Statement on International Women’s Day by the South Sudan Women, Peace, and Security Working Group, co-chaired by the Embassies of Norway and Canada and facilitated by UN Women

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Statement on International Women's Day by the South Sudan Women, Peace, and Security Working Group, co-chaired by the Embassies of Norway and Canada and facilitated by UN Women

08.03.2023 Press and information team of the Delegation to SOUTH SUDAN

On International Women's Day, we, call for a South Sudan in which the rights of all women and girls are secured and where women participate freely in decision-making processes at all levels of society. The Women, Peace, and Security Working Group calls on the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity to ensure meaningful participation for women in the Peace Process which is now at a critical juncture.

The Women, Peace, and Security Agenda has seen increased attention in South Sudan of late. The International Conference on Women's Transformational Leadership convened and energized a diverse group of Women Leaders from across South Sudan. We [placeholder on outcome/welcome President Kiir's comments in support of gender parity…]. The challenge now is to bring the outcomes from Juba out to the women and girls of this Country. We also note progress on development on South Sudan's second National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security. However, a plan cannot affect change of itself. To demonstrate its resolve, the Government of South Sudan is well-positioned to build on the positive momentum following the recent Women's Transformational Leadership conference, and fund the actions agreed in the SSNAP-2. As partners, we are ready to support.

Although we note positive developments, serious challenges persist. Women and girls bear the brunt of subnational conflicts across the country. Women are disproportionately affected by conflict-related sexual violence, which prevents them from fully benefiting from the universal rights and fundamental freedoms to which they are endowed. We note that 2023 marks the 75^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a landmark human rights document that as the UN's newest Member State, South Sudan has been most recent to sign. In addition to the UDHR, and the several international treaties signed by President Kiir in February 2023 (including the Maputo Protocol, ICCPR, ICESCR, and CRPD), the R-ARCSS peace agreement contains many provisions that seek to uphold the rights of women and girls, including gender parity in public institutions, where we welcome progress made. However, delays with respect to other provisions of the Roadmap are causing South Sudan's progress on gender equality to stall.

This International Women's Day, the Women, Peace, and Security Working Group in South Sudan calls for:

• Concrete financial and political commitments to support women and girls' meaningful public participation in preparation for elections and constitution-making process;
• Increased public service delivery, including for services preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence;
• Renewed efforts to reduce the digital divide, which is particularly detrimental to rural women and females in general, and which has the potential to create tremendous opportunities in support of the people of South Sudan and shared economic prosperity.

Signatories

British Embassy to South Sudan

Embassy of Canada to South Sudan

EU Delegation to South Sudan

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to South Sudan

Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to South Sudan

Royal Norwegian Embassy to South Sudan

Embassy of Sweden to South Sudan

Swiss Cooperation Office in Juba

United States Agency for International Aid (USAID) in South Sudan

CARE International

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in South Sudan

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) in South Sudan

United Nations Mission (UNMISS) in South Sudan

The Women, Peace and Security Working Group in South Sudan includes the Embassies of Canada, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, the EU Delegation, USAID, the United Nations (UN Women, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and UNMISS), AUMISS, IGAD, RJMEC and institutions established under the Revitalized Agreement for the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, as well as CARE International and TITI Foundation.