Challenges and options for ending South Sudan's civil war
Date: 2014-07-29
Time: 09:00 to 12:30
Venue: Conference room, ISS Addis Ababa
RSVP: Lydia Atomssa
[email protected]
A joint seminar of the Hanns Seidel Foundation and the Institute for Security Studies
Seven months since the start of the brutal civil war in South Sudan, the violence continues unabated. With soldiers from both the government forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) implicated in mass atrocity crimes, the war has claimed over 10 000 lives and displaced 1.5 million people. As the conflict expands to new territories such as Western Bahr el Ghazal, it threatens to engulf the whole of South Sudan and has brought the country to the brink of a catastrophic famine.
Despite several rounds of negotiations and peace agreements brokered by the internationally backed Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediators in Addis Ababa, no major breakthrough has been achieved. There are now fears of total state collapse in South Sudan, which would bring a grave humanitarian crisis and destabilise regional security. A critical question is whether South Sudanese political and military forces are really committed to peaceful settlement. And what are the regional ramifications of a prolonged war in South Sudan? Are current regional and international efforts adequate and what viable options are available for achieving a negotiated settlement in the short term?
Chair: Dr Solomon Ayele Dersso, Head, Peace and Security Council Report, ISS Addis Ababa
Speakers:
- Abdeta Beyen, Chief of Staff, IGAD Mediation for South Sudan (TBC)
- Dr Sunday Okello Angoma, Lecturer and South Sudan Research Coordinator, African Peace and Security Programme, Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS)
- Aly Verjee, Political Advisor, IGAD Mediation for South Sudan
