South Sudan: Birth of a Nation: prospects for peace and development

More than half the population live below the poverty line; only 40% of men and 16% of women are literate, 45% of the population do not have access to water; and the maternal mortality ratio is among the highest in the world at over 2000 per 100,000 live births. In addition South Sudan remains insecure with continued outbreaks of violence in many parts of the country

The UK does not route any funding through the Government of South Sudan. Instead it uses large multi-donor pooled funds managed by UN agencies such as UNDP. The Government has allocated £294 million in humanitarian and development assistance for South Sudan for the period up to 2015.

The International Development Committee has decided to undertake an inquiry into the birth of South Sudan looking specifically at the prospects for peace and development and invites written submissions on the following issues:

• The extent of humanitarian need, especially among returning South Sudanese and those displaced by fighting in Abeyi and South Kordofan; and any problems with humanitarian access;
• The provision of basic services, essential infrastructure and DFID’s efforts to reduce extreme poverty and promote sustainable livelihoods;
• How DFID can help to improve governance, including at the county and local level;
• The management of oil and oil revenues for development;
• The role of the UN development and humanitarian organisations, the World Bank, other bilateral donors and the extent of leadership and coordination between them;
• The security situation including the effectiveness of the UN peacekeeping force, UNMISS, and the prospects for a non-militarised border;
• The implications of potential membership of the Commonwealth and the East African Community.

The deadline for submitting written evidence is Monday 17 October 2011.

Written evidence submitted should: 

If possible, be provided electronically in MS Word or Rich Text format by e-mail to International Development Committee. If submitted by e-mail or e-mail attachment, a letter should also be sent validating the e-mail. The letterhead should contain your full postal address and contact details 
Begin with a one page summary if it is longer than six pages
Have numbered paragraphs 
Avoid the use of colour or expensive-to-print material.

Submissions can also be sent by post to International Development Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London, SW1P 3JA.

View guidance on giving evidence to Select Committees.

Material already published elsewhere should not form the basis of a submission, but may be referred to within written evidence, in which case a hard copy of the published work should be included. If a number of published documents are sent to accompany written evidence, these should be listed in the covering email. 
Written evidence submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organization submitting it is specifically authorised. 
Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Record Office. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence. 
It would be helpful, for Data Protection purposes, if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details separately in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. 
Select Committees are unable to investigate individual cases.

FURTHER INFORMATION: Committee Membership is as follows: Malcolm Bruce MP, Chair (Lib Dem, Gordon), Hugh Bayley MP (Lab, City of York), Richard Burden MP (Lab, Birmingham, Northfield), Sam Gyimah MP (Con, East Surrey), Richard Harrington MP (Con, Watford), Pauline Latham MP (Con, Mid Derbyshire), Jeremy Lefroy MP (Con, Stafford), Michael McCann MP (Lab, East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow), Alison McGovern MP (Lab, Wirral South), Anas Sarwar MP (Lab, Glasgow Central), Chris White MP (Con, Warwick and Leamington).

Specific Committee Information: indcom@parliament.uk / 020 7219 1223/ 020 7219 1221
Media Information: daviesnick@parliament.uk / 020 7219 3297
Committee Website: www.parliament.uk/indcom 
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