Paper short abstract:

What is the role of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in attempting to broker peace accords in South Sudan’s civil war? This regional eight-country body (of which South Sudan itself is a member) mediated some of the deals to end the fighting which broke out in December 2013.

Paper long abstract:

This paper looks at the role of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in attempting to broker peace accords in South Sudan’s civil war. Since serious fighting broke out there in December 2013, several regional mediators have in fact been seen. Some have even been parties to the conflict, or host nations for some of the two million refugees. They include IGAD, a regional eight-country body of which South Sudan itself is a member. IGAD mediated the High Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF), which attempted to bring the main parties together. Since the crisis worsened in 2016, the talks ran into difficulties and key players were excluded. The violence has led to a third of the population fleeing their homes, along with alarming levels of gender-based violence and food insecurity.