A prominent civil society organization is threatening to sue the transitional government over failure to meet the 35% quota for women in leadership positions, as mandated by the 2018 peace agreement.
The Community Empowerment Progress Organization (CEPO) is giving the government a three-month ultimatum to rectify what it describes as “absolute violation” of women’s rights before taking the case to court.
CEPO’s Executive Director, Edmund Yakani, called the government’s failure to appoint women to top leadership roles a violation of both their rights and their “meaningful participation” in public life.
“We offer the leadership of the country a 3-month period to sort out the constitutional violation of women’s right to 35% representation and participation in the government level of state governors and chief administrators’ seats,” he stated. “Otherwise, after 3 months, we will file a legal case over this violation in our court of law system.”
Yakani also urged the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to uphold the law, emphasizing that the courts should be ready to handle the case without any political interference.
He noted that the judiciary is currently undergoing reforms to improve access to justice and respect for the rule of law.
Currently, all ten state governors and all chief administrators are men, violating the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
CEPO’s concerns go beyond just the state governors and chief administrators. Yakani said the organization’s Status of Women Initiative has found that the 35% quota is also being ignored in other key positions, including mayors and county commissioners.
South Sudan is a signatory to several international agreements that promote women’s rights and political participation, including the Maputo Protocol, the UN Convention on Political and Civil Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women (CEDAW).
The government’s failure to implement the 35% quota puts it at odds with its international obligations as well.
