Historical independence

History: South Sudan

From the second Sudanese civil war through the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the 2011 referendum and independence, to the 2013–2018 civil war and the 2018 Revitalised Agreement.

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The First Sudanese Civil War and the Addis Ababa Agreement

The First Sudanese Civil War, fought from 1955 between the Sudanese government and southern Anya-Nya rebels, is estimated by one general-reference source to have killed 500,000-1,000,000 people.[1] It ended with the Addis Ababa Agreement of 27 February 1972, creating the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region; President Gaafar Nimeiry's abolition of that region on 5 June 1983 triggered the Second Sudanese Civil War.[2]

· Agreement

Addis Ababa Agreement, 1972

The Addis Ababa Agreement ended the First Sudanese Civil War and created the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region; its 1983 abolition triggered the second civil war.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Interim Period

The second Sudanese civil war, fought between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army from 1983, ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed on 9 January 2005.[3] The CPA opened a six-year Interim Period, beginning 9 July 2005, during which the SPLM shared power in a Government of National Unity while Southern Sudan gained regional autonomy.[3] The CPA's Machakos Protocol guaranteed Southern Sudanese the right to self-determination through an internationally monitored referendum on unity or secession.[4]

· Agreement

Comprehensive Peace Agreement, 2005

The Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Naivasha, ending the twenty-two-year second Sudanese civil war and providing for a referendum on Southern Sudan's self-determination.

SPLM/A founder John Garang, inaugurated First Vice-President of Sudan under the CPA, died in a helicopter crash on 30 July 2005, three weeks later; Salva Kiir succeeded him as SPLM leader and First Vice-President on 11 August 2005 and led South Sudan through independence.[5][6]

· Other

Death of John Garang, 2005

SPLM/A leader John Garang died in a helicopter crash three weeks after being inaugurated First Vice-President of Sudan; Salva Kiir succeeded him.

The 2011 referendum

Although the Machakos Protocol had specified a referendum at the end of the Interim Period on 9 July 2011, the CPA's implementation timetable required the vote six months earlier, and Southern Sudanese voted from 9 to 15 January 2011 on whether to remain united with Sudan or secede.[7] International and domestic observer missions, including the European Union, the Carter Center, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, judged the process credible, and 98.83% of valid votes cast were for secession on a turnout of 97.58%.[8][9]

· Referendum or popular consultation

Southern Sudan independence referendum, 2011

Southern Sudanese voted 9–15 January 2011 on whether to remain united with Sudan or secede; international observers judged the process credible and the vote produced an overwhelming majority for secession.

Independence and United Nations membership

South Sudan declared independence on 9 July 2011, the scheduled end of the CPA's Interim Period.[10] The Security Council recommended its admission to the United Nations on 13 July, and the General Assembly admitted it as the 193rd member state on 14 July 2011.[11][12]

The 2013–2018 civil war and the Revitalised Agreement

Less than three years after independence, conflict broke out in December 2013 between the Government of South Sudan and opposition forces, arising from disputes among the country's political and military leaders; it caused significant loss of life and the displacement of millions of people.[13] The UN Mission in South Sudan found reasonable grounds to believe both government and opposition forces had committed crimes against humanity and war crimes.[14]

· Conflict episode

South Sudanese civil war, 2013–2018

A conflict between the Government of South Sudan and opposition forces, arising from disputes between the country's political and military leaders, broke out in December 2013 and continued through a succession of cessation-of-hostilities agreements until the 2018 Revitalised Agreement.

After a series of cessation-of-hostilities agreements from 2014, the government and opposition parties signed the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan on 12 September 2018, which the Security Council described in 2019 as an important step toward sustainable peace, while pre-transitional institutions envisaged by the agreement were still being put in place.[15][16]

The 2025 Machar detention crisis

On 26 March 2025, First Vice-President Riek Machar was detained in Juba on charges including treason, an event widely reported to have effectively collapsed the unity government formed under the Revitalised Agreement and to risk renewed civil war amid famine conditions reported to affect 7.7 million people; as of a September 2025 report, Machar remained on trial.[17] Separately, in 2024 South Sudan enacted a Truth, Reconciliation and Healing Act and a Compensation and Reparations Authority Act, though the Hybrid Court and other transitional-justice bodies envisaged by the Revitalised Agreement remained unestablished, and national elections, originally planned for December 2024, were postponed to December 2026.[18]

· Other

Detention of Riek Machar, 2025

First Vice-President Riek Machar was detained in Juba on treason and related charges, widely reported to have effectively collapsed the unity government and the Revitalised Agreement.

