Publication

Following the outbreak of civil war in South Sudan at the end of 2013, the UN Security Council passed a resolution that changed the mandate of the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to prioritize the protection of civilians over state-building activities. This paper argues that the mission finds itself between a rock and a hard place as there is no way to extricate itself without compromising the safety of both UN personnel and civilians. Because of this, the authors recommend robust UN engagement towards a peace agreement that commits the transitional government to a comprehensive process of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of combatants.