South Sudan is currently in a position where the women’s civil society is strongly protesting against the exclusion towards them in the National Constitution Review Commission (NCRC). Operation 1325:s partner in South Sudan, EVE Organization, is one of the driving forces in the protest.
Today, on the 25th of January at 10:00 a.m, EVE Organization has invited the women’s civil society and female activists to a press conference regarding the exclusion of civil society in the National Constitution Review Commission (NCRC). The mission of the commission is to research, review and develop South Sudanese laws and acts so that they are formed after the needs of the citizens of South Sudan.
Broken promise
The reason that the reaction from EVE Organization is this huge is that the state recently promised that would be offered five seats in the commission. This would enable the organizations to actively take part in the work for the citizens, and especially women, and discuss laws and acts that could be developed better.
A Crime against the constitution
The reality is however not that bright. When the commission was formed, not one representative from civil society was invited. Because of this, the five seats that had been promised to civil society in the commission was ignored. This directly goes against the South Sudanese constitution, which clearly says that civil society always has to be consulted when commissions like the NCRC are initiated.
Gathering activists
It is with this background that EVE Organization and their partners from the women’s civil society now actively protest against this treatment. EVE Organization encourages all women affected by this discrimination to appear at the press conference today in Juba, South Sudan. Their hope is that the protest will gain momentum and that the women’s civil society organizations will reclaim the constitutional right that they deserve.
Julle Bergenholtz
