By Eric Wamanji
Fourteen-year-old Tabu Sunday is a name many haven’t heard of. From her pictures, she easily passes for an ordinary village African girl. But, Sunday is no ordinary. She is the poster child of barbarism on steroids tormenting South Sudan making it uninhabitable instead gushing blood, tears and refugees.
Thus according to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), Sunday marks, symbolically, the one-millionth refugee fleeing her motherland to Uganda.
The fact that million other refugees are scattered in the seven corners of the world, should distress the civilized comity of nations. Indeed, the Godforsaken people of South Sudan are fleeing mass atrocities as narrow venal interests reign supreme.
BLOODY MESS
The UNHCR sums the bloody mess thus: “Recent arrivals continue to speak of barbaric violence, with armed groups reportedly burning down houses with civilians inside, people being killed in front of family members, sexual assaults of women and girls and kidnapping of boys for forced conscription.” It’s a humanitarian crisis.
This is in spite of the 2015 “Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan” (ARCSS), a covenant between President Salva Kiir and arch-rival Riek Machar, to end the civil war.
It is difficult to determine the extent of heinous acts here. The United Nations Mission In the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) and humanitarian organisations are largely cocooned in Juba. And if we recall, militants even had the audacity to sack an Ngo compound and rape humanitarian workers.
Rustic and war-psyched
See, the anarchy in South Sudan is a gross bastardisation of international humanitarian doctrines. Southern Sudan has embarrassed the world. It has embarrassed Africa. These folks, after fighting grueling battles in the bush, attracted international mercies and benevolence. Money and goodwill poured like the Nile. But, the leaders are incapable of running the country. They are rustic and war-psyched, therefore irredeemable from their beastly and idiotic instincts.
Indeed, it is clear that belligerents – Machar and Kiir warlords masquerading as democratic leaders- are barren of any shred of conscience. Their interest is neither peace nor a progressive South Sudan. They only know, instinctively, how to fight to grab resources and lord over their subjects. They are the biggest impediments to peace. Such is a toxic pair that neither is befitting of victory and reign over a fragile and hurting country. The duo should be removed from the military and political architecture of the South.
At this time and age of international consciousness on humanitarian realities, it is naïve to imagine that the icons of hate, greed, and divisiveness can be any judicious and fair upon victory.
Thus, in such a sharply divided environment, where arsenals and military reflexes are ubiquitous, you need a powerful external force to turn the course of history.
Responsibility to Protect
International laws and frameworks provide for external interventions when a state is incapable or unwilling to protect citizens against atrocities. Several frameworks like the 2005 doctrine of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) have been invoked here but not fully, and not successfully.
That’s why the United Nations (UN) the African Union (AU) and Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) should bolster their muscles, even if it is against the wishes of the Kiir regime.
Kiir of course resists the presence of peacekeeping and regional protection forces. His basis is simplistic though – sovereignty.
But sovereignty itself, a legal construct of the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, has evolved overtime with globalisation and doctrines of International Humanitarian Law like the 1948 Genocide Convention. In short, sovereignty is no longer absolute.
In principle, sovereignty is never a hindrance to humanitarian intervention and justice. Further, technically, the state of Southern Sudan has clearly lost its legitimacy and power over its territory and on its cardinal responsibility to protect citizens. In many accounts, the state itself is censured of commissioning atrocities against civilians.
Caretaker government
In any case, for South Sudan, other options like diplomacy, peacekeeping, and sanctions have flopped. That’s how and why a transition caretaker government comes in -to midwife the South to normalcy. And precedence indicates that this is feasible. It worked in Liberia, Cambodia, Kosovo and East Timor.
Such a government drawn from sober icons across the ethnic divide will, among other things, provide a post-conflict reconstruction including establishing a progressive constitution, justice for the victims, de-radicalisation of ethnic fundamentalists. Civic education and a robust democratisation process like establishment of independent institutions like courts and commissions, parliament and professionalising the military and the police force, which currently are merely rug-tug.
Now is the time to end the savagery in South Sudan. If not, this tragedy will produce more Sundays, tears, blood and deaths.
Mr Wamanji is a communication expert and a regular commentator on international relations ewamanji@yahoo.co.uk Twitter: @manjis