Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

South Sudan

Meeting of South Sudanese Women Leaders with Troika (Norway, UK and US) Special Envoys to South Sudan

Juba, November 16, 2017- 25 South Sudan women leaders, representing women’s peace networks met with the Troika’s Special Envoys to South Sudan, Mr. Christopher Trott (UK), Mr. Erling Skjoensberg (Norway and Mr. Paul Sutphin (USA) and accompanied by HE, Ambassador of UK to South Sudan, Ms. Alison Blackburne, to present their position on the proposed revitalization of the 2015 Peace Agreement, general concerns on the peace process in South Sudan. The meeting was facilitated and hosted by UN Women Country in South Sudan.

The UN Women Country Representative, welcoming the guests, said, “it is important to recognize that women are not just victims of the conflict but that they are also agents, and therefore their voices and experiences are as important as any warring party, in resolving the conflict in South Sudan”.
The Troika Special Envoys thanked the women for meeting with them and said they had toured the region, including a visit to Addis Ababa and to the President of the Republic of South Sudan to engage all parties in the revitalization of the peace process, and how this represents the last chance for peace in South Sudan.

Women leaders and networks went ahead to make their requests to the Special Envoys. One was that for the Revitalization to succeed, at least 20 women’s representatives, drawn from women’s peace networks in the country, must be permanent members of the Revitalization process, and the parties to the conflict must also ensure that all their respective delegates include at least 25% women as indicated in the Peace Network. This is line with UNSC 1325 and provisions in the 2015 Peace Agreement.

Women wanted the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the regional body responsible for mediating the process in South Sudan to ensure the neutrality and impartiality of its member states, and be more accountable to the people of South Sudan. Women further called on the African Union to take a more active leadership role in the peace process. IGAD was also called on to establish a Gender Support Unit to support the IGAD’s mediation role in the peace process. Women expressed frustrations that arms were still flowing into South Sudan, making the country even more insecure, and as part of ceasefire arrangements, there must be a tightening and regulation of arms into South Sudan, and that ceasefire monitoring must include specific violations against women and girls, especially on sexual violence. Specifically, women demanded a minimum of three (3) women out of the twelve (12) South Sudanese seats in the Ceasefire and Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM) and to review its mandate to monitor and report on sexual and gender based violence violations, include women as monitors and have at least 4 women representatives on the Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) Board.

The Special Envoys appreciated the frankness of women, and said they shared women’s concerns and had listened to women and would be taking their voices forward. They said they were as frustrated as the women at the pace of implementation of the Peace Agreement, and the focus on parties to the conflict was not to marginalize women, but in recognition that they were the ones with the most responsibility to stop the violence. The three Special Envoys promised to continue to take women’s messages forward and ensure that they were well represented in the next phase. According to Mr. Christopher Trott, UK Special Envoy, “we are aware of your frustrations, not blind to the need for stronger engendering of the peace process, and have received your message very clearly”. END