South Sudan’s 2015 Peace Agreement and Women’s Participation

Abstract

This paper examines the extent to which women’s issues are addressed in the 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. It contends that while women’s issues are provided for in some parts of the agreement, opportunities for the inclusion of women were limited by the structure of the peace talks. Moreover, the agreement does not provide for bloc representation of women in the transitional arrangements, which can limit their influence in the implementation process. However, women need to exploit the opportunities in the agreement, though limited and shallow, in order to influence its implementation and the future of their country.