Rapid integrated mobile response to assess, prevent and respond to emergency protection concerns due to conflict outbreaks in South Sudan Through this project NP will deploy a rapid protection assessment and response team with the aim of enhancing the multi-cluster response and to access safe and dignified services throughout South Sudan as well as strengthening the capacities of community-based protection mechanisms to prevent and respond to protection risks. 

The Integrated Protection Mobile Team (IPMT) will mainly respond to complex protection, insecurity and displacement as well as returns dynamics. The IPMT will conduct at least eight mobile missions to hard-to reach areas, or where no strong or static protection presence exists, to assess and respond to these emergency needs determined on a case-by case basis in coordination with the Protection Cluster, Needs Analysis Working Group (NAWG) and Inter-Cluster Working Group (ICWG). The IPMT will continue focusing on Upper Nile, the Equatorias, Jonglei, Unity and Warrap states and will elaborate and disseminate at least 8 reports, containing assessment and/or complete mission findings.

Each mission will be planned in consultation with the Protection Cluster (PC) and humanitarian partners on the ground to confirm assessment and response locations. Deployment of the IPMT for an assessment mission will be 3-5 days, depending on the scope and scale of the area and population and depending on the recommendation given by the High-Level Task Force (HLTF) on COVID-19 pandemic considering respective movement restrictions. Followed by the assessment, the response mission will be 7-14 days to address the most pressing protection needs identified during the previous assessment. As the response will be based on the outcomes of the assessments or followed by a recommendation from the PC, NP has to stay flexible in the implementation of activities and adapt to each mission the appropriate intervention, and acting on behalf of IPMT’s mandate to respond to emergencies. For example, NP conducted a protection response mission to Pibor in Feb/March 20 to respond to the sudden outbreaks of the inter-communal conflict which resulted in massive displacements in Pibor. In addition, NP will also conduct response missions to locations with increased protection risks including possible conflict, for example locations with high prevalence of cantonments. Most protection needs arising from these kinds of situations are as followed: increase of SGBV cases, primarily against women and children, unaccompanied children, child-abduction, forced recruitment and inter-communal violence.  

To respond to these needs, NP is proposing the following response intervention to be conducted by the complete IPMT (including all six IPMT staff members during each mission) if appropriate and needed: 1) Conducting proactive, strategic and deterrent patrolling and protective presence in identified high risk areas 2) Establishing and/or strengthening 2 SGBV and/or CP referral pathways. 3) Referring and, where necessary, providing protective accompaniments for GBV survivors or unaccompanied Children (UAC) 4) Facilitating 3 Child Safe Spaces (CSS) for girls and boys affected by violence, conflict and displacement and 5) Conducting 6 protection mainstreaming trainings for partner agencies. The team always operationalizes NP’s Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) methodology in each activity. 

After each assessment and /or response mission, NP will provide a de-briefing in Juba to share analysis, produce and disseminate assessment and response reports to the PC and relevant stakeholders. 

In light of the current situation of the outbreak of COVID-19, NP will always act based on the recommendations from the HLTF on COVID-19 pandemic in order to comply and to safeguard the security for the staff but also for the beneficiaries.