National Budget should be allocated to social services. With the recent revision of the NDS by the Government of South Sudan the Ministry of Peacebuilding was established – a further refined step towards a sustainable peacebuilding architecture. The Ministry of Peacebuilding leads on polices and provides platforms that support South Sudan’s peace process and strengthen social cohesion. The participation of the Minister for Peacebuilding in the Peacebuilding Commission’s meeting underscores the successful cooperation between South Sudan’s peacebuilding architecture and the UN system.

However, despite this remarkable progress, the country continues to face multiple, and often correlating, socio-economic and political challenges to peacebuilding, including persistent subnational violence, lack of basic public services, mass flooding, conflict-related displacement, and the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges, in addition to delays in the slow and delayed implementation of the Peace Agreement, have heightened vulnerabilities and increased the humanitarian needs of the country, particularly those of women, youth and IDPs. Humanitarian needs have skyrocketed in South Sudan with almost half of the population facing a crisis in food security. In addition to the restrictions that the COVID-19 pandemic poses for economic development the impact of climate change leaves nearly 1.7 million people displaced and more than 2.3. million took refuge in neighboring countries due to a second consecutive year of flooding and failing harvest.[2]

To address some of these challenges, the Commission formulated ways to collaborate with the Government of South Sudan based on the 2022 thematic review on “Supporting financial independence and institutional strengthening of local peacebuilding partners for the sustainability of project results”.

During the PBC meeting on South Sudan, the Vice-Chair of the UN Peacebuilding Commission, H.E. Mr. Jose A. Blanco, and Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations highlighted the critical areas in South Sudan that need support, further reaffirming the UN’s and PBC’s continued partnership.

“The meeting sought to create greater awareness among the international community and Member States of certain concrete and urgent peacebuilding challenges South Sudan is facing in its transition process such as public finance management, service delivery and inclusive governance, peacebuilding architecture, and encourage additional bilateral and multilateral support in the areas discussed in the meeting,” he said.

Since 2018, the UN system, including the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has contributed towards the implementation of South Sudan’s national development priorities and the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development through the United Nations Cooperation Framework (UNCF).

The Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), a key partner of the PBC, has invested a total of $53.1 million in support of the implementation of the R-ARCSS, focusing on a nexus-based approach that prioritizes peacebuilding and governance, food security, social services, gender-based violence, and empowering women and youth. In addition to the PBF, the UN SDG Fund further supports South Sudan in its economic reforms to address public financial management, improve transparency and enhance the mobilization of non-oil revenue sectors.

“South Sudan continues to remain a core focus for the PBC particularly in offering support for the implementation of the benchmarks enshrined in the Revitalized Peace Agreement. This meeting is just one of many that the PBC hopes to engage with South Sudan while also ensuring our activities align to its national priorities,” H.E. Mr. Jose A. Blanco noted.

[1] The Joint Programme 2020-2022 and is supported financially by the Joint UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Fund, UNDP, and UNICEF. It aims to ensure by 2022 a 2% increase in budget allocation to national priorities and social services which work toward the achievement of the SDGs.

[2] United Nations. (December 2021). South Sudan UN Common Country Analysis (CCA). Juba, South Sudan: United Nations.