Background

Under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed on 9 January 2005 by the government of Sudan and the southern-based rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), a referendum on self-determination for the south was held in January 2011. The final result of the referendum, announced by the South Sudan Referendum Commission on 7 February 2011, was a near-unanimous vote for the South’s secession from northern Sudan. The Republic of South Sudan became an independent state on 9 July 2011.

Policy

The Republic of South Sudan has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. The 2005 CPA incorporated previous agreements between the government of Sudan and the SPLM/A that explicitly prohibit use of all landmines.[1]

In June 2011, the chair of the Southern Sudan Mine Action Authority, Brigadier Jurkuch Barach, said that once the government of South Sudan is established “we fully intend to join ‘Ottawa’ as soon as we are able and will endeavour to adhere to its principals and obligations.”[2] At the same time, a UN official informed the CMC that the Mine Ban Treaty has been identified by the Southern Sudan Mine Action Authority as a priority for the new government of South Sudan to join.[3]

Production, Transfer, Stockpiling

The SPLM/A stockpiled and used antipersonnel landmines in the past.[4] It is not believed to have produced the weapon and no information is available on past transfers.

Use

While the Monitor has not been able to do an independent investigation, it appears that new mine-laying has occurred in South Sudan during the reporting period. However, it is difficult to determine who is responsible for new mine-laying and the extent to which antipersonnel mines, as opposed to antivehicle mines, were being laid. A variety of actors in different locations have been accused of mine-laying, including in the states of Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile. There have also been reports of new landmine use in South Kordofan state in Sudan, which is home to many communities from South Sudan.[5]

In June 2011, Brigadier Jurkuch Barach expressed concern at new civilian deaths from what he stated were newly-laid antipersonnel mines and antivehicle mines. Barach said that the government of South Sudan “condemns any use of indiscriminate weapons of war” and accepts “how vital the mine ban is.”[6]

In June 2011, the chief executive of the landmine clearance company Mechem, which is part of Denel, told media, “The border area [between the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan] has become very dangerous. Rebels and breakaway groups are laying landmines around their camps and then moving on, leaving a minefield for local residents.”[7] A UN Mine Action Office in Sudan (UNMAO) officer told media that evidence indicates rebel militia groups are laying mines and said, “We’ve seen an increase in mine incidents and mine accidents over the past six months or so and in many areas we think there are a lot of alleged cases of re-mining. We can’t prove it because we haven’t seen it but anecdotal evidence indicates that these are newly laid, not old mines.”[8]

In March 2011, the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) Regional Coordinator for Southern Sudan told media that forces loyal to George Athor, a former deputy chief of staff of the SPLA, had used mines in northern Jonglei state.[9] Athor’s forces launched an armed rebellion against the Government of Southern Sudan in the aftermath of the April 2010 elections. Athor subsequently formed a breakaway movement, the South Sudan Democratic Movement/South Sudan Army (SSDM/A). The SPLA states that several of their soldiers became casualties to antipersonnel mines in the Korwai area between March and May 2011.[10] In February 2011, SPLA spokesperson Philip Aguer told media that Athor’s forces were “planting land mines.”[11] According to the SPLA, “two army trucks were blown up by land mines near the town of Fangak in Jonglei state.”[12]

A UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) security briefing issued in May 2011 noted, “According to UNDSS [UN Department of Safety and Security] reports on 13 May, three commercial vehicles (one fuel and two water tankers) hit landmines along the Bentiu-Tharjat road, close to the Guit junction” in Unity state and “two more people stepped on landmines while trying to rescue the wounded drivers.”[13] The mines were alleged to have been laid by forces loyal to Peter Gadet, a former SPLA general and now head of a new armed group in Unity State, the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA).[14] The SSLA denied the use allegation and stated that it did not have any forces in the area and has not used antipersonnel mines since armed conflict started in May “because it is the violation of international laws which outlawed their use.” The SSLA blamed the SPLA for the antipersonnel mine use.[15] In August 2011, at least five civilians were killed and many more injured in two antivehicle mine incidents blamed on rebels.[16]

