The Issue

After decades of bloodshed, South Sudan won independence in 2011. However, it soon descended into crisis. Despite having large oil reserves that could fuel a strong economy, South Sudan emerged as one of the world’s least developed countries. Its government was dysfunctional. Political and ethnic rivalries between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar caused the government to effectively collapse in late 2013, plunging the country into a civil war marked by ethnically targeted attacks. 

In the opening months of the conflict, it quickly became clear that the violence could lead to a severe humanitarian crisis. By April 2014, more than one million people had been driven from their homes and, as food shortages grew acute, nearly one-third of the country’s population were at severe risk of starvation.

A UN peacekeeping mission had been present in South Sudan since 2011. After the outbreak of the civil war, the UN Security Council quickly voted to nearly double the mission’s size to nearly 14,000 troops. However, the new crisis still risked escalating beyond what the peacekeeping force was prepared for. Other countries, including members of the UN Security Council, faced pressure to consider launching their own humanitarian interventions to establish or maintain peace and ensure access to humanitarian aid. Such interventions would be guided by the responsibility to protect (R2P) doctrine. R2P was adopted by all member states of the United Nations in 2005 after they failed to prevent a number of genocides. According to this doctrine, countries have a responsibility to intervene in other countries in cases of crimes against humanity or genocide. However, this norm is not legally binding and its use in some cases has been controversial. Still, the underlying principles of R2P could provide a basis for the United States to take action in South Sudan.

Decision Point—Set in May 2014

South Sudan is in its fifth month of civil war. So far, all attempts to reach a ceasefire have quickly failed. Recent reports suggest the war reached a new level of violence after South Sudanese opposition forces took control of the northern city of Bentiu and killed hundreds of civilians there. It seems likely that fighting will continue to escalate, subjecting civilians to more violence and possibly even leading to genocide. At the same time, drought, destruction, and the loss of the agricultural workforce will reduce South Sudan’s already scarce food supplies. The result is predicted to be a humanitarian crisis of historic proportions. 

In this context, the United Nations faces significant pressure to act. Although the Security Council has passed a number of resolutions concerning the civil war and reinforced existing UN peacekeeping forces on the ground in South Sudan, analysts are questioning whether the UN response is sufficient to bring peace. Meanwhile, South Sudanese civilians are suffering. Accordingly, the president of the Security Council has called a meeting to address the ongoing situation: to consider how to further bolster existing peacekeeping operations, what additional steps to take to establish peace, and whether to authorize unilateral or multilateral humanitarian interventions by UN member states.