https://en.sputniknews.africa/20240705/uk-led-crsv-initiative-falls-short-in-south-sudan-minimal-funding-support-provided-report-shows-1067388100.html
UK-Led CRSV Initiative Falls Short in South Sudan: Minimal Funding, Support Provided, Report Shows
UK-Led CRSV Initiative Falls Short in South Sudan: Minimal Funding, Support Provided, Report Shows
Sputnik Africa
In 2014, London hosted the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, attended by 1,700 delegates and delegations from 123 countries, including 79... 05.07.2024, Sputnik Africa
2024-07-05T18:14+0200
2024-07-05T18:14+0200
2024-07-05T18:30+0200
south sudan
united kingdom (uk)
united nations (un)
rape
crime
crimes against humanity
justice
funding
humanitarian aid
east africa
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A Guardian investigation found that despite UK-led commitments to end conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), South Sudan received minimal funding and support for change while high-profile perpetrators remained in positions of power.South Sudan was deemed a priority due to its escalating civil war and high levels of sexual violence, which led to UN intervention. However, documents show it was largely overlooked by the UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI), which gave South Sudan only £10,000 over five years, according to the report.In 2022, a new strategy was launched, with the UK pledging £12.5 million over three years and South Sudan again identified as a priority. Yet a 2023 UN assessment found that wartime sexual violence in South Sudan has worsened.Local organizations in Juba reported not receiving any PSVI funds directly. Only one project in South Sudan received £331,500 over three years, the investigation revealed. It also emerged that the 2022 PSVI London summit cost £4.2 million, with £179,218 spent on food and £471,340 on transport and hotels.While PSVI aims to stop armed men from committing rape, no experts visited South Sudan in 2022 or 2021; one expert visited in early 2023. Despite UK sanctions against two South Sudanese officials for CRSV, neither has been prosecuted, the Guardian wrote.Moreover, CRSV is still not a specific crime in South Sudan, complicating efforts to hold military figures accountable. Advocates argue that PSVI's main achievement is raising awareness of CRSV, reflecting broader issues in global humanitarian aid, where less than 1% of aid spending targets gender-based violence.However, a UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson reportedly claimed that 14 CRSV perpetrators had been sanctioned since 2022. The FCDO is also working on a three-year project in South Sudan to reduce stigma and improve access to justice and medical care for survivors.Sources told the media outlet that PSVI funding in South Sudan has also supported the UN and the Global Survivors Fund, which is expected to start projects in the country.South Sudan entered the global political landscape in 2011, when the vast majority of participants in the referendum on self-determination for South Sudan voted to secede from the northern region of the country.In 2013, conflict erupted in South Sudan between members of the dominant Dinka nation, to which President Salva Kiir belongs, and the Nuer tribe, represented by former Vice President Riek Mashar. In September 2018, Kiir and Mashar signed a peace deal in Ethiopia. However, fighting persists in various regions of the country due to the fact that certain rebel opposition groups have not ratified the agreement.
https://en.sputniknews.africa/20240517/south-sudanese-government--opposition-sign-declaration-on-achieving-sustainable-peace-1066593079.html
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south sudan, united kingdom (uk), united nations (un), rape, crime, crimes against humanity, justice, funding, humanitarian aid , east africa, conflict
UK-Led CRSV Initiative Falls Short in South Sudan: Minimal Funding, Support Provided, Report Shows
18:14 05.07.2024 (Updated: 18:30 05.07.2024) In 2014, London hosted the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, attended by 1,700 delegates and delegations from 123 countries, including 79 ministers. It made important calls to end sexual violence in conflict zones, with particular attention paid to South Sudan.
A Guardian investigation found that despite UK-led
commitments to end conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), South Sudan received minimal funding and support for change while high-profile perpetrators remained in positions of power.
South Sudan was deemed a priority due to its escalating civil war and high levels of sexual violence, which led to
UN intervention. However, documents show it was largely overlooked by the UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI), which gave South Sudan only £10,000 over five years, according to the report.
In 2022, a
new strategy was launched, with the UK pledging £12.5 million over three years and South Sudan again identified as a priority. Yet a 2023
UN assessment found that wartime sexual violence in South Sudan has worsened.
Local organizations in Juba reported not receiving any PSVI funds directly. Only one project in South Sudan received £331,500 over three years, the investigation revealed. It also emerged that the 2022 PSVI London summit cost £4.2 million, with £179,218 spent on food and £471,340 on transport and hotels.
While PSVI aims to stop armed men from committing rape, no experts visited
South Sudan in 2022 or 2021; one expert visited in early 2023. Despite UK sanctions against two South Sudanese officials for CRSV, neither has been prosecuted, the Guardian wrote.
Moreover, CRSV is still not a specific crime in South Sudan, complicating efforts to hold military figures accountable. Advocates argue that PSVI's main achievement is raising awareness of CRSV, reflecting broader issues in global humanitarian aid, where less than 1% of aid spending
targets gender-based violence.
However, a
UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson reportedly claimed that 14 CRSV perpetrators had been sanctioned since 2022. The FCDO is also working on a three-year project in South Sudan to reduce stigma and improve access to justice and medical care for survivors.
Sources told the media outlet that PSVI funding in South
Sudan has also supported the UN and the Global Survivors Fund, which is expected to start projects in the country.
South Sudan entered the global political landscape in 2011, when the vast majority of participants in the referendum on self-determination for South Sudan voted to secede from the northern region of the country.
In 2013, conflict erupted in South Sudan between members of the dominant Dinka nation, to which President Salva Kiir belongs, and the Nuer tribe, represented by former Vice President Riek Mashar. In September 2018, Kiir and Mashar signed a peace deal in Ethiopia. However, fighting persists in various regions of the country due to the fact that certain rebel opposition groups have not ratified the agreement.
