A/HRC/40/CRP.1
reflected in the refugee camps.237 For example, in 2017, there were 22 incidents of fighting
between ethnic communities in Kiyandongo camp in Uganda, many of them triggered by
events in South Sudan.238 While the situation reportedly improved in 2018,239 in June 2018
fighting broke out between Dinka and Nuer refugees in the Rhino camp settlement in Uganda
during a World Cup football match which resulted in the killing of four people. 240 The
Commission was informed that there have been a number of such similar incidents both in
Ugandan and Kenyan refugee camps. 241
b)
Internally Displaced
In addition to refugees, there are more than 1.97 million people internally displaced
as of October 2018.242 Civilians displaced at the start of the conflict in December 2013, are
now entering their sixth year of displacement. As of January 2019, UNMISS was sheltering
193,287 internally displaced in its PoC sites in Bentiu, Juba, Malakal, Bor and Wau, of which
Bentiu is by far the largest.243
These PoC sites were established in an emergency context as temporary protection
sites, but have become a longer-term arrangement due to the protracted conflict.244 The
prolonged, crowded, confinement in PoC sites, coupled with the constrained humanitarian
services amplify many of the stresses seen elsewhere in society including ethnic tensions and
gender relations. When these tensions boil over, they in turn jeopardize the provision of
humanitarian assistance in the camps. This was seen in June and July 2018 in the Bentiu and
Malakal PoC sites.245 Disruptions by youth groups in Bentiu forced the closure of three health
clinics for over three weeks and jeopardized the access to safe drinking water for an estimated
50,000 people. In Malakal, youth frustrated by the lack of employment opportunities
threatened humanitarian workers, which resulted in the suspension of health assistance. 246
The PoC camps are a microcosm of the tensions affecting the entire country. In midAugust 2018, for example, inter-communal fighting broke out between Nuer communities in
PoC 3 in Juba. Although sparked by a minor incident of theft, the situation quickly escalated
to clashes because of the pre-existing distrust between the Bul Nuer and other Nuer
communities as a result of the Bul Nuer having supported the government troops in Unity
State at various points in the conflict. The fighting resulted in one death and the injury of 179
people and the displacement of between 1,000 and 2,000 people from PoC 3 into the
surrounding weapons-free zone surrounding the PoC site. Humanitarian assistance to the
camp was severely restricted during this period resulting in complaints of lack of resources
including food and water over the period. In late August, 3,500 Bul Nuer were relocated from
PoC 3 to the Mangateen area.247
Life in PoC sites has a negative and gendered impact on IDPs given the limited
freedom of movement and cramped living conditions with little privacy create living
conditions that are conducive to depression, domestic violence, and crime. Men fear being
killed or arrested if they venture outside and have few opportunities to engage in income
generating activities. In part due to the fear of being killed if they go outside the camps,
women have taken on the responsibility for leaving the camps to gather firewood in the
237
Two confidential meetings, Kiyandongo, Uganda, 17 December 2018; Confidential Meetings, Kampala, 18 and 19 December
2018.
238 Confidential Meeting, Kiyandongo, Uganda, 17 December 2018.
239 Confidential Meeting, Kiyandongo, Uganda, 17 December 2018.
240 Confidential Meeting, Kiyandongo, Uganda, 17 December 2018; Confidential Meeting, Kampala, 19 December 2018; Reuters,
“Uganda police arrest 15 refugees after four killed in fight during World Cup game”, 22 June 2018.
241 Confidential Meeting, Kiyandongo, Uganda, 17 December 2018.
242 OCHA, South Sudan: Humanitarian Dashboard, 31 October 2018.
243 UNMISS, POC Update, 12 January 2019.
244 The Global Women’s Institute and International Rescue Committee, “No Safe Place: A Lifetime of Violence for ConflictAffected Women and Girls in South Sudan”, Washington DC: George Washington University and London, 2017.
245 United Nations Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General on South Sudan (covering the period from 4 June to 1
September 2018), S/2018/831, 17 September 2018.
246 United Nations Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General on South Sudan (covering the period from 4 June to 1
September 2018), S/2018/831, 17 September 2018.
247 United Nations Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General on South Sudan (covering the period from 4 June to 1
September 2018), S/2018/831, 17 September 2018; USAID, South Sudan – Crisis Fact Sheet #11, 7 September 2018;
Commission Meeting with PoC Representatives, Juba, 22 August 2018.
36
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