Parties signatory to South Sudan’s peace accord should ensure the 35% women representation is enforced without any violations, Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) said on Thursday.
The September 2018 revitalized peace agreement provides for a 35% quota for women’s participation in the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU).
“It is high time parties [to the agreement] demonstrated political will by ensuring the agreed upon decision, such as the 35% for women representation is not violated, but effectively enforced. Striking meaningful women participation in public life is essential and key for human growth and societal development in South Sudan,” said CEPO’s Executive Director, Edmund Yakani.
He also welcomed the recent appointment of a female speaker of parliament.
“This is a good demonstration of compensation for previous violations of the 35% for women by the SPLM [ Sudan People’s Liberation Movement], but should not be used as an excuse for violating the 35% for women further, most especially during the appointment of chairpersons and deputy chairpersons for the legislative assembly outstanding committees,” explained Yakani.
The revitalized peace agreement provides for the reconstitution of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) and the Council of States.
In May, South Sudan’s South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir reconstituted the upper the lower assemblies in line with provisions of the 2018 peace accord.
The new assembly now has 550 lawmakers and 100 Council of States members.
Yakani said the parties to the peace deal should ensure the 35 parliament standing committees are allocated in accordance with the responsibility sharing ratio enshrined in the accord, which ended the country’s bloody civil war.
“Community Empowerment for Progress Organization program on the status of women initiative urges the parties to genuinely enforce the 35% for women representation in the appointment of standing committee chairpersons and deputy chairpersons in the national assembly. We are expecting 12 female committee female chairpersons and 12 deputy chairpersons,” he stressed.
The new national assembly currently consists of 332 members of the incumbent TGoNU, 128 from the armed opposition movement (SPLM-IO), 50 from South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), 30 from the Other Political Parties (OPP) and 10 from the Former Detainees (FDs).
Source: Sudan Tribune