RSRTF South Sudan
Mitigating underlying conflict factors for stability and improved livelihoods in Southern Unity
GRANT RECIPIENT
World Relief (WR)
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS
International Rescue Committe (IRC), United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Universal Intervention & Development Organization (UNIDOR), Dialogue and Reaserch Initiative (DRI), and Assistance Mission for Africa (AMA)
COVERAGE
42 Payams with estimated population of 269,008. Geographical coverage include; Leer, Mayiendit and Panyijiar Counties and hotspot locations in Mayom and Koch Counties as well as neighbouring counties in Lakes State (Rumbek North and Yirol East)
BUDGET
US$ 10,000,000
Duration
August 1, 2024 - July 30, 2027
DESCRIPTION
Southern Unity can be summarized as a precarious cycles of violence emanating from socio-economic and political isolation and marginalization especially of youth, a weak justice chain and local governance structure and harmful socio-cultural practices that have convoluted into economic hardships and food insecurity. Various efforts have been previously instituted to address these challenges with very minimal success as they have largely employed disintegrated approaches that yield short term results with the community relapsing into violence immediately the interventions cease. The nexus programming of reconciliation, stabilization and resilience is an integrated approach that allows layering of interventions to address the drivers of conflict, building on existing local capacity and exploring contextual peacebuilding enablers to yield the required sustainable change.
THE THREE PILLARS
RECONCILIATION
The overarching objective is to strengthen community-level peace infrastructure to manage conflict related issues, by pursuing an iterative and cumulative process of community engagement, dialogues and inter-connected follow-up activities. The strategy is oriented towards a system that addresses four dimensions: prevention, warning, response and rebuilding. Interventions include establishing and strengthening local mechanism for conflict management; emphasising continuity in the personnel who are taking up roles in the community mechanisms; progressively linking community mechanisms and local government structures; discussing sustainability with the communities and the government.
STABILIZATION
Partners strengthen the rule of law and engage communities and local authorities to make political decision-making more inclusive. The consortium works with women’s and youth groups to formulate peace strategies based on which they advocate for their reconciliation and livelihood needs with the local authorities. Formal and traditional local leaders, on the other hand, participate in capacity building exercises that enable them to deliver better governance outcome. The programme supports alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, particularly to resolve the rising number of land disputes related to the increase in returns. Finally, partners establish Police Community Relations Committees and rehabilitate traditional and civil courts in each of the four target counties
RESILIENCE
Under the pillar, RSRTF will support communities to rebuild their livelihoods and improve their resilience. Interventions will be designed to intentionally strengthen the prospects for peace since experience has shown that immediate and incremental contributions to peace through livelihoods activities are not only achievable in conflict hotspots, but they also represent meaningful contributions to resilience. Enhancing access to livelihoods for youths, particularly, reduces the ability for elites to exploit local grievances and mobilize communities for organised violence. Furthermore, resilience to (conflict) shocks is strengthened when interventions reduce the impact of violence on household and community assets, while simultaneously enhancing access and mobility. Such incremental gains in stability (if not peace) help build a foundation for more expanded efforts to achieve positive peace, through complementary or sequential programming by RSRTF partners and others. The interventions will include Food for Assets, asset developments, livelihood interventions as peace dividends and sources of peace, market linkages, and skills building.
