Challenges and Future Prospects: United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)

Over the last seven decades, UN Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKOs) have helped conflict-ridden societies attain sustained stability and economic progress. The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has entailed considerable efforts from the UN Country Team and international organisations. This article highlights and examines the role of UNMISS and its challenges in ensuring lasting peace in South Sudan. The article provides historical background, analyses the root causes of the conflict in South Sudan and traces the evolution of UNMISS’s mandate. Despite steady progress and agreements such as Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ACRSS) in 2018, South Sudan remains ravaged principally due to ethnic conflicts. The affiliates of both President Kiir and Vice President Riek have been at the helm of systematic cyclic violence against each other, increasing the threat matrix for the mission—ethnic conflict, protection of civilians, disarmament and gender-based violence. This article attempts to understand the complexities of the challenges UNMISS faces and underscores the prospects for peace as South Sudan stands at the crossroads of peace and perpetual violence.

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