In Unity state, five people were killed and 21 seriously injured in two separate antivehicle mine incidents on 20–21 August 2011. The governor of Unity state condemned the mine use, which it said was carried out by rebels led by James Gai Yoach, who have broken away from SSLA following Commander Peter Gadet’s acceptance of a cease-fire agreement with the government of South Sudan.[17]

In April 2011, an antipersonnel mine was found in Malakal in Upper Nile state. It is unknown who laid it, but there has been conflict in the area between the SPLA and a Shilluk armed group under Commander Olony, another rebel SPLA officer.[18]

In June 2011, the ICBL expressed concern at “alarming reports” of new landmine use by rebel groups in South Sudan and encouraged Mine Ban Treaty States Parties to “stay vigilant.”[19]

Background

Under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed on 9 January 2005 by the government of Sudan and the southern-based rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), a referendum on self-determination for the south was held in January 2011. The final result of the referendum, announced by the South Sudan Referendum Commission on 7 February 2011, was a near-unanimous vote for the South's secession from northern Sudan. Southern Sudan became an independent state on 9 July 2011 and is officially called the Republic of South Sudan. Please see the separate entry for the Republic of Sudan in Cluster Munition Monitor 2011.

Policy

The Republic of South Sudan has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

The Monitor is not aware of any statements regarding cluster munitions from officials representing the Republic of South Sudan. In June 2011, the chair of the Southern Sudan Mine Action Authority, Brigadier Jurkuch Barach, said that the government of South Sudan fully intends to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. A UN official informed the CMC in June 2011 that the Convention on Cluster Munitions is one of four international treaties identified by the Southern Sudan Mine Action Authority as a priority for the new government of South Sudan to join.[1]

Production, Transfer, Stockpiling, Use

The Monitor has no indications of any past production, export, use, or stockpiling of cluster munitions by the SPLM/A. 

Numerous independent sources have documented the presence of cluster munitions remnants that indicate that Republic of Sudan forces sporadically used air-dropped cluster munitions, including Chilean-made PM-1 submunitions, in southern Sudan between 1995 and 2000.[2] Landmine Action photographed a Rockeye-type cluster bomb with Chinese-language external markings in Yei in October 2006. Additionally, clearance personnel in Sudan have identified a variety of submunitions, including the Spanish-manufactured HESPIN 21, United States-produced M42 and Mk-118 (Rockeye), and Soviet-manufactured PTAB-1.5.[3]

Cluster munition remnants

Since 2006, 519 sites containing cluster munition remnants have been identified in six states in South Sudan. As of June 2011, the number of uncleared sites had been reduced to 34, of which 28 (more than 80%) are in Central and Eastern Equatoria states.[4]Cluster munition remnants have been found in residential areas, farmland, pasture, rivers and streams, on hillsides, in desert areas, in and around former military barracks, on roads, in minefields, and in ammunition storage areas.[5]

No. of cluster munition contaminated areas in South Sudan as of June 2011[6]

Casualties

No casualties from cluster munition remnants were identified in South Sudan in 2010 or in the first half of 2011. However, given that devices are not adequately differentiated in casualty data, it is possible that casualties from cluster munition remnants were among those recorded as caused by explosive remnants of war (44) and unknown explosive items (27), which together made up 87% of all casualties in 2010.[7]

Through July 2011, the UN Mine Action Office (UNMAO) reported a total of 64 casualties from cluster munitions in South Sudan, all of which occurred in 2009 or before.[8] No further details were available.

Contamination and Impact

On 9 January 2011, 99% of those polled in South Sudan voted in favor of independence.[1] As a result of this referendum, South Sudan formally declared its independence on 9 July 2011 becoming the world’s 196^th State. Based on data from December 2010, the 11 states that comprise South Sudan contain 830 hazardous areas (HAs), of which 567 are dangerous areas (DAs),[2] 68 are confirmed mined areas, and 195 are suspected hazardous areas (SHAs).

