Women involved in peace process

Sudanese women are set to have a greater say in peace negotiations, following the creation of a Women’s Desk at the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for Sudan, according to a Catholic publication this week.

The Sudan Month Report, published by the Sudan Catholic Information Office, in Nairobi, Kenya, said the creation of the desk reflected the need to strengthen the participation of women in all peace initiatives in Sudan.. The initiative was announced after a Sudan Womens’ Advocacy Mission last month visited New York and Washington DC, and received the USA’s National Peace Foundation prize for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Sudanese conflict. The mission comprised six women, led by Amira Yosif representing the Muslim north, and Rebecca Okwaci from predominantly Christian southern Sudan.

It said that until last year, the IGAD process consisted of brief meetings held twice a year between the Khartoum government and the rebel Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).
Following the establishment of a secretariat in Nairobi last year, the meetings turned into an “on-going process rather than a series of sporadic meetings”, it said.