Lessons Learned from South Sudan Protection of Civilian Sites 2013–2016

12 - Lessons Learned from South Sudan Protection of Civilian Sites
Recommendations
For the past two years, UNMISS and humanitarian actors have worked side-by-side
in a coordinated and mostly harmonious manner at the PoC sites in South Sudan.
The lessons learned identified below should not detract from the overall positive
engagement and interaction that takes place on a daily basis.
1. UNMISS and humanitarians act as if the PoC sites are temporary facilities, even
though there is good reason to believe that some of those sites, in particular Malakal
and Bentiu, will be in existence for several years. As such, there needs to be longerterm
planning and funding for this likely eventuality. UNMISS and humanitarians
must agree on minimum standards in providing a safe and secure environment for
displaced persons.
2. UNMISS and humanitarians sometimes plan and act in isolation of one another,
despite sharing the same core mandate: protection of civilians. Both sides should
listen to one another, appreciate the separate (but linked) roles and responsibilities,
and strive to maximize the complementarity in the different approaches to providing
protection of civilians.
3. UNMISS and humanitarians attempt to do more than what can be achieved.
Objectives should be established and prioritized based upon what is realistic.
4. UNMISS and humanitarian actors often respond without a good analysis of the
situation. They should increase their institutional knowledge of the history, culture and
context of South Sudan in order to improve programming and, especially, account for
the principle of “do no harm.”
5. UNMISS and humanitarian actors should prioritize the practical implementation of
policy, research and analysis rather than just its creation. These are only beneficial if
applied and should be a means to improving the response and carrying out reforms,
rather than the end itself.
6. Humanitarian actors, including humanitarian donors, have focused almost exclusively
on emergency response activities over the past two years. Emergency relief activities
are commendable—they save lives—but they do not result in enduring achievements
that will benefit the people in the long term. All humanitarians need to move to longerterm
funding cycles that incorporate resilience building.
7. Humanitarians are reliant upon UNMISS for logistics and Force Protection escorts;
the demand often being beyond the capacity of UNMISS with the given resource
constraints. Humanitarians must become more independent and less risk averse.
8. Since early 2014, there have been several, often overlapping, initiatives aimed at the
relocation of displaced persons out of the protection of civilians areas with limited
success. UNMISS and humanitarians need to be realistic and pragmatic while
engaging IDPs constructively to find solutions to their protracted displacement.