By Charles K Mark
At least twenty-six (26) women leaders from the ten states and three administrative areas of South Sudan have received skills in conflict prevention, mediation, dialogue, negotiation and peacebuilding.
The training was conducted by the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) in partnership with the African Union Mission in South Sudan (AUMISS) to build women’s capacities in conflict prevention, mediation, dialogue, negotiation and peace-building skills.
According to a concept note seen by the No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper, this aims to contribute to strengthening the role of women in conflict prevention and mediation efforts.
It also provides a platform for strategic advocacy, capacity building and networking striving to actualize the commitment to women’s inclusion in peacemaking.
“The concept of the six-day ToT aims to strengthen the role of women in preventative diplomacy and mediation at Track 1, 2, and 3 levels. The statement was partly read.
Women’s participation in formal mediation processes and at the peace table in South Sudan was witnessed in the run-up to the signing of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution to the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ACRSS) in 2018.
The dividends seem to be an increased number of women in political leadership positions in the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGONU) and the Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly (RTNLA).
The R-ACRSS speaks to a 35% representation of women in all key sectors and particularly in Chapter V, which hinges on transitional justice mechanisms.
AUMISS said another way, the significant contributions of women to strong mediation and conflict prevention initiatives continue to be largely unrecognized and thus weakly supported.
It was meant to harness and impart skills to women, who will be expected to serve as local trainers at state levels.
“It will also build women’s capacities in conflict prevention and enable them to cascade the training to the grassroots. Said AUMISS.
The ToT would as well build a formal and formidable FemWise South Sudan chapter that can be tapped into at the national and grassroots levels to mitigate and resolve disputes and conflicts in South Sudan.
In November 2022, the AUMISS, together with its partners, the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) and the Women International Peace Centre (WIPC), conducted a 3-day strategic thinking workshop in Juba, South Sudan.
The meeting aimed to establish a roadmap towards the creation of the South Sudan FemWise Chapter.
This entailed deliberation on modalities such as which ministry would house the chapter, how to identify women at the various tiers, and how to cascade training and keep track of or record women’s interventions in conflict resolution and prevention.
The women agreed to house the chapter in the Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Welfare; they also agreed to training of trainers, particularly for levels 2 and 3, which are the CSOs and grassroots, respectively.
It was also agreed to engage women at level 1 to conduct their own strategic thinking on how they can utilize conflict prevention skills at the national level.
This women-led network is thought to help ensure that the gains made in conflict prevention are not reversed, including the current gains of women in key leadership positions.
The initiative is supported by the Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Peace Building.
The primary beneficiaries of this very ToT are said to have been selected from government, women-led organizations, women in academia, women in the corporate sector, students and young women, as well as wives of influencers in business and church domains.
Two women were selected from each of the 10 states and the three administrative areas (Ruweng, Abyei, and Pibor).