South Sudan no longer has the capacity to protect civilians in Jonglei. Neither do UN peacekeeping forces. The region’s conflict between militia groups has grown increasingly violent, and attacks are now targeting civilian communities, “including women and children, and possibly aimed at destroying their livelihoods and social and economic infrastructure,” says a United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Report from June 2012. According to Medicines sans Frontiers (MSF), there is also a rise of sexual violence against women and children within this conflict.

Within five months in 2012, MSF reported to have treated 96 victims of sexual violence from the conflict, including 25 victims of rape or attempted rape. Sexual violence is also underreported in the region and thus may be even more widespread than data shows (UNMISS Report Jun 2012).

With the current challenges facing the UN Mission in South Sudan, addressing sexual violence against civilians is especially important. The UN has begun implementing its Women’s Protection Advisors (WPA) program, and UNMISS is the first UN Mission with WPAs. The WPA initiative comes from UN Security Council resolutions 1888 and 1960, passed four years ago in order to address conflict-related sexual violence. A major responsibility of WPAs is reporting incidents of sexual violence for data collection (for the purposes of informing further Security Council action).

During June’s Security Council’s debate on Women, Peace and Security, several speakers lauded the UN’s deployment of WPAs in South Sudan as great progress for women’s security. Unfortunately, only six of the positions have been filled (the only WPAs deployed globally), and the three vacancies include the senior-level managing position within the office of the Special Representative to the Secretary General (SRSG).

Refugees International published a field report regarding its investigation into the implementation of the WPAs in South Sudan, finding that such vacancies are hampering the success of the WPA initiative due to lack of leadership. Refugees International recommends that the senior manager position be filled as quickly as possible, but it also notes that it is imperative that the recruitment process prioritizes finding a candidate experienced in gender-based violence response. Though the WPAs were meant to be individuals with expertise in conflict-related sexual violence, current recruitment focuses on hiring individuals from either the UN’s Human Rights roster or the UN’s political roster, neither of which are areas guaranteed to provide candidates with such vital experience.

In addition to these recruitment problems, Refugees International highlights the fact that WPAs are not trained in conflict-related sexual violence before deployment. Upon arriving in the country, the WPAs are trained on the relevant Resolutions but are not given any training specific to conditions in South Sudan. Given the complexity of the conflicts within South Sudan, this lack of country-specific training makes it even more difficult for the WPAs to be successful. According to the Refugees International report, UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict began the process of developing WPA-specific training curriculum but needs to revive its efforts.

These problems of ineffective implementation have prevented the WPA initiative to be successful in South Sudan. This initiative is important for the Security Council’s role in extinguishing and preventing sexual violence in conflict. The UN’s Department for Peacekeeping Operations and the UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict should address these problems in order to effectuate successful WPA programs in both South Sudan and elsewhere.

For more information on Refugees International’s investigation and policy recommendations, see the full report at refugeesinternational.org.