The head of the Joint Monitoring & Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) has said that access to power, inclusivity, and effective participation for women in the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement remains a challenge.
Amb. Charles Tai Gituai while speaking during a workshop convened by RJMEC in collaboration with the ceasefire monitoring body (CTSAMVM) and the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), said that even though Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on the role of women in conflict resolution and peace processes, which calls for the adoption of gender perspectives, especially of women’s and girls’ needs in peace agreements, and their implementation mechanisms, and for the protection and respect of
He noted that lack of proper access to power, inclusivity, and effective participation in the peace process and gender bias, continue to hinder the advancement of women in South Sudan.
“Unless such challenges are adequately addressed, perspectives and concerns of women will be overlooked in politics as well as in the implementation of the Roadmap of the peace agreement,” AMb. Gituai said. “This, therefore, calls for women to be respected and not to be ignored or undermined, and women should be assertive in making their voices heard.”
He called for the inclusion of women in key institutions such as the Political Parties Council, the National Elections Commission, and the National Constitutional Review Commission.
Also related to the Constitution-making process, he said, is the establishment of the Preparatory Sub-Committee for the National Constitutional Conference, and recruitment of the Constitutional Drafting Committee.
According to Amb. Gituai, the gender provisions of the Agreement enhances the inclusion and empowerment of women, as they cover the participation and representation of women in decision‐making positions, in all governmental bodies, and institutions and mechanisms that drive political, economic, social and judicial reforms, as well as the constitution-making process.
“This remains equally valid and important in the Roadmap,” he said.
The Agreement mandates a 35 percent level of women’s participation in such bodies, and the nominees to these bodies need to reflect the gender, political, social, ethnic, religious, and regional diversity of South Sudan.
“RJMEC takes these considerations very seriously, and as we conduct our monitoring and evaluation of the peace agreement, we will ensure that these parameters get the proper level of attention,” Amb. Gituai said. “It is evident that the letter and spirit of the gender provisions in the Revitalized Peace Agreement are deep and far-reaching, and aimed at creating a conducive environment for women in South Sudan to actively participate in the political, economic, and social life of their country.”
The workshop brought together over 60 South Sudanese women under the theme “Understanding the Roadmap and women’s participation in the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).”