Women in Mediation Leadership: UNSC Resolution 1325 and IGAD’s Mediation in South Sudan

In 2000, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted the landmark resolution UNSC 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. This resolution urges member states to ensure the prevention of conflict against women, promote the protection of women during conflicts, and ensure the participation of women in conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction of their communities. This resolution further urges member states to increase the representation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional, and international institutions. South Sudan became a member of the UNSC after its independence in 2011 and ratified UNSC Resolution 1325. The establishment of South Sudan as an independent nation on July 9, 2011, marked a historic milestone, but the celebrations were short-lived as war broke out in December 2013. The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has played a central role in mediating the conflict in South Sudan since the 2013 conflict. IGAD developed a Regional Action Plan (RAP) on implementing the UNSC Resolution 1325 in 2013. IGAD’s RAP focuses on the participation of women in decision-making, but there are shortcomings to the RAP in that it states very little about the leadership of women in peace processes. This article examines the role of IGAD as a mediator in the South Sudan mediation process, with a particular focus on the RAP and the inclusion of women in track one mediation processes. Although women may be included in track three mediation, one of the reasons for the continued failure of sustained peace in South Sudan, we argue, is the continued marginalisation of women from track one mediation leadership processes.