South Sudan, 15 years on: Still fighting for peace

Juba, South Sudan – As South Sudan marks 15 years of independency connected July 9, hopes that accompanied the commencement of the world’s youngest state successful 2011 person fixed mode to a fragile reality.

After decades of conflict for self-determination and a agelong civilian warfare with Sudan, the state descended into its ain struggle betwixt 2013 and 2018, a warfare that researchers estimation killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Although the 2018 Revitalised Agreement connected the Resolution of the Conflict successful South Sudan (R-ARCSS) mostly ended the fighting, analysts and humanitarian agencies accidental implementation has stalled, leaving galore South Sudanese questioning erstwhile the dividends of independency volition yet scope them.

“Basic services specified arsenic healthcare and cleanable h2o stay severely limited. They person go a privilege alternatively than a right,” Sabila Sebit, an activistic from Western Bahr el Ghazal State, told Al Jazeera.

She said ongoing localised and intercommunal unit continues to undermine regular beingness successful galore parts of the country.

“Peace and information stay large concerns owed to ongoing localised and intercommunal unit affecting astir each state. Establishing lasting bid is captious truthful that families tin unrecorded safely and proceed with their regular lives,” she said.

Sebit besides said the 35 percent affirmative enactment quota for women nether the R-ARCSS has yet to beryllium afloat implemented, portion authorities aimed astatine advancing women’s rights remains pending.

‘Persistent challenges’

South Sudan’s challenges see the “rise of intercommunal violence, revenge attacks, cattle raiding and the continuous sidesplitting of civilians by chartless gunmen”, women’s rights activistic Zabib Musa Loro Bakhit told Al Jazeera.

Bakhit said conflict-related intersexual violence, aboriginal marriage, onshore grabbing and worsening economical hardship person near galore communities struggling with hunger and without capable authorities support.

A caregiver from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) tends to a young unfortunate of gunshot wounds astatine Ganyiel Primary Healthcare Facility successful Ganyiel, South Sudan [Handout/ICRC]

For Thomas Batista Balash, a nonmigratory of Juba, the day is simply a infinitesimal for reflection alternatively than celebration.

“On the 15th anniversary, I bespeak connected our travel with a idiosyncratic position that acknowledges some our important strides and persistent challenges,” Balash told Al Jazeera.

He said corruption, tribalism and anemic institutions proceed to undermine progress, making nationalist healing and reconciliation indispensable for unity.

Across South Sudan, galore citizens proceed to grapple with soaring inflation, unemployment, unpaid public-sector salaries and constricted entree to education, healthcare and cleanable water.

Humanitarian needs deepen

Humanitarian agencies look mounting unit arsenic conflict, clime shocks and the accomplishment of much than 1.2 cardinal returnees and refugees fleeing the warfare successful neighbouring Sudan deepen already terrible needs.

“We’re seeing increasing request for trauma services arsenic warring intensifies,” Kieran Seager, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) successful Juba, told Al Jazeera. “In the archetypal six months of 2026, we conducted 266 aesculapian evacuations, 50 percent much than successful the aforesaid play past year.”

Many of those patients were transferred to Juba Military Hospital, which Seager said is operating beyond capacity.

A caregiver treats a gunshot coiled unfortunate astatine Juba Military Hospital aft the diligent was evacuated from Ganyiel to Juba by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) [Handout/ICRC]

The ICRC provides surgical treatment, physiotherapy and intelligence wellness and psychosocial enactment for weapon-wounded patients, but Seager said humanitarian entree remains hard due to the fact that of insecurity, mediocre infrastructure and seasonal flooding.

“Humanitarian backing is simply not keeping gait with the standard of needs successful South Sudan,” helium said. “As South Sudan marks 15 years of independence, sustained donor enactment is needed to forestall further deterioration of an already fragile situation.”

Peace process nether strain

The 2018 bid statement remains “the astir viable model for achieving lasting bid and stability”, James Boboya Edimond, main enforcement serviceman of the Institute of Social Policy Research, told Al Jazeera, though implementation has been acold slower than expected.

“Recent assessments bespeak that little than 25 percent of the provisional statement has been implemented,” Edimond said.

He noted that delays successful information assemblage reforms, including the verification and deployment of unified forces, proceed to undermine the transition. He besides cited anemic institutions, fiscal constraints, constricted section authorities capableness and continuing displacement arsenic large obstacles to lasting peace.

Localised conflicts, peculiarly successful Upper Nile and Jonglei states, proceed to substance displacement, humanitarian needs and nationalist distrust successful authorities institutions.

South Sudan is scheduled to clasp its archetypal post-independence elections connected December 22, 2026. Edimond said the polls should beryllium viewed arsenic portion of a broader antiauthoritarian process alternatively than an extremity successful themselves.

“Credible elections beryllium connected the afloat implementation of the bid agreement, completion of the constitution-making process, a unafraid governmental situation and capable civic and elector education,” helium said.

Government officials, however, accidental extending the transitional play was indispensable to implicit outstanding provisions of the bid agreement. They reason that stableness is gradually improving successful galore parts of the state portion acknowledging that important challenges remain.

For galore South Sudanese, those assurances connection small comfortableness arsenic economical hardship, insecurity and displacement proceed to specify regular life.

Fifteen years aft independence, South Sudan remains caught betwixt the committedness that inspired its commencement and the realities faced by its people. The country’s aboriginal volition beryllium connected whether governmental leaders tin determination beyond competing interests and present the bid and stableness citizens person agelong awaited.

“The systematic issues of corruption and tribalism are hindering our advancement and creating inequality wrong institutions,” Balash said, noting that “National healing and reconciliation are indispensable for unity among the divers components of our society.”