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SOUTH SUDAN / PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS SITE CLOSE
STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS SITE CLOSE
TRT: 03:11
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH /JUBA-ARABIC /NATS
DATELINE: 20 DECEMBER 2017, MELUT, SOUTH SUDAN
1. Pan right, Melut POC
2. Med shot, woman in POC
3. Wide shot, Melut POC with child and mother
4. Med shot, child in POC with mother in background
5. SOUNDBITE: (Juba-Arabic) Peter Choul, internally displaced person,:
“If the revitalization talks that are now ongoing in Addis Ababa succeed we shall be very happy in South Sudan. And concerning our relocation from this camp, we are happy for the protection offered to us, we are now hoping for the best results in the peace talks.”
6. Med shot, UNHCR officials looking at papers
7. Wide shot, helicopter landing in front of IDPs
8. Wide shot, IDP’s waiting to board helicopter
9. SOUNDBITE (English) David Shearer, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS:
“We’ve got instability across much of South Sudan but in some areas we are able to help people out of the camps back to their homes and for them reuniting with their friends and family and getting back to creating a life for themselves, it’s a great feeling.”
10. Wide shot, Security berm of Melut POC with Peacekeepers watch towers
11. Wide shot, woman carrying bucket
12. SOUNDBITE (English) David Shearer, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS:
“We will look at every camp individually to see if the conditions allow people to go back. They have to go back voluntarily. They obviously have to go back safely. But where those conditions are present then we will try to get people back to their own homes. Camps are not a good place to bring up children or to be seen as a long-term option. They can only be a temporary option.”
13. Pan right, IDP man hugging UNHCR official before he boards helicopter
14. Tilt up, IDP’s on helicopter
15. Wide shot, helicopter taking off
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Andreas Fuyadomo, Senior Protection Officer, UNHCR:
“This is going to support them to ensure that they settle well moving out of the POC into the community. This support is going to be crucial for them to settle well into their new environment and continue living a life in the little comfort that everybody else can achieve in South Sudan in the current situation that we have.”
17. Wide shot, abandoned shelters in POC
18. Wide shot, inside an abandoned shelter
19. Wide, UNMISS SRSG being briefed by Indian Commander in Melut
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Sam Muhumure, Relief, Reintegration and Protection Officer, UNMISS:
“Protection goes beyond just POC sites so our troops that will stay in Melut will now be utilized to offer services doing patrols, interacting with communities to build confidence, support humanitarian partners to access different areas, not only in Melut but also oing outreach patrols in other different areas.”
21. Wide shot, abandoned shelters in POC
22. Med shot, children playing with a ball in Melut
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, UNMISS, closed a Protection-of-Civilians site in Melut, in the north of the country after resettling several hundred people who fled to the site for safety when violence broke out four years ago.
After four years living in cramped conditions, these families are finally leaving the protected camp next to the United Nations base in Melut to return to their homes.
Hundreds of people have sought sanctuary at the site since civil war broke out in South Sudan four years ago. A recent count registered 562 people remaining.
SOUNDBITE: (Juba-Arabic) Peter Choul, internally displaced person:
“If the revitalization talks that are now ongoing in Addis Ababa succeed we shall be very happy in South Sudan. And concerning our relocation from this camp, we are happy for the protection offered to us, we are now hoping for the best results in the peace talks.”
As security has improved, those in the camp expressed the desire and confidence to return to their homes.
After extensive consultation, more than half were settled in the nearby town this week while 255 were relocated by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), UNHCR and other humanitarian partners.
Some went back to their former villages while others with specific protection needs shifted to the UN protection site at Malakal until they can also go home.
SOUNDBITE (English) David Shearer, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS:
“We’ve got instability across much of South Sudan but in some areas we are able to help people out of the camps back to their homes and for them reuniting with their friends and family and getting back to creating a life for themselves, it’s a great feeling.”
Protecting civilians is primarily the South Sudan government’s responsibility but in many cases people have fled from government security forces.
UNMISS provided sanctuary to almost 210,000 civilians at seven locations across South Sudan.
SOUNDBITE (English) David Shearer, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS:
“We will look at every camp individually to see if the conditions allow people to go back. They have to go back voluntarily. They obviously have to go back safely. But where those conditions are present then we will try to get people back to their own homes. Camps are not a good place to bring up children or to be seen as a long-term option. They can only be a temporary option.”
Humanitarian agencies worked closely with those at the Melut camp prior to its closure, providing counselling, information on the security situation and ensuring access to relief services back in their communities.
SOUNDBITE (English) Andreas Fuyadomo, Senior Protection Officer, UNHCR:
“This is going to support them to ensure that they settle well moving out of the POC into the community. This support is going to be crucial for them to settle well into their new environment and continue living a life in the little comfort that everybody else can achieve in South Sudan in the current situation that we have.”
The closure of the Melut site will enable peacekeeping troops there to shift their focus from guarding the camp to increasing patrols in the surrounding area.
SOUNDBITE (English) Sam Muhumure, Relief, Reintegration and Protection Officer, UNMISS:
“Protection goes beyond just POC sites so our troops that will stay in Melut will now be utilized to offer services doing patrols, interacting with communities to build confidence, support humanitarian partners to access different areas, not only in Melut but also oing outreach patrols in other different areas.”
Extending that protective presence into other communities will save lives and build confidence so that, over time, more people will feel safe enough to return home.
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