In the past months, South Sudan has continued to experience a pattern of failed political negotiations, internal political struggles and economic decline. Coupled with ongoing active hostilities by the parties to the conflict in Greater Upper Nile as well as inter-ethnic violence in other States, this dynamic has perpetuated the existence of a fragile and turbulent protection and security environment for the people of South Sudan.
This report is the fourth in a series of Protection Trends papers prepared by the South Sudan Protection Cluster in close collaboration with the three sub-clusters and other protection actors.2 After providing a brief contextual overview, it discusses selected key trends reported and observed between 1 January and early April 2015: displacement, militarization, gender-based violence, the recruitment and use of children in conflict, protection threats existing inside and outside the UNMISS Protection of Civilians (POC) sites, freedom of expression, the protection situation outside the Greater Upper Nile region, landmines and explosive remnants of war, and issues around humanitarian space. The paper concludes with a number of recommendations for key actors regarding measures that could improve the protection environment and mitigate the effects of ongoing protection threats.
The analysis is based on information received from multiple credible sources, including direct witness testimonies, observations by protection actors, and reports by the media and other public sources. The reported key trends will both inform and challenge future efforts to address the protection concerns of the civilian population in South Sudan.