The German Embassy in Juba announced on Wednesday that it will increase its ongoing support for women in South Sudan’s peace process with an additional EUR 3.63 million.

In a statement extended to Radio Tamazuj, the Embassy said the project ‘Empowered Women Influence” will strengthen women leaders to shape legislation and judicial reforms to combat sexual and gender-based violence.

The program is designed to contribute to empowering women to participate in and lead peace processes at the local, state and national level. It will also provide capacity training to female parliamentarians and women-led civil society organisations, support grass-roots women’s groups and offer psychosocial support to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.

The project will be implemented by PAX South Sudan and six national NGOs in Central and Eastern Equatoria, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Unity, Upper Nile and Warrap.

Speaking at the project launch on Wednesday, Christian Sedat, Ambassador Designate of the Federal Republic of Germany to South Sudan, welcomed “the exemplary leadership” shown by female activists in South Sudan’s peace initiatives and encouraged all stakeholders to renew their efforts to invest in greater gender equality.

“The women of South Sudan have been making an immense contribution to peace initiatives across this country. As South Sudan is preparing for elections, it is vital that women and their interests be represented in the electoral and constitution-making processes. Without the meaningful participation of women, the country will not be able to achieve the peace and prosperity the people of South Sudan seek and so much deserve,” Sebat said.

 “The women of South Sudan have been making an immense contribution to peace initiatives across this country. As South Sudan is preparing for elections, it is vital that women and their interests be represented in the electoral and constitution-making processes.

“The 16 Days of Activism are a reminder to all of us that there is still a long way to go to end sexual and gender-based violence in South Sudan and across the world. Germany’s support to this project underlines our ongoing commitment to amplifying women’s voices, combatting the concerning level of sexual and gender-based violence in South Sudan and supporting survivors. I invite the Transitional Government to join us by allocating the necessary resources to gender transformative initiatives. This will help translate the Transitional Government’s commitment to greater gender equality into a tangible improvement of the situation of women and girls in South Sudan,” he added.

The German government’s support for stabilization in South Sudan focuses on advancing the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement. It includes improving rule-of-law structures, fostering reconciliation and strengthening civil society, preparing free and fair elections and paving the way for a new constitution.

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