This article investigates the impact of UN peacekeeping on voluntary returns of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and attitudes towards returnees and IDPs in South Sudan.
Following South Sudan’s independence in 2011, the UN Security Council authorized the deployment of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) for an initial four-year period. Initially, 7,000 military personnel and 900 civilian police personnel were deployed to foster peace and security and facilitate humanitarian aid delivery. However, the outbreak of civil conflict in 2013 prompted the Security Council to authorize an increase in UNMISS’s military strength to 12,500 troops, along with an additional 1,323 police units.
The analysis relies on a combination of subnational data on UNMISS peacekeepers’ deployment and two surveys: the World Bank’s High Frequency Survey (HFS) and the Community Perceptions Survey (CPS) conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Bentiu and Rubkona communities. The HFS, a representative survey conducted in four waves (2015–2017) by the World Bank across most South Sudanese counties, provides data on returns and the perceptions of IDPs’ impact on economic and security conditions. The CPS, conducted by the IOM in Bentiu and Rubkona, two communities that have experienced significant displacement and return migration, provides data on the attitudes of receiving communities towards both IDPs and returnees.
Main findings:
- Peacekeepers’ presence is associated with a higher likelihood that respondents moved to a location in order to return home. The presence of peacekeepers is more likely to attract individuals who want to return home compared to those who relocate for other reasons (e.g., economic opportunities or access to services). Respondents are approximately 8 percentage points more likely to cite ‘to be home’ as the primary reason for relocating if peacekeepers are deployed to the county.
- Peacekeepers’ presence improves local communities’ perceptions towards both IDPs and returnees. Communities in areas with peacekeepers are less likely to blame IDPs for negative impacts on employment and security. For example, individuals who live in areas with a peacekeeping presence and who live near IDPs are 10–16 percentage points less likely to report that IDPs negatively affect the local labor market or make their neighborhood less safe. Furthermore, additional support provided by UNMISS, such as security, food, and shelter, further reduces tensions and improves attitudes and behaviors towards returnees.
The study finds that UN peacekeeping missions have a positive impact on both the return of displaced individuals and the reception they receive in their communities. The presence of peacekeepers is associated with a higher likelihood of individuals returning home, suggesting that peacekeeping operations create a more secure and conducive environment for return. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that peacekeepers positively influence the perceptions of receiving communities towards displaced individuals and refugees, mitigating concerns about their impact on economic opportunities, security, and social cohesion. This suggests that peacekeeping missions can play a crucial role in facilitating safe and voluntary returns and fostering peaceful coexistence between displaced populations and host communities.