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

  1. 1.

    Claim: The First Sudanese Civil War, fought from 1955 between the Sudanese government and southern Anya-Nya rebels, is estimated by a general-reference source to have killed between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people.

  2. 2.

    Claim: The Addis Ababa Agreement, signed 27 February 1972, ended the First Sudanese Civil War and created the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region with its own legislature and executive, integrating Anya-Nya fighters into the national army; President Gaafar Nimeiry abolished this autonomous region on 5 June 1983, an act that triggered the Second Sudanese Civil War.

    • Addis Ababa Agreement (1972) (Encyclopædia Britannica) link, Agreement terms and 1983 abolition section. Source record
  3. 3.

    Claim: On 9 January 2005 the National Congress Party and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Sudan People's Liberation Army signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, ending the second Sudanese civil war of 1983–2005 and opening a six-year Interim Period beginning 9 July 2005, during which the two parties formed a Government of National Unity and Southern Sudan gained regional autonomy.

    • European Union Election Observation Mission, Final Report: Southern Sudan Referendum, 9–15 January 2011 (European Union Election Observation Mission, 2011) link, Political context. Source record
  4. 4.

    Claim: The Machakos Protocol of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement gave the people of Southern Sudan the right to self-determination "through a Referendum to determine their future status...internationally monitored...organised jointly by the Government of Sudan and the SPLM/A, for the people of Southern Sudan to: confirm the unity of the Sudan by voting to adopt the system of government established under the Peace Agreement; or to vote for secession," citing Articles 1.3 and 2.5 of the Protocol.

    • European Union Election Observation Mission, Final Report: Southern Sudan Referendum, 9–15 January 2011 (European Union Election Observation Mission, 2011) link, Political context, footnote 1. Source record
  5. 5.

    Claim: John Garang, who had founded and led the SPLM/A since 1983 and had been inaugurated First Vice-President of Sudan under the CPA three weeks earlier, died on 30 July 2005 in a helicopter crash while returning from a meeting with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni; the crash was attributed to pilot error.

    • John Garang killed in helicopter crash (Al Jazeera) link, Crash and cause section. Source record
  6. 6.

    Claim: Salva Kiir Mayardit, an SPLM/A co-founder and military commander, succeeded John Garang as First Vice-President of Sudan on 11 August 2005 and as leader of the SPLM.

  7. 7.

    Claim: The Machakos Protocol specified that the referendum would take place at the end of the Interim Period, 9 July 2011, but the CPA's Implementation Modalities required voting six months before the end of the Interim Period; the referendum was held from 9 to 15 January 2011.

    • European Union Election Observation Mission, Final Report: Southern Sudan Referendum, 9–15 January 2011 (European Union Election Observation Mission, 2011) link, Political context. Source record
  8. 8.

    Claim: The Southern Sudan Referendum Commission's Final Results Report of 7 February 2011 recorded a turnout of 97.58%; 98.83% of valid votes cast were for secession, with invalid ballots at 0.2% and blank ballots at 0.16% of total votes cast, and 3,837,406 valid votes out of 3,851,994 total votes cast.

    • European Union Election Observation Mission, Final Report: Southern Sudan Referendum, 9–15 January 2011 (European Union Election Observation Mission, 2011) link, Results announcement and analysis of results. Source record
  9. 9.

    Claim: The Carter Center assessed the referendum process as "broadly consistent with international standards for democratic elections" and as "the genuine expression of the will of the electorate." Attributed to The Carter Center

    • European Union Election Observation Mission, Final Report: Southern Sudan Referendum, 9–15 January 2011 (European Union Election Observation Mission, 2011) link, Conclusions of the international and domestic observation missions. Source record
  10. 10.

