Minister of International Development Hilde Frafjord Johnson

Towards Achieving the MDGs in Sudan: Centrality of Women's Leadership and Gender Equality.

Roundtable conference, New York,
13 September 2005

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Let me first say how pleased I am to be at this roundtable conference, with so many familiar faces, and so many important ideas. Some of us have met frequently this past year – in different parts of the world, but with the same topic on the agenda: how to ensure that women become full and equal partners in the efforts to build a new and peaceful Sudan.

The death of Dr John Garang de Mabior this summer shocked and saddened us all. His leadership was instrumental in securing peace for Southern Sudan, and we will miss him terribly in the work that now has to be done. To honour his memory, we must all do our best to bring his vision forward. The peace that has been created through years of difficult negotiations must be nurtured and strengthened. I am confident that the new SPLM leadership and the new presidency of the country will continue Dr. John’s legacy.

The Chinese say that

“Women hold up half the sky.”

In Sudan during the war, I believe women often held up more than “half the sky”. Over the past decades, women farmed the land, brought up the children, took care of the sick, kept societies together – while the men were away, fighting.

The war has been dominated by men. The peace negotiations have been dominated by men. Now it is time for women to take their rightful place as equals, and to make sure that their voices are heard in the implementation process. Not just because it is the right thing, but because it is the only way to ensure that the agreement is accepted and acted on in the local communities.

Women kept life going, even in the midst of so much suffering.

Women made decisions, they persevered – because they had to, and because they hoped for something better.

Now, “something better” has finally arrived, and we need to make sure that women remain equal partners in peace, as they were in war.

We have met twice before this year to discuss the role of women in the peace process. There is a lot to be said – and even more to be done. But we are on our way, and we are making progress.

In January, only four days after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) we held a conference in Oslo entitled Sudanese Women and the Peace Process.

At the conference, I encouraged Sudanese women to fight for a place at the table when decisions are made. Women must insist on being treated as equal partners when the new Sudan is being built. In return, the Sudanese women gave us a list of priorities, concerns, ideas and demands.

In April, the Gender Symposium in Oslo brought women from both North and South Sudan together. For the first time they worked in tandem to create an extensive and comprehensive list of priorities and recommendations to the Donors' Conference on Sudan – an event which Noeleen Heyzer, head of UNIFEM, described as the best donors' conference yet, with regard to women's rights. We made sure that women’s voices were heard, loud and clear.

The Oslo conference yielded pledges of USD 4.5 billion for the period 2005-2007. That was the good news.

The bad news is that pledges do not always equal payment.

In spite of the generosity shown in Oslo, documentation shows considerable under-financing of both humanitarian and developmental needs. I have written a letter to the donors who were at the conference, urging them to follow up on their pledges and report on their progress. The international community must ensure that what is promised is also paid.

This is why we are working with the World Bank and the United Nations to establish a comprehensive tracking mechanism. This would give us an up-to-date picture of the pledging and disbursement situation at any time – a tool of critical importance to the new Government of National Unity in Sudan and the Government of Southern Sudan.

At the Donors' Conference, you called for the budget allocations to directly benefit women and young people, especially young girls in disadvantaged communities, and you listed your priorities. We must give priority to efforts to empower women, to give women opportunities, and to build capacity among women.

More specifically, you requested donor support to reduce gender inequalities in law, policy and practice, and you asked that we target rural areas.

The Multi-Donor Trust Funds have now been established and funds are available for priority activities. I would like to emphasise that the priorities will be set by the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan. It is the responsibility of the governments to ensure that men and women benefit equally.

However, donors are in close dialogue with the governments about the use of the funds, and we will do what we can to help develop programmes that will improve the lives of women. It is key that the funds allocated are used to benefit women.

The needs assessment that was done prior to the establishment of the Multi-Donor Trust Funds emphasised the need for capacity building in all sectors and at all levels. There will be a number of training programmes targeting women. This is crucial, in order to prevent a widening income and opportunity gap between men and women.

Again, the primary responsibility to include women in the training and capacity building efforts rests with the government, but it is important that women actively seek opportunities – for themselves and for other women.

Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK have agreed to establish a joint donor office in Juba, with joint operations. The office will work with the Government of Southern Sudan and civil society in the south. We will make sure that gender issues stay high on the agenda in this office.

Women's empowerment is essential if we are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. No country can afford to miss out on the human resource potential represented by women – “half the sky!” – least of all in a country like Sudan, where the need is so great and the devastation so enormous.

Three of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) concern women directly:

• the goal of education for all, including girls,
• the goal of promoting equal rights and strengthening the position of women,
• and the goal of improving maternal health.

Other MDGs concern women more indirectly, but no less importantly, such as the goal of fighting HIV/AIDS.

Women’s education, health, rights – all of these must be improved if the women of Sudan are to take their rightful place as equal partners in rebuilding the country. And there is much work to be done. That is why we are here.

We are here today to discuss the centrality of women's leadership and gender equality in Sudan, and in the achievement of the MDGs.

In this endeavour, education is the key. If most girls continue to receive only a rudimentary education, if girls and young women continue to drop out of school at the rate we see today, they will never be able to take their role as full partners in the development of their country.

Health is another area of concern. Women’s health must be a priority. We know that has not been the case so far.

We also know that women's rights in general have been sadly neglected during the war. But the peace process signals the start of profound change in Sudan. Let us work together to make sure that the changes include women.

Women’s voices must be heard at all levels, anchoring the ownership of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement not only at the top, but also in the local communities. If women are not included in the decision-making, if men alone decide the direction the future Sudan is to take, the CPA will fail. We cannot let that happen.

This year, we celebrate the five-year anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325, on women, peace and security. This resolution calls for women to be included in ALL areas of peacemaking and peacebuilding – to take part in all political decisions and all development debates, both nationally and locally. This is a necessary requirement for lasting peace – in Sudan, and in all other countries emerging from war. This resolution must be acted upon, in Darfur, and in the peacebuilding efforts in Sudan today.

Sudan ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1990, the very year it was adopted. Accordingly, Sudan has committed itself to making the best interests of the child a primary consideration in all actions concerning children and to protecting children from all forms of violence, abuse and discrimination. In 2002, Sudan signed the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the involvement of children in armed conflict. The protocol was subsequently ratified in July 2005.

Sudan has acceded to the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as to the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Both these human rights conventions clearly state that the state shall ensure the equal rights of men and women in the areas covered by the conventions.

We know that the work ahead, the rebuilding of Sudan as a peaceful and prosperous country will be difficult. But unless women play a central role in the process, I believe it will be impossible.

Women will have to be:

• watchdogs – monitoring the political process to expose gaps between rhetoric and reality and to make sure that women’s interests are protected.

• advocates – amplifying the message from those who may not be in a position to speak for themselves.

• peacemakers – showing people in the local communities that peace pays.

But most important of all: women must take their rightful place at the tables where important decisions are made. The peace process was all about power sharing and wealth sharing. Well, the power and the wealth of Sudan belong to the women as well as the men, which is why women must demand to be part of the decision-making process. This may not come easy – but then it never did, in any country.

The work has to be done by you, the women of Sudan. But you can rely on the support of donors like Norway – and you can rejoice in the rewards that you know will come.

Thank you.