PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL’S SPECIAL ADVISER ON GENDER ISSUES

PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL’S SPECIAL ADVISER ON GENDER ISSUES

It was evident from the Sudan’s interim national Constitution that the country’s new Government was open to gender equality, but there was a stark contrast between such gender-friendly policies and the situation on the ground, particularly in south Sudan, Rachel Mayanja, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

She said sex crimes against women were still widespread, as was impunity for the perpetrators, especially in the country’s southern regions and in camps for internally displaced persons.  Incidents of rape -– particularly when women left camp to fetch firewood -- had declined wherever African Union civilian police had been deployed but they had risen in unmonitored areas.  There was no evidence of the Government making good on its recent pledge to appoint prosecutors to investigate allegations of rape and interview victims.  Human rights monitors in the Sudan had revealed that many women had been violated by male police officers and were afraid to file complaints against anyone in uniform.  Police were often not sensitive to such issues, and of the senior officers undergoing gender-sensitivity training, only one was a woman.

Ms. Mayanja visited north Sudan, south Sudan and the western Darfur region from 4 to 11 September to assess the situation of women and girls and the role of women in implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.  She met with Sudanese authorities, internally displaced persons, women’s groups, United Nations officials, as well as African Union military and civilian police officers to ensure a coordinated, efficient response to women’s needs and priorities, including the prevention of gender-based violence, in line with Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security.

She said that entrenched poverty, scarce financial and water resources, high illiteracy rates and insufficient mental health-care services to treat trauma continued to impede the development and empowerment of women.  While they were eager to improve their lot after two decades of war, they were largely ignorant of their rights and their role in the political process.  Greater financial assistance was needed from international donors, as were round-the-clock police patrols to eliminate violent attacks on them.

The Sudan had yet to ratify the 1981 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, she said.  It also remained to be seen whether the new Government of National Unity would fill 25 per cent of its posts with women, as mandated by the interim national Constitution.  Women occupied just five of the 74 new posts.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record