    Claim: The Security Council resolution establishing the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) records "the establishment of the Republic of South Sudan on 9 July 2011 upon its proclamation as an independent state," and the resolution itself took effect on that date.

    • United Nations Security Council, Security Council resolution 1996 (2011) (United Nations, 8 July 2011) link, preamble and para. 27. Source record
  11. 11.

    Claim: On 13 July 2011, at its 6582nd meeting, the Security Council, having examined the Republic of South Sudan's application for UN membership (S/2011/418), recommended to the General Assembly that it be admitted.

    • United Nations Security Council, Security Council resolution 1999 (2011) (United Nations, 13 July 2011) link, operative paragraph. Source record
  12. 12.

    Claim: The UN General Assembly decided to admit the Republic of South Sudan to membership in the United Nations at its 108th plenary meeting on 14 July 2011, following the Security Council's recommendation of 13 July 2011; South Sudan became the 193rd UN member state.

    • United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly resolution 65/308: Admission of the Republic of South Sudan to membership in the United Nations (United Nations, 14 July 2011) link, operative paragraph and meeting note. Source record
  13. 13.

    Claim: The Security Council expressed grave alarm regarding the conflict between the Government of the Republic of South Sudan and opposition forces since December 2013, which emanated from internal political disputes among the country's political and military leaders, and which had resulted in significant loss of life and the displacement of two million people by the time of the resolution; the Council endorsed Cessation of Hostilities Agreements signed on 23 January and 6 and 9 May 2014.

    • United Nations Security Council, Security Council resolution 2206 (2015) (United Nations, 3 March 2015) link, preamble and operative para. 1. Source record
  14. 14.

    Claim: According to the UN Mission in South Sudan's 8 May 2014 report "Conflict in South Sudan: A Human Rights Report," there are reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity, including extrajudicial killings, rape and other acts of sexual violence, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention, had been committed by both government and opposition forces, and that war crimes had also been committed. Attributed to UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)

    • United Nations Security Council, Security Council resolution 2206 (2015) (United Nations, 3 March 2015) link, preamble. Source record
  15. 15.

    Claim: The Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) was signed on 12 September 2018 in Addis Ababa, according to an independent conflict-research account; the UN Security Council also refers to it as "the 2018 'Revitalised Agreement.'" Attributed to ACCORD

    • African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), Reviving peace in South Sudan through the Revitalised Peace Agreement (ACCORD) link, article text. Source record
    • United Nations Security Council, Security Council resolution 2459 (2019) (United Nations, 15 March 2019) link, preamble. Source record
  16. 16.

    Claim: In March 2019 the Security Council described the Revitalised Agreement as "an important step forward in the peace process that provides a window of opportunity to achieve sustainable peace and stability in South Sudan," recognised a reduction in political violence and the formation of most pre-transitional mechanisms, and called on parties to complete the outstanding institutions as soon as possible.

    • United Nations Security Council, Security Council resolution 2459 (2019) (United Nations, 15 March 2019) link, preamble and operative para. 4. Source record
  17. 17.

    Claim: On 26 March 2025, First Vice-President Riek Machar was detained and placed under house arrest in Juba on charges including treason, accused of plotting rebellion; this was widely reported to have effectively collapsed the unity government formed under the 2018 Revitalised Agreement, risking renewed civil war amid famine conditions reported to affect 7.7 million people. As of a September 2025 report, Machar remained on trial on treason and crimes-against-humanity charges.

    • Riek Machar detained on treason charges (AllAfrica) link, Detention and trial section. Source record
  18. 18.

    Claim: In 2024, South Sudan enacted a Truth, Reconciliation and Healing Act and a Compensation and Reparations Authority Act, but the Hybrid Court and other transitional-justice bodies envisaged by the Revitalised Agreement remained unestablished; national elections, originally set for December 2024, were postponed to December 2026.

    • South Sudan country page (Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect) link, 2024 legislation and elections postponement section. Advocacy organisation perspective Source record

Source note

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