By Seyit Kurt and Mevlut Ozkan
ISTANBUL (AA) - The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for South Sudanese nationals, bringing to a close more than a decade of legal protection for thousands displaced by conflict, CBS News reported Wednesday.
TPS was first granted in 2011 for South Sudan following that country’s independence and years of instability. It was last extended in 2023 for 18 months by then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas due to conflict and humanitarian concerns.
Officials told CBS NEWS that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem made the decision after consultations with the State Department and other agencies, indicating that the end of active conflict, improved diplomatic ties and South Sudan’s readiness to reintegrate returning citizens justified the move.
They stressed that keeping TPS protection would be “inconsistent” with US interests.
The designation expired Nov. 3, and a formal notice of termination is expected in the Federal Register later this week. A 60-day grace period will allow affected individuals to leave the US before their legal status ends in January. Approximately 5,000 South Sudanese are currently under TPS, according to DHS estimates.
While the agency maintains that conditions have improved, the UN and humanitarian groups have warned the country remains fragile, with reports of continued violence, food insecurity and human rights violations.
UN officials have recently cautioned that the political transition is “falling apart” and the nation risks sliding back into widespread conflict. Nearly three-quarters of the population, about 9 million people, need humanitarian aid, according to the UN.
Barney Afako, a member of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, told the General Assembly in October that “the ceasefire is not holding, political detentions have become a tool of repression, the peace agreement’s key provisions are being systematically violated, and the government forces are using aerial bombardments in civilian areas.”
He warned that “all indicators point to a slide back toward another deadly war. The international community must recognize that the peace process is being dismantled in plain sight, and they should act before it’s too late.”
In late September, UN human rights chief Volker Turk expressed concern that the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement in South Sudan, signed by President Salva Kiir, rival Riek Machar and other political parties, could collapse and lead to widespread violence.
The UN human rights office reported that 1,854 civilians were killed, 1,693 injured, 423 abducted and 169 subjected to sexual violence in South Sudan from January to September, a 59% rise from last year, with the toll likely higher due to restricted access in conflict zones.
Court proceedings against Machar and other opposition figures on charges, including treason and murder, opened in September after they were suspended.