South Sudan

In 2024, South Sudan achieved a landmark milestone for gender equality and women�s empowerment with the adoption of the South Sudan Women�s Charter[1]. This historic document, developed through nationwide consultations and supported by UN Women, promotes women�s meaningful participation in constitution-making, elections, political parties, and policy interventions, directly contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal 5, Target 5.5, by prioritizing women�s leadership. The Charter was co-funded by the Peacebuilding Fund, the Governments of the Netherlands and Norway, and developed in collaboration with UNHCR, UNDP, UNMISS, civil society organizations, government, Ministry of Gender, Ministry of Peacebuilding and the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC). Drawing from experiences of six countries�Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Libya�the Charter outlines twelve critical priorities, including political participation, economic rights, education, protection against gender-based violence (GBV), access to justice, climate security and public finance management reforms. As a result of UN Women�s capacity-building efforts with key partners, including the National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC), National Legislative Assembly (NLA), civil society, youth, persons with disabilities, and media practitioners[2], the NCRC is revising its rules to ensure the leadership and participation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities in civic education, public consultations, and constitution drafting. This progress lays the foundation for a people-driven, inclusive Permanent Constitution that addresses gender barriers and promotes equality, in line with the Charter demands. Beyond constitutional reform, the Charter is actively guiding the Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Welfare (MGCSW) in drafting critical legislative measures, including the Anti-GBV Bill, Family Bill, and Gender Affirmative Bill. Five women�s coalitions at subnational levels, inspired by the Charter, are now advocating for their constitutional priorities and preparing position papers on gender equality for submission to the NCRC. The South Sudan Women�s Charter represents a transformative step toward embedding gender equality in South Sudan�s governance and legal frameworks, ensuring inclusive, transparent, and accountable systems that protect and empower women and marginalized groups. [1] https://africa.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-06/south_sudan_womens_charter.pdf [2] UN Women post-training surveys for the NCRC, Journalists, and Public Speaking Trainings, 2024.

In November 2023, 18 women (32%) out of 57 members were appointed in the leadership of the Reconstituted National Constitutional Review Commission (R-NCRC) that oversees the Constitution Making Process (CMP). In 2022, 4 out of the 18 appointed women�s capacity and knowledge on the CMP including the procedure to be appointed in the R-NCRC were strengthened through UN Women�s supported trainings that were conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare. The gender diversity and inclusion of women by 32% in the composition of the R-NCRC help women to meaningfully engage in all constitutional provisions and mainstreaming gender equality across the CMP. As the foundational national document, the Constitution has the potential to be transformative and offers an entry point to ensure the state commits to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of women as well as advance women in political, economic and social life. The CMP offers an excellent opportunity for women to participate in a bid to safeguard their rights in the supreme law. UN Women strengthened the capacity of 65 (40 women and 25 men) members of National Legislative Assembly, which resulted in engendering and adopting a gender-responsive Constitution Making Process Act, 2022. In addition, South Sudanese Women�s Charter was finalized. It is an advocacy tool for the inclusion of gender and women�s priorities in the CMP as well as a call for legal, policy and/or programmatic interventions to address critical women�s issues related to gender equality and women�s rights. The Charter has 12 thematic areas of concern that is based on the discussions and recommendations of broad state level consultations across the country, covering 300 participants (240 female and 60 males, including 50 persons with disabilities (PWD)) as well as 1,000 IDPs and returnees (500 females and 500 males, including 8% of PWD). UN Women led the process of developing the Charter which was started in 2022. UN Women led in the development of Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) bill, which has been tabled to parliament by the Ministry of Gender. WEF is a critical provision in Chapter 4 of the Peace Agreement to spur economic recovery and empowerment of women and girls. In addition, . The result contributes to SDG 5: Target 5.5 Ensure women�s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life and UNSDCF Outcome 4: Women, youth plus vulnerable groups are empowered to demand and exercise their political, economic, social, environmental and cultural rights.