Almost a year has passed since the Juba Declaration formally merged the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF), an umbrella of government-aligned armed groups.

Anatomy of Civilian Disarmament in Jonglei State: Recent Experiences and Implications examines two recent experiences of civilian disarmament in Jonglei State. Both interventions generated weapons surrenders but had substantially different human security outcomes. By looking closely at the local contexts, design, and execution of these two campaigns, important lessons are highlighted for future civilian disarmament and security improvement efforts in South Sudan.

Previous Sudan Issue Briefs have reviewed the process of integration of important so-called Other Armed Groups (OAGs) into the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and post-Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) violence between armed groups and SPLA forces during civilian disarmament campaigns. Allies and Defectors: An Update on Armed Group Integration and Proxy Force Activity updates the state of knowledge about the status of armed groups in South Sudan as of March 2008, and focus

Based on recent interviews and focus groups with a wide range of stakeholders in South Sudan, No Standing, Few Prospects: How Peace is Failing South Sudanese Female Combatants and WAAFG provides a preliminary review of the roles of southern women and girls in the Sudanese conflict, the specific threats they faced, and their involvement in and contribution to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

Conflicting Priorities: GoSS Security Challenges and Recent Responses explores some of the internal and external challenges currently facing the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), and its responses, particularly the most recent civilian disarmament campaign, which took place in the second half of 2008.

Also available in ARABIC.

Eastern Equatoria state (EES) is one of the most volatile and conflict-prone states in Southern Sudan. An epicentre of the civil war (1983–2005), EES saw intense fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), as well numerous armed groups supported by both sides, leaving behind a legacy of landmines and unexploded ordnance, high numbers of weapons in civilian hands, and shattered social and community relations.

Failures and Opportunities: Rethinking DDR in South Sudan examines the conflicting conceptions of DDR among its key stakeholders in South Sudan and the consequences of the programme’s serious limitations and modest successes. It also looks ahead to the prospects for DDR in an independent South Sudan.

Also available in ARABIC.

Fighting for Spoils: Armed Insurgencies in Greater Upper Nile reviews the roots of the armed insurgencies led by George Athor, Peter Gadet, and other Southern commanders—all of whom have claimed to seek systemic changes to the Juba-based government or to overthrow it. It assesses the current approach of the SPLA and the government of the Republic of South Sudan (RoSS) to containing them, concluding that it is both ad hoc and unsustainable.

Reaching for the Gun: Arms Flows and Holdings in South Sudan reviews arms flows and holdings in South Sudan among both state and non-state armed forces as of early 2012, situating recent developments against historical trends and patterns of supply. It updates a previous HSBA report on small arms and light weapons flows and holdings in Sudan from December 2009.

My Neighbour, My Enemy: Inter-tribal Violence in Jonglei reviews the root causes and impacts of inter-tribal violence in Jonglei between the Lou Nuer and Murle since 2009, with a special focus on attacks by the Lou Nuer throughout Pibor county in December 2011 and January 2012. It assesses efforts by policymakers, church leaders, and others to address the problem.