Women-led civil society organizations on Wednesday called on the transitional government of national unity to avail adequate funding to speed up the implementation of the pending critical tasks within the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.
“The government has to allocate adequate resources for the implementation of key tasks under the revitalized peace agreement including the national electoral process, constitution-making process, transitional justice mechanisms, security sector, and judicial reforms,” they said in a joint communiqué in Juba.
They called for women’s political participation and legislative reforms to ensure gender equity and a peaceful future for the country.
“We agree upon and put forward key priority areas that call for an inclusive and holistic approach to addressing challenges, prioritize the Tumaini peace process, and address contradictions between the Tumaini initiative and the revitalized peace agreement,” they said.
The women also demanded that they get involved in the legal and policy reforms through advocacy in all 10 States and three Administrative Areas to bridge the information gap between the Tumaini initiative and the revitalized peace agreement.
“The government must open up civic and political space, and reconsider amending the National Security Act, 2014 as amended as it currently restricts civic and political space and violates fundamental rights under the bills of rights of the Transitional Constitution 2011 as amended”.
The communiqué was issued by 15 women-led organizations including the South Sudanese Network for Democracy and Elections (SSUNDE), Grassroots Women Network, Centre for Inclusive Governance, Peace and Justice, and Young Women Christian Associations (YWCA) among others.
The parties to the 2018 revitalized peace agreement are yet to complete the implementation of the security arrangements, the constitutional-making process that will lead to the permanent constitution, and also implementation of the transition justice and accountability mechanisms.
