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South Sudan Situation: UNHCR Regional Update (1-31 December 2018)

Countries
South Sudan
+ 6 more
Sources
UNHCR
Publication date
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2,276,984
South Sudanese refugees in the region as of 31 December 2018 (pre- and post-Dec 2013 caseload).

3,619
South Sudanese refugee arrivals in December 2018.

291,824
Refugees in South Sudan and 1.87 million IDPs including 194,916 in UNMISS Protection of Civilians sites.

KEY INDICATORS

4.62 million
persons of concern (South Sudanese refugees in the region; South Sudanese IDPs and refugees in South Sudan)

63%
of the South Sudanese refugee population are children (under the age of 18 years old)

2,677,400
2018 Regional RRP Planning figure for the total South Sudanese refugees projected in the region by 31 December

Regional Highlights

  • On 18 December, the 2019-2020 Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) for the South Sudan situation was jointly launched by the Regional Refugee Coordinator and Special Advisor (RRC/SA) to the High Commissioner for Refugees for the South Sudan situation, Arnauld Akodjenou, the Director General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON), Hannah Teteh, the Deputy Special Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Alain Noudéhou, the IGAD South Sudan Office, ICVA, and South Sudanese civil society. The 2019-2020 RRRP encompasses 92 operational partners and has financial requirements of 2.7 billion USD $ to address Africa’s largest displacement crisis.

  • The influx from South Sudan into the six asylum countries is ongoing, and in 2018, there have been a total of 107,496 South Sudanese new refugee arrivals to the region. This represents a marked reduction of 84 per cent (561,065 individuals) in comparison with 2017 with some 668,192 new arrivals.

  • On 3rd December, the Secretary-General António Guterres condemned a series of brutal sexual assaults perpetrated against women and girls travelling on the road to Bentiu, a town in the Unity region, north of South Sudan. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict, Pramilla Patten highlighted that in 2018, a clear and alarming increase in the number of cases and victims of conflict-related sexual violence was documented. The number of victims in 2018 reached 1157, making it the highest number recorded in the last three years.

  • Despite the signature of the peace agreement (R-ARCSS) by South Sudan and an improvement of the security situation in parts of the country (with exceptions) the human rights situation remains dire, especially for women and children. Thomas Cirillo Swaka leader of National Salvation Front (NAS) has rejected the revitalized peace agreement and made pronouncements that his movement were not committed to the ceasefire in South Sudan.