ReliefWeb

2,239,365 South Sudanese refugees in the region as of 2020 (pre- and post-Dec 2013 caseload).

12,567 South Sudanese refugee arrivals since 1 January 2020.

299,815 refugees in South Sudan of whom 93 per cent are from Sudan.

276,896: Number of South Sudanese refugees who have returned in a self-organized manner (since November 2017)

82% of the South Sudanese refugee population are women and children (under the age of 18 years old)

1.66 million: Number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in South Sudan with 13% inside six UNMISS Protection of Civilians sites

Highlights and Operational Context

• In a presidential decree on 21 February, President Kiir dismissed all members of his government, and appointed Dr Riek Machar as the first vice-president of South Sudan. On 22 February, the formation of the revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) took place with the swearing in of the four vice-presidents. The formation of the R-TGoNU was done amidst continuing discussions on the remaining outstanding issues such as the boundaries of states and administrative areas. The new government follows the ‘Revitalized agreement on the resolution of the conflict in the Republic of South Sudan’ signed in September 2018 by South Sudan’s warring parties. This peace agreement brought hope to the world’s youngest nation, which remains Africa’s largest humanitarian and refugee crisis with 2.2 million South Sudanese refugees and 1.67 million internally displaced. The UN Secretary-General welcomed the establishment of the R-TGoNU and called upon its members to “fully adhere to the letter and spirit of the Agreement,” so that the people of South Sudan can finally realize the benefits of durable peace and stability they deserve.

• The fourth report of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan presented to the 43rd Session of the Human Rights Council in February 2020 found that “deliberate starvation is clearly occurring along ethnic and political lines, in an effort to marginalize dissident communities as well as those too disenfranchised to challenge the status quo because their day-to-day lives revolve around basic survival.” “Officials in the Government of South Sudan are implicated in the pillaging of public funds as well as money laundering, bribery and tax evasion,” said the Commission Chair Yasmin Sooka.