Africa-Press – South-Sudan. More than two years after South Sudan ratified the Maputo Protocol, Africa’s most celebrated legal instrument for the protection of women’s rights in South Sudan is still grappling with how to turn the document’s promises into lived realities.
A combination of legal gaps, political hesitation, cultural resistance, and limited resources has slowed the process of domesticating and implementing the protocol, leaving women’s rights advocates frustrated over the delays stemming from deliberate huddles.
In June 2023, President Salva Kiir assented to the Maputo Protocol, and the instrument of ratification was deposited with the African Union the following month.
The move was widely celebrated, particularly since South Sudan ratified it without reservations, including on sensitive articles such as reproductive health and abortion provisions previously resisted by Parliament.
But since then, little progress has been made in aligning South Sudan’s national laws with the obligations of the Protocol.
Speaking to Eye Radio, Pauline Tikiba, Advocacy Coordinator for the Lutheran World Federation, says the process of domesticating the Maputo Protocol has lagged and urged for a review of current laws to meet international standards
“Most of our national laws, like the Penal Code, Family Law, or laws on GBV, need reviewing or amending to meet international standards.”
The experts say that currently, there are several draft bills languishing at the Ministry of Justice, including the Family Law Bill, Anti-GBV Bill, Women Empowerment Bill, and the Women Enterprise Fund Bill.
Many of these are essential tools for the Protocol’s full implementation.
“Some of these laws have been in draft since as early as 2013,” said Advocate Amanya Joseph, Managing Partner at Pinnacle Attorneys.
“The delay is due to low political prioritization and lack of pressure. These bills must be fast-tracked.”
South Sudan’s Transitional Constitution already provides an entry point for implementation.
Joseph cites Article 9(3), which states that any ratified international or regional human rights instrument becomes part of the Bill of Rights.
Amanya explained: “That means the Maputo Protocol is already part of our national laws, but the courts are not using it because it hasn’t been integrated or enforced through national legislation.”
Resistance to some provisions, particularly those related to early and forced marriage, consent in marriage, and abortion rights, has emerged from traditional leaders and conservative communities.
“Some believe the Protocol threatens culture and religion,” said Josephine Chanderu Drama, Executive Director of Global Voices Organization.
“But the law is not against tradition; it aims to protect rights within cultural contexts.”
For example, South Sudan’s constitution remains silent on the minimum age of marriage.
The Maputo Protocol mandates age 18, yet child marriage remains widespread, often justified by custom.
“That’s why we’re pushing for a permanent constitution that sets 18 as the legal marriage age; we must protect the girl child without demonizing tradition,” said Chandero.
Despite the setbacks, there are signs of momentum. Courts, particularly the Gender-Based Violence Court in Juba, have begun prosecuting child marriage cases.
Ongoing public dialogues around the Family Law Bill and Anti-GBV Bill are drawing content directly from the Protocol.
“These bills reinforce what we already have. They ensure that women’s rights, like access to justice or property in marriage, are protected at every stage,” says Tikiba.
“They’re not foreign impositions; they’re regionally tailored.”
Civil society organizations and government institutions have now turned their focus to drafting a National Action Plan (NAP) for the Protocol’s implementation. The NAP will serve as a roadmap for Legal alignment and review, Monitoring and reporting progress, and Community engagement and education
Budget allocation and resource mobilization
Chandero emphasizes the importance of evidence-based indicators in the National Action Plan.
“For example, we’ll track whether laws on sexual and reproductive health exist and are being implemented. If the anti-GBV bill is passed, it becomes a benchmark.”
The lack of a dedicated government budget for the Maputo Protocol continues to hinder progress.
Stakeholders suggest pooling resources from international donors, civil society, and ministries to fund outreach and state-level consultations.
“The energy is there,” said Chanderu. “But without financial backing and political will, progress will be painfully slow.”
The Maputo Protocol is not just a document, but it is a commitment to transform the lives of South Sudanese women and girls.
While the ratification was a milestone, the journey of implementation is still in its infancy.
As South Sudan marks 22 years since the Protocol’s adoption and two years since its ratification, activists, lawmakers, and citizens alike are calling for renewed urgency.
“The delay is having a real impact on the lives of women,” said Amanya. “It’s overdue, and the time to act is now.”
Advocate Santio Deng said that ratifying the Maputo Protocol means South Sudan has committed to eliminating structural and cultural barriers that deny women their rights.
He said that real change requires domesticating these commitments into national law and implementing a funded action plan to address these issues on the ground.
“The Problem in South Sudan is that customary laws often override statutory laws, disadvantaging women in marriage, divorce, property rights, and justice.
“So, there are demands such as reform of discriminatory laws and practices, Equal legal protection and access to justice, and Legal literacy for women, limited access to contraceptives, unsafe abortions, and poor sexual and reproductive health education.”
Meanwhile, Esther Ekere Eluzai, the Undersecretary in the National Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Welfare, said the Maputo Protocol remains a cornerstone for promoting the rights of women in South Sudan.
But she admitted the road to ratification and implementation has been long and winding.
“The Maputo Protocol is a very important instrument for us,” she said. “As a Ministry, one of our key functions is to ensure that international and regional instruments are not only ratified, but also domesticated and implemented in the country.”
That process, she explains, started as far back as 2013. But ratification, she emphasizes, is not a one-time event. It requires extensive advocacy to help people, especially policymakers, understand what the Protocol means, how it helps, and how it promotes national goals.
Consultations were held with the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs, both of which play critical roles: Justice initiates the legal process, while Foreign Affairs handles external formalities.
Only after multiple meetings and internal coordination did the Protocol make its way to the Council of Ministers, and from there to Parliament.
But there, it stalled. “Unfortunately, changes in parliamentary leadership meant the resolution approving the Protocol was never forwarded to the President’s Office,” Eluzai explained.
“We had to start lobbying again, and that went on for years.”
Eventually, in February 2023, President Salva Kiir signed the ratification, and the instrument was formally deposited. Yet, Eluzai says, the challenge now is implementation.
“Our Constitution says that any international instrument ratified by the country becomes part of our national law. But the gap is in the application. The courts must interpret it; ministries must align their laws and policies with it.”
Her ministry is now leading efforts to develop a comprehensive action plan, one that tracks what every sector is doing to fulfill the Protocol’s provisions. This will form the basis of South Sudan’s periodic reporting to the African Union.
Progress has been made in the Gender-Based Violence Bill, which is currently with the Ministry of Justice and is expected to move to the Cabinet and then Parliament.
Meanwhile, the Family Bill is still in the early stages.
But domestication remains slow. Eluzai points to funding and bureaucracy as the main bottlenecks, not political will.
“The government has shown commitment,” she insisted. “The President signed the Protocol. The Minister deposited it. But what we’re lacking is budgetary commitment. That’s not the same as political will. We need the Ministry of Finance to allocate real resources for implementation.”
She adds that while gender issues are on the agenda, they often fall behind the government’s priority focus on peace and security, particularly Chapter 5 of the peace agreement, dealing with security arrangements.
“It’s not that the government doesn’t prioritize this,” she says. “It’s just that bureaucracy and competing national priorities slow us down.”
The rights activists are now urging the government to expedite the domestication of the protocol to protect the rights of women in the country.
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