{"id":43387,"date":"2026-03-09T11:16:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T09:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=43387"},"modified":"2026-03-09T11:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T09:16:08","slug":"eu-urges-south-sudan-to-pass-gbv-law-boost-social-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/09\/eu-urges-south-sudan-to-pass-gbv-law-boost-social-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"EU Urges South Sudan to Pass GBV Law, Boost Social Spending"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alan Clement<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The European Union has urged South Sudan\u2019s government to fast-track gender-based violence legislation and increase funding for health and education, warning weak protections and minimal public spending continue to endanger women and girls.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the eve of the commemoration of International Women\u2019s Day in Juba, the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to South Sudan, Lothar Jaschke, said stronger laws and sustained public investment are essential to protect women and advance gender equality in the country.<\/p>\n

Addressing participants at an event held at the Nyakuron Cultural Centre, Jaschke said sexual and gender-based violence remains widespread and often goes unreported, particularly when perpetrators are linked to armed groups or authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cSexual violence remains systematically unreported, particularly where perpetrators are associated with armed actors or state authorities,\u201d he said, warning that such barriers contribute to \u201cthe normalization of sexual violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jaschke added that sexual violence has become a persistent feature of conflict in South Sudan and in many cases is used deliberately as a tool of power.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that sexual violence against women and girls is a persistent feature of conflict in South Sudan. It became a method of warfare and a mechanism for exercising power,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The EU official urged the government to accelerate work on long-delayed legislation intended to combat gender-based violence and strengthen accountability mechanisms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe encourage the government to accelerate work on a bill countering gender-based violence,\u201d Jaschke said, expressing hope the proposed law would help address impunity and implement long-promised reforms.<\/p>\n

South Sudan has committed to several international and regional frameworks aimed at protecting women\u2019s rights, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Maputo Protocol. However, the domestication and implementation of these commitments remain incomplete.<\/p>\n

Jaschke also highlighted the importance of implementing the global Women, Peace and Security agenda, which promotes women\u2019s participation in peacebuilding and political processes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe UK and the EU co-chair the Women, Peace and Security Working Group with the objective to promote women\u2019s full, equal, and meaningful participation in peacebuilding, security and political processes and address gender-based violence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Beyond legal reforms, the EU warned that insufficient public funding for basic services is undermining efforts to improve the wellbeing of women and girls.<\/p>\n

Jaschke criticized what he described as extremely low government investment in health and education, noting that the country allocates only a fraction of its national budget to these critical sectors.<\/p>\n

\u201c0.4 percent of budgetary allocation for the health of the whole country is very, very low and far away from international standards,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that the same concerns apply to education spending, stressing that heavy reliance on international donors to fund basic services is not sustainable in the long term. \u201cMost of the funding is provided by donors. This is not sustainable,\u201d Jaschke said.<\/p>\n

The EU official also noted that the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare remains chronically under-resourced despite its central role in addressing gender inequality and supporting survivors of violence. \u201cMore financial resources should be directed to address entrenched gender inequality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransparent and sustained funding for services and programs would enable survivor recovery and support women\u2019s full participation in political and economic life,\u201d added the Deputy Head of the EU.<\/p>\n

Despite these challenges, Jaschke highlighted several initiatives supported by the European Union aimed at addressing gender-based violence and improving access to support services for survivors.<\/p>\n

Through EU-backed programs, more than 11,000 people have received psychosocial and mental health support, while hundreds of local officials and professionals have been trained in responding to cases of gender-based violence.<\/p>\n

According to the EU Delegation, 385 local authorities and 702 professionals have received training on gender-based violence, mental health and legal responses. In addition, more than 176,000 people have been reached through community awareness campaigns aimed at challenging harmful gender norms.<\/p>\n

Jaschke said these programs are part of the EU\u2019s broader commitment to promoting gender equality worldwide, including through the implementation of the EU Gender Action Plan III, which seeks to ensure that the majority of EU external actions contribute to gender equality.<\/p>\n

However, he stressed that lasting progress ultimately depends on strong political commitment from national authorities. \u201cWomen and girls should thrive and should have rights; rights to protection, rights to education and rights to health services,\u201d Jaschke said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the ongoing violence puts this in danger, as does the lack of public funding for basic services,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He added that empowering women across political, economic and security sectors would help strengthen peace and stability in South Sudan. \u201cI am fully convinced that South Sudan needs many more empowered women in politics, in the private sector and in the security forces,\u201d Jaschke said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am convinced that our world would look much better and peaceful if there were more women in leading positions,\u201d Jaschke continued.<\/p>\n

The remarks come as South Sudan commemorates a global observance day dedicated to promoting gender equality and highlighting the challenges faced by women and girls.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alan Clement The European Union has urged South Sudan\u2019s government to fast-track gender-based violence legislation and increase funding for health and education, warning weak protections and minimal public spending continue to endanger women and girls. Speaking on the eve of the commemoration of International Women\u2019s Day in Juba, the[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":43388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Skitting.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43387"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43389,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43387\/revisions\/43389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}