Questions and Challenges Raised by a Large-Scale Humanitarian Operation in South Sudan

This paper reports on field research conducted in South Sudan during October 2014 in Juba, Mingkaman (Lakes State) and Ganyiel (Unity State) inquiring into the nature of the humanitarian response carried during the current conflict and the questions and challenges raised by it.

The report examines the current context in relation to three categories of analysis: (1) relations between IDPs and host communities; (2) the potential recognition and legitimisation of non-state actors; (3) the impact of the humanitarian operation on relations between the Government of the Republic of South Sudan and humanitarian actors, and between local authorities and humanitarian actors. Following this, it briefly compares the government-controlled and opposition-held areas along these same lines. The final section summarises the findings and makes several recommendations for humanitarian practice and further research.