Ethiopia

In the realm of legitimacy, the conflict in the Tigray region is not cut and dry. It can not just be looked at as the relationship between the nation-state and its citizens because there are multiple actors at play that claim to be the legitimate party. The TPLF, EPRDF, and Government Army all committed sexual-based atrocities whilst claiming superiority over the other. Throughout this conflict, as more atrocities are reported, the less legitimacy either side has. How is there a source of legitimacy when the exploitation of women and children in the name of the ‘cause’ is a leading tactic of warfare? How is division along ethnic lines being the justification for murdering a neighbor legitimate? Particularly in the Amnesty International brief, it is said that “the scale of the violations amount to war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity” (Amnesty International Brief, pg 5). We are reading about women being raped repeatedly in front of their children, sodomized with nails and rifles, and held as sex slaves. The audience willing to acknowledge legitimacy in a case such as this is dwindling by the day. Our argument is that when sexual violence is used as a weapon of war, especially to this gross degree, there is no legitimacy. With the proliferation of sexual violence during a conflict comes the fragmentation of any backing a once ‘legitimate’ party has. 

 

South Sudan

In 2011, South Sudan gained independence from Sudan after the Second Sudanese Civil War and was under the leadership of Salva Kiir’s government. However, several rebellions erupted due to Kiir’s alleged favoritism towards the Dinka people, fueling ethnic conflict. One of the major rebel groups was the Nuer White Army. Riek Machar, the vice president, was dismissed by Kiir in 2013 after a coup plot was discovered, and the two formed opposition parties as Machar announced his intention to run against Kiir in the 2015 election. Machar became the leader of the armed opposition group, Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in Opposition, supported by the Nuer people against Kiir’s government. In 2018, the Unity government formed with both leaders under a peace deal, but fighting has still continued, with brief interruptions by ceasefire agreements. Both parties continue to stage coups and violent attacks towards each other, and as leaders, both Kiir and Machar have respective control over several different regions in South Sudan. Thus, as both are part of the current Unity government, both parties have legitimacy in the conflict and the nation’s politics, and have the responsibility to end the conflict peacefully, yet to no avail. 

 

The government of South Sudan is obligated to end the impunity for serious crime, including the sexual violence occurring as part of the conflict. This becomes complex as one considers how both opposing parties in the conflict have legitimacy in the government, and the perpetrators of these crimes are meant to be the leaders preventing sexual violence from occurring in the first place. This showcases how legitimacy does not hold any real merit in the case of sexual violence, as it is used as a weapon to advance each party’s political agenda as well as retaliate against the opposition’s attack. The UN Commission has noted that the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement has a framework in place to address the causes of conflict and sexual violence in South Sudan. However, the government has failed to implement the key aspects of this framework, including reforming the armed forces, strengthening justice systems, and resourcing health services. With the deep ethnic divisions driving the continued sexual violence, both Kiir and Machar’s respective parties must come together to hold a final ceasefire agreement, ensuring the end of the violence once and for all.