Outcome SDN_D_1.1

More women of all ages fully engage with political and economic institutions and in leadership

During the reporting period, progress was made to the outcome. “to enable more women of all ages engage and lead political and economic institutions”. Despite the politically tense situation in the CO, the diversity of the networks established in support of women’s political participation has played a key role in shaping the climate and momentum for acceptance of women’s political participation. In addition, the knowledge and technical support provided to women group, women in political parties and women provided by UN-Women directly contributed to facilitating women’s engagement and leadership in political and economic institutions. An example is the participation of women in the political process to restore the country’s path to the democratic transition and the support they received from the different networks to engender the political framework as well the negotiation skills they employed enabled them to successfully engender the political agreement.

More women of all ages fully engage with political and economic institutions and in leadership

In 2024, due to the ongoing conflict and political instability in Sudan, formal political structures remained absent, impacting the extent to which women could engage in governance systems. Despite this, UN Women made significant progress in enhancing women’s participation in leadership roles, particularly within political and peace processes. Sudan Women’s Peace Dialogue: In July 2024, the African Union committed to ensuring 50% women’s participation in AU-led processes, marking a milestone in promoting women’s leadership in political and peace negotiations. Geneva Peace Talks: UN Women provided technical support to a member of the Peace for Sudan platform during the Geneva peace talks, where she presented critical issues to key actors, contributing to the inclusion of women’s voices in the peace process. Kampala Dialogue: The African Union’s initiative to involve women from the Kampala Dialogue in the Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue framework further highlighted the importance of women’s leadership, despite the challenges faced. Advocacy at International Platforms: UN Women facilitated advocacy efforts for Sudanese women at major international platforms, including the Paris Humanitarian Conference and GIMAC in Addis Ababa. These platforms enabled women to engage with international actors and present their demands on peace and humanitarian issues. Virtual Briefing and Fact-Finding Mission: A virtual briefing organized by UN Women contributed to the extension of the Fact-Finding Mission's mandate, emphasizing the critical need for women’s participation in decision-making, especially in addressing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Although the broader political environment hindered the establishment of formal governance structures in Sudan, these initiatives demonstrate significant progress in increasing women’s engagement in political and peace processes, as well as their leadership roles in these spaces.

More women of all ages fully engage with political and economic institutions and in leadership

Despite the ongoing conflict in Sudan, progress towards the outcome has been achieved. UN Women followed the principle of intersectionality in all its supported interventions. Representation from different geographical locations in Sudan, as well as age and class were considered in the criteria for the selection of beneficiaries of UN Women supported interventions. This later provided opportunities for women from different backgrounds to engage with decision makers in key political intergovernmental organizations. The Sudanese Women Conference in Kampala - in collaboration with the AU, and IGAD - is an example. More than 460 women from form Sudan and abroad from diverse ethnic, political and age backgrounds shaped a feminist peace agenda, resulting in the Kampala Feminist Declaration outlining short, mid, and long-term peace priorities providing a unified voice for women in shaping the peace landscape. To ensure that the document captures voices of women most excluded, consultations with more than 400 IDP women and women from host communities in Sudan were conducted and intersectionality as key in the selection of targeted women. In addition, through the technical support provided to different women-led platforms, the statements and declarations emphasized ending the war coupled with underscoring a process that is gender responsive. The statements also emphasized setting a new political, economic and social environment that is built on equality. These are all key aspects that contribute to reinforcing a mindset where decision makers - as well as communities - that want to move towards sustainable political restitution of democracy and development cannot achieve this without the full engagement of women of all demographic groups in the processes and in the institutions mandated to do so. The Kampala declaration built on previous statements released by the platforms created with support from UN Women that reinforce participation and leadership of women for sustainable political systems and development. The declaration was then used by different women delegations in their engagements with decision makers in key political fora and meetings, such as the meeting with UN Special Envoy for the East and Horn of Africa, the briefing to John Godfrey (the US Special Envoy to Sudan) and the German Ambassador to Sudan. Following this, Sudanese women participated in a New York based roundtable entitled “African Women at the Peace Table,” focusing on regional challenges in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In November, they joined the African Union Peace and Security Council’s Open Session, advocating for an end to the war, increased humanitarian aid, and women's meaningful participation in peace processes. While the above-mentioned support and strategy illustrated UN Women’s role in the amplification of voices and demands of women for the restoration of peace and democracy, these efforts also contributed to strengthening the capacity of women-led organizations in influencing and leading civic-led political initiatives which can influence the course of democratic governance and peace in Sudan.