South Sudan Situation: UNHCR Regional Update (November 2019)

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2,199,300* South Sudanese refugees in the region as of 30 November 2019 (preand post-Dec 2013 caseload).

69,932* South Sudanese refugee’s arrivals so far in 2019, with 4,263 refugee arrivals in November 2019.

297,947 Refugees in South Sudan with 92 per cent from Sudan, 6 per cent from the DRC, 1 percent from Ethiopia and 1 per cent from CAR.

3.9 million persons of concern (South Sudanese refugees in the region; South Sudanese IDPs and refugees in South Sudan)

63% of the South Sudanese refugee population are children (under the age of 18 years old)

1.46 million Number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in South Sudan with 13% inside six UNMISS Protection of Civilians site.

Regional Highlights

• President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar had been expected to form a unified transitional Government by 12 November, in line with a September 2018 peace deal aimed at ending six years of conflict. Following a meeting in Uganda, held under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the leaders and stakeholders agreed to extend the pre-transitional period by 100 days to allow critical tasks to be completed. The UN Secretary-General and the African Union have urged all parties to use the extension to make further progress on critical benchmarks, including security arrangements and the number and boundaries of states, to allow for the formation of an inclusive transitional government of national unity.

• The head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), David Shearer, urged IGAD to lift all restrictions imposed on South Sudan’s opposition leader, Riek Machar. He made the call while addressing members of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) in Addis Abeba. The UN official’s remarks on 14 November came a week after South Sudan President Salva Kiir and Machar agreed to extend by 100 days the pre-transitional period.

• On 25 November, the United States of America recalled its Ambassador to South Sudan for consultations “as part of the re-evaluation of the U.S. relationship with the government of South Sudan,” given the country’s failure to form a unified transitional government on 12 November. Approximately USD 2 billion of bilateral aid to South Sudan may hang in the balance of these consultations.