Contamination in the 10 states that comprise South Sudan as of December 2010[3]

Mines

Contamination across mined areas in South Sudan includes both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines. Since the referendum, armed violence has increased in South Sudan and new use of mines has been reported, including 16 incidents of explosions of antipersonnel and antivehicle mines from mid-November 2010 to mid-May 2011 in Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile states. According to Tim Horner, the director of the UN Mine Action Office (UNMAO) in South Sudan, the evidence indicates that rebel militia groups are laying mines.[4]

Sudan’s Mine Action Sector Multi Year Plan 2010–2014, based on data in 2010, assumes that 750 new DAs will be identified over the five-year period and that from these new DAs approximately 106 will be confirmed as mined areas. During the Landmine Impact Survey, large parts of Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile states were inaccessible because of security, marshlands, or inclement weather.[5]

Cluster munition remnants

Since 2006, 519 sites containing cluster munition remnants have been identified in six states in South Sudan. As of June 2011, 34 sites were still open, of which 28 (more than 80%) are in Central and Eastern Equatoria states.[6]Cluster munition remnants have been found in residential areas, farmland, pasture, rivers and streams, on hillsides, in desert areas, in and around former military barracks, on roads, in minefields, and in ammunition storage areas.[7]

No. of cluster munition contaminated areas in South Sudan as of June 2011[8]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

The mine action structure in Sudan was to undergo major changes on 9 July 2011, especially in the north. The Government of South Sudan has requested that the UN Mine Action Service continue providing support after independence.[9]

Casualties Overview

In 2010, the Monitor identified 82 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties in South Sudan.[1] Children made up the majority of all casualties (43) and 57% of civilian casualties, with boys being the single largest casualty group (36). There were a total of 17 female casualties: seven girls, six women, and four of unknown age. Casualties were identified in all three regions of South Sudan and in seven of its 10 states.[2] The greatest number of casualties occurred in the state of North Bahr el Ghazal (30) followed by Upper Nile state (20): both of these states border Sudan.

Casualties included six deminers, two of whom were killed and four injured, in four separate accidents during demining operations. Two deminers were British nationals, one of whom was killed and the other injured; information on the nationality of one injured deminer was not available.[3]

No casualties from cluster munition remnants were identified in South Sudan in 2010. However, given that devices are not adequately differentiated in casualty data, it is possible casualties from cluster munition remnants were among those recorded as caused by ERW (44) and unknown explosive items (27), which together made up 87% of all casualties in 2010.

The 82 casualties identified in 2010 are more than double the 38 casualties recorded for 2009.[4] The increase can be attributed to a number of factors, including the increased movement of people, as South Sudanese returned to South Sudan to vote in the January 2011 referendum on South Sudan’s accession from Sudan, and increased violence in relation to the future accession.[5]

In the first six months of 2011, there continued to be numerous casualties reported, at least partly related to suspected new mine use in the Greater Upper Nile region. In Unity state, within the Greater Upper Nile region, there were six mine/ERW incidents recorded in the first two weeks of May alone, forcing international aid groups in the area to cease operations.[6] The UN Mine Action Office (UNMAO) indicated that there were in fact fewer mine/ERW incidents in the first six months of the year as compared to the first six months of 2010, but more casualties from each incident. Two incidents involved five children in each and a single incident in West Bahr el Ghazal resulted in more than 20 casualties.[7]

There were 4,283 casualties (1,226 killed; 3,057 injured) recorded by UNMAO in South Sudan for the period from 1964 to December 2010. Of the total, 3,076 or 72% were male and 583 were female; the gender was not specified for 624 casualties[8]. There are thought to be many more casualties that have not been recorded; however, due to the lack of a comprehensive casualty survey this was not possible to confirm.[9]

UNMAO reported 64 casualties from cluster munitions in South Sudan, all of which occurred in 2009 or before.[10] No further details were available.

