THE UN AND THE AFRICAN CONTINENT: A REFLECTION ON SOUTH SUDAN’S HUMANITARIAN CHALLENGES

• Main Authors: Leonardo de Andrade Alves, Orlando Mattos Sparta de Souza
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Marinha do Brasil, Escola de Guerra Naval 2018-01-01
• Series: Revista da Escola de Guerra Naval
• Subjects: un; humanitarian assistance; south sudan
• Online Access: https://revista.egn.mar.mil.br/index.php/revistadaegn/article/view/663/pdf

The UN is an intergovernmental organization created to promote international cooperation, as well as provide humanitarian assistance to countries suffering the economic, social and political consequences of internal strife or civil war. In 2011, South Sudan became the world’s youngest independent country. However, due to the region’s history, it faces serious hindrances to its military, economic, psychosocial and political development. These issues have their origin in the pre-independence period, and persist to the present day. The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has been supporting humanitarian relief efforts in this complex country, which possesses incalculable natural and mineral resources matched only by the large numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons. Thus, the difficulty of the UN mission in South Sudan should be appreciated, considering the frictions it faces and the country’s historical particularities. This study is justified as an up-to-date case study on the role of the UN in a country that is dangerously close to a humanitarian disaster, even though it is the proprietor of one of the largest energy reserves in Africa.