FYI: South Sudan: Urgent Action Needed to Avert Collapse

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----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Refugees International <RefugeesInternational@mail.democracyinaction.org>
To: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2009 10:47:15 PM
Subject: South Sudan: Urgent Action Needed to Avert Collapse

A POWERFUL VOICE FOR LIFESAVING ACTION March 26, 2009 Contacts: Andrea Lari and Melanie Teff Download a PDF of this report SOUTH SUDAN: Urgent Action Needed to Avert Collapse View the entire report at www.refugeesinternational.org. International engagement is urgently needed to rescue south Sudan from the brink of an unfolding crisis. The perilous situation is being ignored amid the focus on the indictment of President Al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court. Approximately two million people have returned to south Sudan since 2005 to extreme poverty. Social services and livelihood opportunities for communities remain minimal while tribal tensions and localized conflicts are on the rise. South Sudan is also facing an economic crisis due to the drop in oil prices, creating the potential for new insecurity. If these threats are not addressed, the implosion of the south will shatter any realistic prospect for peace in Sudan as a whole, including the Darfur region. Policy Recomendations The U.S. Government should urge the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) to devise and fund a reintegration strategy that addresses needs for basic social services and livelihoods. The U.S. and other donor governments should increase funding for reintegration and maintain existing humanitarian funding levels. UNMIS and UNHCR should shift their focus from assisting returns to supporting reintegration activities and protection of returnees. They should also draft and implement a clear protection strategy to make the GoSS more capable of protecting its own people. The U.S. Government should lead the international effort to identify an appropriate emergency package to address the current budget shortfall of the GoSS to avoid security consequences. International NGOs should dedicate resources to women's programs in south Sudan and the Three Areas. Donor countries should support GoSS Ministry of Gender initiatives to protect women's rights and increase funding to the United Nations Population Fund. Melanie Teff, Andrea Lari, and members of Refugees International's Board of Directors assessed the humanitarian situation in south Sudan in February 2009. View the entire report at www.refugeesinternational.org.

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