Norway’s engagement in South Sudan

Norway was the first country to facilitate peace negotiations between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/SPLA) and the Sudanese Government based in Khartoum, resulting in a 2005 peace agreement and independence for South Sudan in 2011. Currently, the main focus is on implementation of the revitalised peace agreement of 2018, which was reached after a five-year-long civil war.

South Sudan has been identified as a partner country for Norway’s stabilisation and conflict prevention efforts, and a focus country for efforts to promote education and the women, peace and security agenda (in line with UN Security Council resolution 1325 and subsequent related resolutions).

Civil war and 2018 peace agreement

The civil war that started in 2013 was rooted in historical tensions between different ethnic groups, which came to a head after a central power struggle in the capital city of Juba. A peace agreement was reached in 2015, but war soon broke out again in 2016. In 2017, the regional organisation the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) initiated high-level negotiations that led to a revitalised peace agreement signed in 2018. The Troika was actively involved in this process.

The peace agreement was signed by most of the opposition groups in South Sudan, including the largest among them, but some smaller groups remain outside the agreement. IGAD is monitoring the implementation of the agreement. Norway maintains ongoing dialogue with the parties to the agreement and works actively to resolve any persistent problems between them.

Implementation of the peace agreement, however, is proceeding very slowly. The Transitional Government of National Unity was not established until February 2020, after significant delays, a year and a half after the agreement was reached. Key tasks ahead include security sector reform, constitutional reform and ensuring transitional justice. Some progress has been made on efforts to implement the agreement’s provisions on economic reform and public financial management. Norway is playing a key role in this work, including leading a working group on economic reform under the peace agreement.

Norway will maintain a total level of aid of just over NOK 650 million annually to South Sudan. This includes support to civil society organisations, UN organisations, peace agreement monitoring mechanisms and other multilateral channels. Education, good governance, food security and public health are priority areas for Norwegian support. Since hostilities resumed in 2016, more of this funding has gone to emergency humanitarian aid.

Norway’s long-term role in southern Sudan

Norway has had a presence in southern Sudan for decades. Norwegian Church Aid and Norwegian People’s Aid have been working in the country (previously southern Sudan) since the 1970s and 1980s. These organisations developed close contacts with a range of political actors, church groups and local organisations. There has also been broad-based cooperation between Norwegian and Sudanese academic institutions, including institutions in Juba, since the 1970s. This is one reason that Norway has been able to play a long-term, active role in South Sudan, gaining access to and earning the trust of key groups in South Sudan, as well as good regional networks.