News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

Youth in Aweil are blaming the government and “society” for their high levels of unemployment and for not being allowed to participate sufficiently in peace building and conflict mitigation. Such discouraging circumstances, some of them say, make a significant number of them choose to live on the…

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Council of Ministers has endorsed a request to extend the deadline for the establishment of a Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity by six months. The body noted, however, that the new pre-transitional timeline is “non-renewable”…

“We are totally united in support of the revitalized peace agreement and in support of South Sudan and its people.” That was the message from a high-powered delegation from the United Nations, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development which is making a special journey to…

Women and girls have borne the brunt of the six-year long conflict in South Sudan. Thousands have experienced the threat or reality of abduction, rape, deprivation, displacement and death. Many were forced to flee their homes and are now supporting their families on their own. A peace deal signed…

A high-powered delegation from the United Nations, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development has urged South Sudan’s leaders to make urgent efforts to fully implement the peace deal for the sake of their people. At a press conference in the capital Juba, the delegation…

“I am a woman, a peacemaker and a peacekeeper. That is how I am made.” Many a peer of Catherine Lotto, representing the Young Women Christian Association, seemed to embody that sentiment on this day at the University of Juba. The women, from a variety of civil society organizations dealing with…

“The leadership of South Sudan needs to remember that the people of South Sudan want peace. This is evidenced by this meeting and many like it across the country that I have witnessed,” stated David Shearer, the Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. He did so at a local rapprochement…

Imagine a large, regional referral hospital which does not even have standard, everyday items like disinfectants and antibiotics. UN peacekeepers in Bor did not have to imagine this scenario: they were alerted to this dire reality by local authorities, and they acted. Their massive donation of basic…

“We are looking forward to the day when our army will have a positive image in the outside world, when we have a holistic relationship with our civil population and when South Sudan is no longer on the list of countries that support the recruitment and use of children by armed forces.” Brigadier…

A new public opinion survey has found that 89 percent of South Sudanese believe that it is likely that there will be durable peace in the war-ravaged country by the end of this year. The survey, commissioned by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, asked approximately 2300 people in towns and…

For some, it was a workshop. For others, it was a near-transcendental experience. “We feel empowered, even transformed, by the information received on how to resolve disputes peacefully. We will participate alongside our elders for peace. Only brains work, not weapons,” says Clement Lotao…

A joint team from South Sudan’s government and opposition forces has arrived in South Sudan’s northern town of Bentiu, on a verification mission aimed at removing children from the country’s military ranks. Along with officials from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, representatives of the…