Victim Assistance

As of December 2010, 3,057 mine/ERW survivors were identified in South Sudan, of those for whom the gender was known 2,282 were male and 402 were female.[11] It is estimated that there are a total of 50,000 victims including survivors, their families, and the families of people killed by mines/ERW.[12]

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2010, survivor data in South Sudan was described as “ad hoc” and not reflective of “the comprehensive situation on the ground.” The country lacked a national casualty database and an injury surveillance system, though there were plans to develop a database by the end of 2011. Survivor needs assessments carried out in Juba and in Upper Nile state in October and November 2010 were designed to help address the lack of information on the human impact of mines and ERW.[13] The needs assessment in Juba collected and confirmed data on 238 survivors and was carried out by the South Sudan Demining Authority (SSDA). The South Sudan Disabled Persons Association (SSDPA) in Upper Nile state collected raw data on 1,188 survivors; as of February 2011, the collected data was still being confirmed.[14]

Victim assistance coordination[15]

In 2010, the Victim Assistance Working Group continued to hold monthly meetings, chaired by the MGCSW, co-chaired by the SSDA and facilitated by UNMAO. Participants included government ministries, disabled persons’ organizations, NGO service providers, and other stakeholders. The meetings provided a forum to share information about victim assistance activities and to track the implementation of the National Victim Assistance Strategic Framework 2007–2011.[16]

In 2011, MGCSW began a process to develop a national disability policy for South Sudan, in anticipation of its accession in July 2011. Consultations were held with Ministries, representatives of the Ministry of Social Development from each of South Sudan’s 10 states and with disabled persons’ organizations to provide input to a draft policy. These meetings were also used to lay the groundwork for the quick signing and ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in anticipation of the newly independent country.[17]

Throughout 2010, the Victim Assistance Working Group continued to implement the National Victim Assistance Strategic Framework 2007–2011. It was expected that the Working Group, with support from UNMAO, would begin to develop a new national victim assistance plan specific to South Sudan during 2011.[18]

Prior to July 2011, South Sudan was not yet an independent country and thus updates on progress and challenges in implementing victim assistance in the region of South Sudan were included in the statements made by Sudan at the Tenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in December 2010 and at the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in Geneva in June 2011.[19] In addition, an informal statement prepared by South Sudan was distributed at the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in Geneva in June 2011.[20] Updates from South Sudan were included in Form J of Sudan’s Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2010.[21]

Survivor Inclusion

Persons with disabilities and their representative organizations were included in the Victim Assistance Working Group and in the process to develop a national disability policy. In 2010, there were no associations of mine/ERW survivors in South Sudan and it was reported that funding was needed to develop such associations and strengthen the capacity of existing disabled persons organizations.[22] Disabled persons organizations were involved in implementing survivors’ needs assessments and income-generating activities.[23]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2010[24]

In 2010, numerous victim assistance activities continued to be implemented but were insufficient to meet the needs of the population.[25] The increasingly difficult security situation, along with insufficient transportation and poor road conditions, made access to all services difficult for the majority of survivors, who were based outside of Juba.[26]

The capacity to provide emergency medical care and the emergency response system were considered inadequate in 2010.[27] During the year, the ICRC worked to improve emergency care through trainings in first-aid and war surgery skills, distributed needed materials, and added a mobile surgical team to its staff.[28]

As in previous years, transportation to either of the two physical rehabilitation centers proved the greatest obstacle to accessing services for survivors. Survivors in very remote areas were generally unaware that rehabilitation services existed or how to access them.[29] Access was further hindered by increasing levels of violence.[30] In 2010, efforts made to increase access included the development of a referral system by the ICRC, ad hoc transportation assistance provided by the World Food Program, and a resolution that each of South Sudan’s 10 states provide the necessary transportation to survivors in their states.[31] Decreased production at the Rumbek Rehabilitation Center, due to a lack of funding, and insufficient mobility devices limited the availability of rehabilitation services.[32]

Psychological support and social inclusion initiatives, including peer-to-peer support were very limited in 2010 and completely absent outside of Juba.[33] Six economic inclusion projects targeting survivors, mainly focused on vocational training and income-generating activities, were underway in 2010, coordinated through UNMAO and implemented by local NGOs.[34] However, this was insufficient compared to the needs of mine/ERW survivors.[35]

South Sudan lacked laws and policies to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors.[36] Signing of the CRPD was a priority for the MGCSW and other members of the Victim Assistance Working Group following the independence of South Sudan.[37]