Südsudan

As South Sudan enters its extended transitional period this month, the UN’s top envoy to the country has warned that the clock is ticking to accomplish the commitments under a key 2018 peace accord, ahead of a new deadline set for February 2027.

The general elections, initially scheduled for December 2024, have been postponed once again, this time to December 2026. While this extension may seem to provide sufficient time for thorough preparations, two years is, in fact, a very short period to establish the mechanisms and structures needed to minimize election violence and resolve potential conflicts. This is particularly true given the slow progress made in recent years.

South Sudanese authorities have suspended access to social media platforms for a minimum of 30 days after videos depicting the alleged killings of South Sudanese nationals in Sudan's El Gezira state triggered riots and deadly revenge attacks.

Over one million people have arrived in South Sudan, having fled the conflict in Sudan, setting a new record in the ongoing humanitarian and displacement crisis ignited by nearly two years of fighting. … The South Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2025 underscores the increasing pressures on humanitarian organizations as displacement continues to escalate, planning for 337,000 new arrivals in 2025.   

South Sudanese police reported on Monday that 16 Sudanese nationals were killed in unrest last week sparked by allegations of the killing of South Sudanese people in Sudan’s Al Jazirah state.

South Sudan announced early this week its plan to produce at least 90,000 barrels of crude oil per day as the country resumes normal production. This comes after oil supply to international markets were cut off last February because of the ongoing conflict in Sudan. 

Communal violence remains the primary driver of conflict, according to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan’s (UNMISS) latest quarterly brief on violence affecting civilians, exacting a heavy toll on people across the country.

Arbitrary arrests and ensuing detention of civilians remain a serious human rights concern in South Sudan, according to a joint report by the UN Human Rights Office and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). 

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan has commended parties to the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement and holdout groups that did not sign the deal for resuming talks in Nairobi, Kenya, under the Tumaini Initiative.

The head of the UN mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom has urged state Governors to take concrete action to create an open civic and political space so that people can freely participate in preparations for the country’s first democratic elections.