Displaced persons from Mukaya sheltering under trees in Yei town in May 2020 | Credit | Courtesy

South Sudan has slightly improved as the least peaceful country in the world after coming forth in the Global Peace Index.

The report released yesterday ranked South Sudan’s state of peace in the very low category.

Afghanistan remains the least peaceful country, a position it has held for two years, followed by Syria, Iraq and South Sudan.

This is a small improvement from last year where South Sudan retained the position of the least peaceful country in the East African region after Burundi.

This year, South Sudan was at number 160 out of 163 countries ranked.

The 14th edition of the annual Global Peace Index report reveals that in 2020 the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated for the ninth time in twelve years.

The 2020 index notes that the world in which the conflicts and crises that emerged in the past decade have begun to abate, only to be replaced with a new wave of tension and uncertainty as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Overall, 81 countries improved in peacefulness in the 2020 report, whilst 80 deteriorated.

The Middle East and North Africa remain the least peaceful region.

The report states that in Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan, the economic cost of violence was equivalent to more than 50 per cent of GDP.

It adds high-intensity conflict-affected countries South Sudan suffer from higher costs from conflict deaths, losses from refugees and IDPs and GDP losses from conflict.

Recently, the UN Human Rights Commission noted that there has been an increase in intercommunal violence with 658 people killed, 452 wounded, and 592 abducted in 2020 alone.

It revealed that 65 people have been subjected to sexual violence during the first quarter of 2020.

Jonglei State and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area have suffered years of food insecurity and were severely hit by flooding in 2019.

The Human Rights Commissioner condemned the renewed outbreak of intercommunal violence in Jonglei, calling for those responsible to be brought to justice.

In May, armed men from Greater Pibor launched what they described as a revenge attack on Lou-Nuer areas in Jonglei state.

Local officials said the figures show that more than 242 people were killed, while 307 people were injured.

The statement by the UN Human Rights Commissioner concluded that the nature of the intercommunal conflicts has been evolving in recent years, taking on an increasingly militarized character with military-style tactics and military-grade weapons.

It stressed that for peace in South Sudan to be durable, the government must act promptly.

Similarly in Yei river, Central Equatoria state, thousands of people have been fleeing fighting between armed groups in the areas of Mukaya, Kupera and Loka.

Local officials say more than 5,000 civilians sought refuge in churches and schools in Yei town over the last week.

Observers say government soldiers targeted forces of the National Salvation front – a member of the SSOMA.

But the SSPDF has denied engaging in clashes in the area, saying civilians fled due to the presence of the army.

Women were sexually assaulted between March and April this year. A human rights defender called for the punishment of soldiers accused of raping the 19 women.

The UN Mission in South Sudan said it was investigating the alleged raping of women by men in uniform in Yei County.

“We have heard of the report and there are human rights people down there looking into it,” the head of UNMISS, David Shearer said.

According to the Global Peace Index 2020, Tanzania has retained its position among countries in the “high” state of peace category, a lead that sets it at par with the rest of East Africa.

Rwanda is ranked at number 81 with Uganda at number 109 under the category of “medium” state of peace.

Kenya is leading at number 125 among countries like Burundi which have been categorized as low in the state of peace.

In the IGAD region, Sudan and Somalia are ranked at number 153 and 158 respectively. Djibouti is in the medium category of peacefulness.

No African country made it to the top 14 countries ranked “very high” on the state of peacefulness.

The top three are Iceland — for the 14th year running — New Zealand and Portugal.

The Global Peace Index is produced every year by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace and is widely considered the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness.

It measures the state of peace using the level of societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict, and the degree of militarization.

This year’s research notes that the fundamental tensions of the past decade around conflict, environmental pressures and socio-economic strife remain.

At the end of May 2020, the UN Secretary-General has said women and girls have by far suffered the most targeted attacks, abduction and forced marriage across the world in 2019.

Antonio Guterres said more than 20,000 civilians were killed or injured in just ten conflicts in South Sudan, Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.

His latest report on the “Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict” shows little progress has been made on the protection of civilians, and compliance with international law.

He notes tens of thousands of children were forced to take part in hostilities in 2019, and millions of people were displaced as a result of armed conflict.

Two weeks ago, the United Nations Security Council has renewed by one year the arms embargo and targeted sanctions imposed on South Sudan.

The arms embargo empowers all UN Member States to prevent arms and related equipment of all types – including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and any spare parts – from entering South Sudan.

The resolution extends the arms embargo and the targeted sanctions until May 31, 2021, but authorizes a mid-term review of the measures by December 15, 2020.

It expresses the council´s readiness to consider adjusting the sanctions, “including through modifying, suspending, lifting, or strengthening measures to respond to the situation.”