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Summary:
This brief is taking a look into the gender perspective and the implementation of the UN 1325 resolution in the peace agreements signed between the transitional government and some of the armed groups in Sudan on October 3rd, 2020 in Juba of South Sudan.
For the purposes of this brief we have adopted the definition of Gender Perspective as defined by the International Criminal Court, Office of the Prosecutor’s Policy Paper on Sexual and Gender-based Crimes of June 2014. According to the paper ” Gender perspective’ requires an understanding of differences in status, power, roles, and needs between males and females, and the impact of gender on people’s opportunities and interactions.” This broader approach for understanding gender perspective will help in identifying power relationships that needs to be changed in the process of peace and transition, taking into account special women needs. This definition also questions the root differences in power relations and measure the possibility to change them.
Sudanese women participated in the peace process during through track one, which the main negotiation process with total of 7 women from the government and 16 women from the revolutionary front and 7 women from the Sudanese People Liberation Army/Alhelo leadership. Women rights groups created a delegation of 19 women representing variety of women from displaced camps and NGOs to participate in track two of the peace negotiations. This participation resulted in important impact in the provisions of the peace agreements detailed though this brief.
The peace agreement in Juba was a real step forward for Sudanese women participation in peace making and decision making. Women rights groups inside Sudan led successful campaigns to ensure women inclusion in the peace process. The support from UN Women in Sudan and IGAD mechanism was also important to facilitate this participation in track 1 and track 2 of the negotiations. The actual ability of women to include important changes and make these agreements gender sensitive and include the gender perspective is very clear throughout the texts of the signed agreements. But the issues of security arrangements, which are the most sensitive in the peace process remained out of gender influence to some extent. The inclusion of the 1325 resolution in many provisions of the agreements was clear, in some was less obvious. The only agreement that clearly mentioned the resolution was the eastern region agreement.
