South Sudan

• hot with seasonal rainfall influenced by the annual shift of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone;
• rainfall is heaviest in the upland areas of the south and diminishes to the north

• the terrain gradually rises from plains in the north and center to southern highlands along the border with Uganda and Kenya;
• the White Nile, flowing north out of the uplands of Central Africa, is the major geographic feature of the country supporting agriculture and extensive wild animal populations;
• The Sudd (a name derived from floating vegetation that hinders navigation) is a large swampy area of more than 100,000 sq km fed by the waters of the White Nile that dominates the center of the country

noun:

South Sudanese (singular and plural)

adjective:

South Sudanese

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne disease:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

malaria, dengue fever, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness)

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

respiratory disease:

meningococcal meningitis

animal contact disease:

rabies

conventional long form:

Republic of South Sudan

conventional short form:

South Sudan

name:

Juba

geographic coordinates:

04 51 N 31 37 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

chief of state:

• President Salva KIIR Mayardit (since 9 July 2011);
• Vice President Riek MACHAR (since 10 July 2011);
• note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Salva KIIR Mayardit (since 9 July 2011); Vice President Riek MACHAR (since 10 July 2011)

cabinet:

National Council of Ministers; appointed by the president and approved by a resolution from the Legislative Assembly; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

president elected by popular vote for a four year term; election last held on 11-15 April 2010 (next to be held in 2015)

election results:

Salva KIIR Mayardit elected president; percent of vote - Salva KIIR Mayardit 93%, Lam AKOL 7%

• Sudan People's Liberation Movement or SPLM [Salva KIIR Mayardit];
• National Congress Party or NCP;
• Sudan People's Liberation Movement for Democratic Change or SPLM-DC [Sisto OLUR Erista]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Akec KHOC Aciew Khoc

chancery:

1233 20th St. NW, Suite 602, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:

[1] (202) 293-7943

FAX:

[1] (202) 293-7941

chief of mission:

Ambassador Susan D. PAGE

embassy:

Juba

• three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green;
• the red band is edged in white;
• a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side contains a gold, five-pointed star;
• black represents the people of South Sudan, red the blood shed in the struggle for freedom, green the verdant land, and blue the waters of the Nile;
• the gold star represents the unity of the states making up South Sudan

note: resembles the flag of Kenya; one of only two national flags to display six colors as part of its primary design, the other is South Africa's

name:

South Sudan Oyee! (Hooray!)

lyrics/music:

collective of 49 poets/Juba University students and teachers

note: adopted 2011; the anthem was selected in a national contest

• TV is controlled by the government;
• several private FM stations are operational in South Sudan;
• some foreign radio broadcasts are available

• the Government of South Sudan announced in August 2010 that anyone younger than 18 years of age would be mustered out of the army, but 900 children were estimated to still be active at the end of that year;
• in April 2011, a conscription program was being implemented to thwart recruitment of military-aged males into other armed groups (2011)

• South Sudan-Sudan boundary represents 1 January 1956 alignment, final alignment pending negotiations and demarcation;
• final sovereignty status of Abyei Area pending negotiations between South Sudan and Sudan;
• periodic violent skirmishes with South Sudanese residents over water and grazing rights persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic;
• the boundary that separates Kenya and South Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "Ilemi Triangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial times

refugees (country of origin):

• 183,169 (Sudan);
• 18,400 (Democratic Republic of the Congo);
• 5,889 (Ethiopia);
• 1,589 (Central African Republic) (2013)

IDPs:

350,000 newly displaced in 2011 (information is lacking on those displaced in earlier years; displacement caused by: fighting in Abyei between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in May 2011; clashes between the SPLA and dissident militia groups in South Sudan; inter-tribal conflicts over resources and cattle; attacks from the Lord's Resistance Army; floods and drought)

current situation:

• South Sudan is a source and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to forced labor and sextrafficking;
• South Sudanese women and girls, particularly those who are internally displaced from rural areas, are vulnerable to forced labor and sexual exploitation in urban centers;
• the rising number of street children and child laborers are also exploited for forced labor and prostitution;
• women and girls from Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Congo are trafficked to South Sudan with promises of legitimate jobs and are forced into the sex trade;
• inter-ethnic abductions continue between some communities in South Sudan

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - the government of South Sudan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• the government continued to take some steps to eliminate the use of child soldiers in its armed forces, but it did not demonstrate evidence of increasing efforts to address other forms of trafficking;
• pulbic officials' awareness of human trafficking remained extremely low and the government lacked sufficient human and physical capital to adequately enforce its laws, the government indisriminately arrested individuals in prostitution, including child sex trrafficking victims, and sentenced them to prison (2012)