HIGHLIGHTS
UNHCR deploys mobile response team to Wau – Following the June 24 violence in Wau, which displaced more than 12,000 people near the UNMISS base, UNHCR deployed an emergency response team to look into the protection needs of the most vulnerable internally displaced people and plan for targeted assistance, including distribution of sanitary pads to girls and women of reproductive age.
UNHCR distributes ID cards to refugees in Ajuong Thok camp – Nearly 8,500 refugees in Unity’s Ajuong Thok camp have received ID cards bearing the seal of South Sudan’s Commission for Refugee Affairs and UNHCR. Distribution of ID cards will continue throughout July to reach those eligible amongst a population of 39,529.
Thousands of refugee families receive agricultural land in Greater Equatoria – Local authorities and host communities in Lasu and Makpandu settlements began allocating agricultural land to some 2,150 refugee families as part of UNHCR’s intervention to help refugees become more self-reliant.
Ethiopian refugees in Pochalla receive aid supplies – For the first time since 2009, UNHCR carried out a distribution of non-food items for some 625 Ethiopian refugee families in Jonglei’s Pochalla, near the border with Ethiopia.
OPERATIONAL CONTEXT
On 30 June, Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, Eugene Owusu, paid a visit to Wau following the June 24 violence that forced some 12,000 people to seek shelter near the UNMISS base. According to reports, fighting erupted between the Sudan’s People Liberation Army (SPLA) and unknown armed groups, including heavy shelling and small arms fire leading to the death of more than 40 people. As an emergency lifesaving measure, UNMISS opened the gates of the Protection of Civilians (POC) site to allow civilians to enter. Up to 35,000 fled into environs of the town to hide in the bush. On 25 June, President Kiir removed the Governor of Wau, who was subsequently arrested. Humanitarian partners sent in additional team to respond to the situation, including UNHCR. The security situation has improved, but remains volatile. “This is entirely unacceptable. All armed actors must immediately uphold their obligations to protect civilians and ensure that the guns remain silent in Wau,” said Owusu in a public statement.
On 29 June, the South Sudan Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Technical Working Group released its May-July 2016 update, highlighting rising food insecurity and critical malnutrition. As of April 2016, 4.3 million people were estimated to be in Crisis (IPC Phase 3), Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) and require urgent humanitarian assistance, compared to 2.8 million people in the first quarter of 2016 and 3.8 million people during the same period in 2015. In May-July 2016, the number of severely food insecure people is expected to increase further from 4.3 million to 4.8 million in line with seasonal vulnerabilities and the economic crisis, especially in Northern and Western Bahr el Ghazal and Unity.
On 23 June, during the Plenary meeting of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), the Chairperson Festus Mogae expressed concern on the stalemate in negotiations around two key components of the peace Agreement: the proposed Commission on the number of states in South Sudan, and the issue of cantonment sites. President Salva Kiir has yet to sign the resolutions on consensus reached around the issue to date. Mogae highlighted that the work of the National Constitutional Amendment Committee, mandated to discuss the issues of the 28 states, has stalled. The Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism has also faced setbacks, with frequent access denials noted in Yambio, Torit and Juba.
On 23 June, the South Sudan Deputy Central Bank Governor announced that foreign currency reserves in the country are at all-time low. He noted that the current reserves will cover imports for the next five weeks only, which will have the knock-on effect of sharply increasing prices of goods. Meanwhile, the depreciation of the South Sudanese Pound continues since the introduction of the floating exchange rate in December. Celebrations for South Sudan Independence Day on 11 July have also been cancelled due to the dire economic conditions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted recently during their mission in June that “there is a risk of total economic collapse without correcting measures to restore macroeconomic stability.”
UNHCR marks World Refugee Day 2016 – Thousands of people got together in 12 locations across South Sudan -towns, refugee camps, IDP sites- to commemorate World Refugee Day and support the #WithRefugees campaign, including refugees, government representatives, UNHCR and partner organizations staff, donors, media and members of the civil society.