Gov’t makes bold promise to promote gender equality
South Sudan’s women’s delegation to the 66th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York, has reaffirmed the country’s commitment to implementing international and regional normative standards on women’s rights and gender equality.
In her address to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women’s General Assembly, Aya Benjamin Warille, the country’s Gender Child and Social Welfare Minister, said achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are among the top crucial agendas of her country.
“The Republic of South Sudan is committed to implementing the international and regional normative standards on women’s rights, gender equality, climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction, and the prevention of COVID-19,” she said.
Aya who was the head of South Sudan’s delegation to the conference stressed that climate change has a detrimental impact on South Sudan.
She added that five out of the 10 states have been flooded, and at least 800,000 people have been displaced and lost their livelihoods.
The minister said the households, families, and communities living in and around oil-producing areas have also been threatened by improper waste management.
She admitted that the South Sudanese women were in oil areas were facing challenges like premature birth, birth abnormalities, and water and environmental contamination that are all on the rise.
“Drought has disproportionately affected rural women and girls as a result of extreme heat, unplanned rein pattens, and crop failure.”
However, she said South Sudanese government has created a national disaster risk prevention mechanism and prepared the National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy (2019), Environment Policy (2015), and National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2019).
According to Minister Aya, her country has also filed the 2nd Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA), and its first National Adaptation Plan to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (NAP).
She said the South Sudan food system assessment (2021) shows that food insecurity, malnutrition, hunger, and poverty are widespread.
“This will necessitate considerable investments in infrastructure, microcredit and loan availability, market linkages, value addition, and postharvest technology, all of which will support climate-smart agriculture and rejuvenate national agricultural schemes,” the minister noted.
She revealed that the government has established and incorporated the TCSS (2011) as amended after the signing of the R-ARCSS to boost women’s representation levels.
However, Aya stressed that the Affirmative Action Bill is awaiting approval by the Council of Ministers, to ensure its implementation.
“Gender disparities, early marriages, unwanted pregnancies, and school dropouts persist, particularly during the COVID-19 lockdown.”
She said several initiatives have been implemented, including the creation of a Strategic National Action Plan (2017–2030) to end child marriages, the launch of a national campaign to end early and unintended pregnancies, and the implementation of the South Sudan Labor Act (2017) to ensure “equal pay for work of equal value.”
The official revealed that, in terms of economic empowerment, the R-ARCSS (2018) has established the Women’s Enterprise Development Fund as a flagship project.
