In 2018, the operational environment in South Sudan remained volatile and complex. Since the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) was signed on 12 September 2018, the security situation in South Sudan improved in most areas but remained fragile with an unpredictable political environment. This improvement allowed humanitarians to operate with minimal interruptions except for a few areas in Central and Western Equatoria, where non-signatory armed opposition groups sporadically clash with governmental forces. Ongoing inter-communal conflict in certain areas, such as Southern Unity (Leer, Koch), Northern Jonglei (Waat, Nyrol, and Akobo), Western Bahr el Ghazel (Raja, Baggari), Central Equatoria (Yei) and Southern Upper Nile (Nasir, Pagak) have continued to affect solutions-programming for the 1.87 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). By the end of 2018 a decline in active military engagements was reported due to the new peace agreement. Throughout 2018 there was a steady increase in the number of spontaneous refugee returns. It was reported that up to 142,000 South Sudanese refugees returned to South Sudan, mostly to areas hosting IDPs as conditions are not conducive. The majority (85%) of refugee returnees have not been able to reach their places of origin or intended areas of return. The infrastructure and service delivery in potential spontaneous refugee and IDP return areas is weak, as is the rule of law and unpredictable protection environment. By the end of 2018, more than 2.28 million South Sudanese had become refugees in one of the six neighbouring countries, with the highest refugee numbers in Sudan (852,080) and Uganda (789,098). The security and humanitarian situation in South Sudan also affected the 291,842 refugees and 2,541 asylum seekers, as of 31 December 2018. The majority (93%) originate from Sudan (269,924 persons) followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (15,617), Ethiopia (4,203) and the Central African Republic (2,006). They reside in 21 camps and urban locations in Upper Nile, Unity, Western Equatoria, Central Equatoria, and Jonglei regions. Maintaining the civilian and humanitarian character of asylum remained a major challenge in refugee camps in Upper Nile, Central Equatoria and Unity States. The attack on UNHCR and humanitarian compounds on 23 July 2018 in Maban County further worsened the operating environment and adversely affected the delivery of protection and assistance to refugees.
In 2018, 19,460 refugees were relocated to Ajoung Thok and Pamir refugee camps, including 4,842 refugees who were residing in Yida settlement. A considerable number of refugees are still unwilling to relocate from Yida due to livelihood opportunities and proximity to their homes in Sudan. Tensions between refugees and host communities was present throughout 2018 due to the continued deterioration of the socio-economic situation. The protracted nature heightened the antagonism for scarce resources and overburdened the limited social services. Targeted community-based interventions will continue to address the needs of host and refugee communities. Continued human rights violations, including reported mass rapes in Northern Unity (Bentiu) requires continued sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response programming. There are no functional statutory courts in the most volatile locations where IDP or refugee communities and disputes are mostly resolved through traditional mechanisms. These mechanisms require close monitoring and legal assistance. In 2018, UNHCR continued capacity-building and technical support to South Sudan’s Directorate of Nationality, Passport and Immigration (DNPI); providing direct assistance to the most vulnerable persons at risk of statelessness.