The Role of the United Nations Aid Agencies in the Reconstruction of South Sudan: The Case Of The United Nations Development Program (UNDP): 2011-2018

Building lasting peace, reconciliation and reconstruction in post conflict societies is among one of the most daunting of challenges for global peace and security. There have been several attempts by the international community to foster post-conflict peace, reconciliation and reconstruction in South Sudan. The United Nations has been heavily involved in undertaking peacekeeping operations in South Sudan with the aim of reducing the conflicts related to land, natural resources and arms proliferation. The objective of this study was to establish the role of the United Nations aid agencies in the reconstruction of South Sudan using the case of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) from the year 2011-2018. The first specific objective of the study was to evaluate the role of UNDP in steering economic recovery in South Sudan. The second specific objective was to evaluate the role of the UNDP in supporting the re-establishment of social welfare infrastructure in South Sudan. The third specific objective was to establish the effectiveness of the aforementioned programs in promoting socio-economic reconstruction in South Sudan. The study was anchored on peacebuilding schools of thought and particularly John Paul Lederach’s scholarly work on peacebuilding particularly the school of conflict transformation. The study being qualitative in nature adopted the descriptive research design using secondary data sources to answer the research questions. This thesis in overall sought to give information about the effectiveness of role that the UNDP plays in the reconstruction of fragile states and in this case, South Sudan.