Caritas Internationalis prepares for challenges should South Sudan unify government

For many years, South Sudan has been a site of civil war and violence. That's why Caritas Internationalis says the country remains one of their top priorities.

The secretary general says there is hope for an end to the civil war and the reunification of the government. He says, however, that this political success would present a new set of issues.

ALOYSIUS JOHN Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis“If that's the case, then we will also have other humanitarian challenges, because people who have been displaced, or who have taken refuge in Uganda and other neighboring countries, would like to come back to their homes, and there I think we need to prepare ourselves, in order to receive them, and in order to help them to rehabilitate themselves into their homes.”

According to the UNHCR, there are currently over two million South Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers in neighboring countries. Thus, such an influx would be a big challenge, given the country's precarious agricultural situation.

ALOYSIUS JOHN Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis“So as of today, you know that South Sudan is also undergoing a certain amount of crisis in that area, humanitarian crisis. In the sense that there is a lack of security, due to lack of food in the market and also due to lack of agricultural products, because of the floods, and now we have the invasion of locusts.”

The secretary general says Caritas South Sudan is preparing to offer shelter, livelihood opportunities and peace-building activities to promote the integral rehabilitation of the population.

This will only happen if the two warring leaders follow through with the peace agreement, which Pope Francis implored them to work on during their meeting in the Vatican in April 2019.

Claudia Torres