UN humanitarian intervention in southern Sudan:a case study of UNICEF - operation lifeline Sudan (OLS), 1989 - 2001

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) as an instrument of the UN humanitarian intervention in Southern Sudan. The specific research questions the study seeks to answer are: What were the objectives of the OLS? What instruments has it used to accomplish these objectives and what have been the results? Since this is an on-going phenomenon and hence fluid in nature, the period under examination was restricted to from 1989,when the OLS was incepted, to 2001. Data for the study was gathered from a wide variety of secondary sources as well as primary sources through interactive interviews. The interviewees were people who were either knowledgeable and/or had, in one way or another, been involved in the Sudan conflict. The central assumption (hypotheses) of the study were that national interest impedes the effectiveness of humanitarian intervention and that humanitarian intervention lacks the capacity to provide a permanent solution to problems that prompt them. Accordingly, the study established that the OLS has had a tremendous impact on ameliorating the state of the civilians in south Sudan. However, its effectiveness has been impeded a great deal by national interest and a clash of interest between the different organisations that form the OLS consortium. The above obstacles have undermined the capacity of the OLS to provide a permanent solution to the Sudanese crisis. Consequently, the study recommends the broadening of the OLS mandate so that its operations are not encumbered by the veto power that Khartoum currently enjoys. The study further recommends a need for greater sense of collegiality among the OLS members and the rationalisation of their expenditures for more effectiveness.