Partnership for Recovery and Resilience: Accountability and Learning Event Session 3: Assessing Impact and Contributions of Current Programmes to Reduce Vulnerability and Build Resilience in South Sudan Restoring Trust in People and Institutions UNDP/UNMISS/UN Women/DG Cluster Tuesday 13 November 2018

Drivers of lack of trust in people and institutions Weak governance systems. Poverty, poor public service delivery and weak systems to manage shared resources. Weak social cohesion and inherent mistrust due to longstanding animosity between and within communities. Instrumentalization of inequalities and grievances. Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), culture of intolerance and revenge compounded by trauma.

Why invest in trust building? South Sudan tops the Fragile States Index for the second year in a row. Four out of 10 South Sudanese feel insecure when they meet or interface with fellow South Sudanese from other regions. Generating trust and cohesion between both the state and society and across community divides community and institutional resilience

Impact What we aim to achieve: Functional democratic governance institutions capable of delivering inclusive services to citizens Peaceful political settlement at national and subnational levels Reduced conflicts (national and subnational levels) and gender based violence Citizens enjoy all the rights provided for by the Constitution

Impact (Cont.) Progress has been made across the main agenda points: Strengthening institutions (including accountability) to support local mechanisms to restore trust. Strengthening infrastructures for peace, reconciliation and social cohesion. Enhancing trust and confidence in a people-driven peace process.

1. Strengthening institutions to support local mechanisms to restore trust Strengthened local mechanisms for peace and conflict resolution. Enabled communities to deal with conflict related trauma and SGBV by linking survivors to referral pathways. Established and operationalized a unified tax systems in Jonglei, Torit and Gogrial states. Increased non-oil revenue generated in Aweil and Yambio being channeled towards local service delivery. Increased access to justice for vulnerable populations through the provision of pro bono legal aid.

1. Strengthening institutions to support local mechanisms to restore trust (Cont.) Strengthened community-based security and protection mechanisms through Police Community Relations Committees and rule of law forums. Strengthened civil service institutions through the development of institutional policies, frameworks, strategies etc. Strengthened capacity of gender machineries/Ministry of Gender to engage in the peace process and promote gender equality. Increased enrolment and retention of students at the primary level in 2018 compared to 2017.

2. Strengthening infrastructures for peace, reconciliation and social cohesion Enhanced social cohesion and peaceful co-existence among communities through successful implementation of interdependency initiatives. New peace market complex in Wowo, Amadi State launched in September 2018. Photo: UNDP

3. Enhancing trust and confidence in a people-driven peace process Increased space for youth engagement in peace and development initiatives. Improved capacities of women to participate in peace processes. Improved journalists understanding and reporting on the peace processes. Enabled peaceful co-existence among farming and pastoralist communities through migration conferences

Lessons Community ownership of peacebuilding initiatives is necessary for sustaining peace at the local levels. Inclusivity is key. Involvement of youth and women, initially not welcome, is transforming conflicts at the local level. Economic empowerment is essential for sustaining peace. Poverty drives conflict.

Lessons (Cont.) Focus on what connect communities - dialogues and consultations has revealed that communities are undergoing similar daily struggles, despite their political leaning. Infrastructure for peace and trust building should be a bottom up approach, but the national level infrastructure need to be supported for policy guidance. Partnerships and working with local civil society organisation delivers better solutions for the community