High Level Dialogue on GBV during the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender Based violence

Remarks by:

Deputy Special Representative to the UN Secretary General UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator (DSRSG/RC/HC) Alain Noudéhou

High-Level Dialogue on GBV during the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence

Wednesday, 25 November 2020 Juba,

South Sudan

Your Excellency,

Madame Rebecca Garang, Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan,

Hon. Aya Benjamin Warile, Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare

Hon. Chief Justice

Hon. Minister of Defense

Hon. Minister of Interior

Hon. Minister of Health

Hon. Minister of Justice

Esteemed Ambassadors and representatives of the development partners.

Partners from the civil society

Dear Colleagues from the United Nations.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to be with you this morning as we mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence. It is great to see people from government, UN agencies, development partners, civil society organizations, private sector, and all the women and men here to speak with one voice on the urgency to eliminate gender-based violence.

The 16 Days of Activism is an occasion to remind ourselves that we are far from the envisioned world where every human being enjoys equal opportunities and a life free from violence. Gender based violence is one of the most persistent,widespread and horrific human rights violations. It is so widespread that someone around you could possibly be suffering in silence –that person could be a family member, a co-worker, or a neighbor.

This year, as we complete the 25 years of Beijing Platform for Action, 20 years of UN Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace and Security, and 5 years of Sustainable Development Goals, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed major challenges to humanity.

Evidence from around the world suggests that this crisis caused by the pandemic is impacting women and girls more disproportionally in the form of heightened social and economic hardships, but also increased vulnerability to gender-based violence.

In South Sudan, the Gender-Based Violence Information Management System (GBVIMS) covering the period from 1st January to 30th September 2020 reported 6,295 cases of gender-based violence where 97 per cent of the victims are women and girls. However, let us not forget that this is only the reported numbers; under-reporting remains one of the biggest challenges in addressing GBV.

The stigma, the under-reporting, and the harmful practices around GBV perpetuates this silence and breeds impunity. This needs to change. NOW. This year’s global theme is"Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!". The theme adopted in South Sudan is “Keep the Promise: Invest, Prevent and Respond to GBV”.

Through these themes, we are calling on all of us –, including the government, the United Nations, the international and national civil society, donor community, private sector, and community leaders -to keep up the promise made to the women and girls through the constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, That:

•Women shall be accorded full and equal dignity of the person with men.

•Women shall have the right to equal pay for equal work

•Women shall have the right to participate equally with men in public life.

•All levels of government shall enact laws to combat harmful customs and traditions which undermine the dignity and status of women.

This year’s campaign calls on all actors to follow three key recommendations in the fight against Gender-Based Violence:

Invest:

Concerted, long-term and adequate investments is needed to support and sustain joint efforts against GBV. I urge the Government, development partners and international and national civil society to earmark specific funding in their programming to address gender-based violence. Last year, South Sudan made a commitment at the Nairobi Summit on the International Conference on Population and Development to establish a Women’s Development Fund, which aims to promote women’s empowerment to address gender inequality, which is one of the root causes of GBV.

This commitment has yet to materialize. The Joint Program on the prevention of and addressing gender-based violence between the UN and the Government has achieved progress in terms of GBV response, despite the limited funding available. However, there remains a lot to be done on the prevention side, which require much-more resources. I thank the donor community for their contributions and call for increased investment against GBV.

Prevent:

As South Sudan moves forward with the peace process, it is imperative to increase our focus on prevention and educating our men and boys about their responsibility in ending gender-based violence. It is not sufficient to set up response systems for GBV.

If we want gender-based violence to end, we must focus on educating our next generation on gender equality, eliminate the socio-cultural practices and beliefs that perpetuate violence against women and begin to recognize the greater role of women in peace and nation building.

Respond:

We need a robust legal framework that protects the survivors of gender-based violence.  I am sure that the Hon. Ministers of Justice, Interior and Gender Child and Social Welfare working under the leadership of Her Excellency, Madam Vice President, will prioritize the enactment of the Anti-GBV Bill and allocate sufficient resources for its effective implementation.

Eliminating gender-based violence requires all of us to increase our collective efforts. It is my hope that next year in 2021, we will meet again to take stock of the achievements against the commitments being made today. It is only through holding ourselves accountable against the commitments to end gender-based violence that we will achieve the results.

I thank you for your attention.