The Government of South Sudan and the United Nations (UN) have reaffirmed their commitment to tackling the country’s long-standing displacement crisis and providing durable solutions for at least 60,000 South Sudanese by the end of 2026. This renewed commitment was made in Juba during the second Steering Committee Meeting on Durable Solutions, where South Sudanese ministers, state-level officials, and UN representatives reviewed the progress and challenges encountered since their inaugural meeting in January. That first meeting produced a joint communiqué signed by 13 ministries, establishing the framework for these ongoing efforts.
The Steering Committee highlighted that while promising progress is being made in specific areas, the overall speed and scale of these solutions still depend heavily on local conditions. Success relies on essential factors such as the displaced populations’ access to basic services, the resolution of land rights, and the presence of sustainable peace and stability in the target regions.
Hon. Albino Akol Atak, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, emphasized the urgency of the situation by noting that for every South Sudanese family experiencing protracted displacement, each year of delay is another year of their lives put on hold. He reiterated the government’s firm commitment to driving the durable solutions agenda forward, creating the safe and voluntary conditions necessary for return and reintegration, and carefully monitoring progress at every stage.
According to the official statement, more than 2.5 million people remain internally displaced within South Sudan in 2026, with approximately 964,000 living in official camps and displacement sites. Many of these citizens have been displaced since the national conflict erupted in 2013, a vulnerable situation further worsened by recurring floods and climate shocks. This humanitarian crisis is compounded by the ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan, which has forced over 1.3 million people to flee into South Sudan since 2023, severely increasing the strain on the country’s resources.
Since the launch of South Sudan’s National Durable Solutions Strategy and Plan of Action in 2024, two state-level roadmaps have been successfully operationalized in Upper Nile and Western Bahr el Ghazal, while a third is being finalized for Unity State. These strategic frameworks help coordinate efforts across humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding actors to directly support the government’s top priorities.
Through the joint support of the South Sudanese government, UN partners—led by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)—and various stakeholders, more than 28,000 formerly displaced people have returned, reintegrated, or resettled where local conditions allowed.
Among those rebuilding their lives are 13,000 people in Unity State who are resettling on land reclaimed from flooding, 12,000 former camp residents in Western Bahr el Ghazal, and 3,400 individuals in Upper Nile, including former residents of the Protection of Civilians (PoC) site. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of people have received vital support through livelihood opportunities and the protection of their Housing, Land, and Property (HLP) rights.
Ramanathan Balakrishnan, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim, emphasized that the continuous commitment and engagement of the South Sudanese government at all levels is indispensable for achieving long-term solutions for its people. He stated that the United Nations, alongside its partners and local communities, will continue to support these initiatives, noting that peace and stability serve as the essential foundation for building resilience and development pathways for South Sudan.
The statement concluded by noting that achieving these durable solutions requires sequenced, long-term interventions, including landmine clearance, land restitution, legal aid, shelter construction, the rehabilitation of essential services, and the creation of income-generating opportunities.
Guided by the National Technical Committee on Durable Solutions (NTC), these localized activities are managed by State Task Forces using an area-based coordination approach tailored to each state’s specific needs. To maintain momentum toward the year-end target of helping 60,000 people, progress will be reviewed at the next Steering Committee Meeting scheduled for the third quarter of 2026.
