Seeking safety: Identifying protection gaps for artists in South Sudan

Abstract

Protection of artists during times of conflict has no specific framework in international humanitarian law. However, cultural sites, artefacts and institutions are protected. Advocates working from the position of ‘cultural rights’ understand that artists who are specifically persecuted should be protected for defending human rights. Artists are targeted during conflict just like material culture for their symbolic contribution to society. During times of armed conflict, artists have few places to go. This worsens in protracted conflicts that drag on for generations. In contemporary South Sudan, conflict has driven out artists seeking protection and freedom of expression. This article contributes empirical evidence from South Sudan to reveal how artists experience the protection gap and how they become informal protection stakeholders. Identifying self-protection strategies gives insights for opening up further research on social and political phenomena impacting disputed territories or places impacted by long-term symbolic violence. In these contexts, this chapter shows the pathways artists take to not only seek shelter but to continue their work in exile.