The signing of Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) on 9 January 2005 marked the end of Africa’s longest civil war and opened the way for a transition to peace. A key requirement for this is restoring and strengthening security through disarmament, demobilization and, in particular, reintegration into civilian society, of ex-combatants and associates who might otherwise undermine public security and constrain progress towards development and sustainable peace. The post-conflict reintegration of ex-combatants has proven essential to effective demobilization of ex-combatants and sustainable restoration of peace and security in several poor and livelihood-deficit African countries.

The CPA provides for a nationally-owned and gender-responsive Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process. The Integrated DDR Unit (IUNDDR), comprised of UNMIS, UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA was mandated by the UN Security Council resolution 1590 (2005) to support the North and Southern Sudan DDR Commissions (N/SSDDRC) to implement DDR. In June 2008, the Government of National Unity (GoNU), the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and UNDP signed the Sudan DDR Programme (SDDRP) document for the reintegration component of DDR. The SDDRP (2009-2012) envisages catering to a total of 180,000 (90,000 in the North and 90,000 in the South) ex-combatants and Special Needs Groups (SNGs) over several phases.

In late 2008, the North and Southern Sudan DDR Commissions (N/SSDDRC), UN and international donors developed a ‘Three Areas First’ strategy to prioritize DDR in Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile State and Abyei. The expected phase I caseload in this region is 30,000 persons and demobilization began in February 2009. Southern Sudan began demobilizing ex-combatants and SNG on June 10 with an expected phase I caseload of 34,000 persons.

Reintegration interventions consist of economic packages and social support. In terms of economic packages, participants are offered a choice of agriculture/livestock, vocational training, small business and adult education. Pre-registration data of participants highlights that some 57% of women participants (and 39% of men) would choose small business, 37% of women (and 52% of men) would choose agriculture and 4% of women (6% of men) would choose vocational training.

Guided by commitments within the CPA, UN Security Council resolutions 1325 and 1590 which “encourages all those involved in the planning for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration to consider the different needs of female and male ex-combatants and to take into account the needs of their dependants”, to pay, “particular attention to the special needs of women and child combatants”, agreement was reached to support the inclusion of Woman Associated with the Armed Forces and Other Armed Groups.

The Northern and Southern Sudan DDR Interim Authorities defined WAAF as follows: “Women Associated with Armed Forces and Groups (WAAF) have played supporting roles informally within armed forces and groups – either voluntarily or through coercion. This association has resulted in a de-linking of women from their civilian social support networks, rendering them more reliant on the military for their support, livelihoods and/or security to the exclusion of all other forms of support.” Specific criteria for eligibility are provided for in the National DDR Strategic Plan (section 18.1).

During the conflict, WAAF, inter alia, cooked, cleaned, acted as porters, nursed the wounded, acted as midwives for women associated with the military, carried ammunition and supplies, cared for orphans with the military, gathered firewood, collected food from communities for the military, and provided “moral support” to the troops. Despite controversy regarding their status within the military and in communities, they have clearly played a vital role in supporting the SPLA and other groups and were duly recognized in the speech on 10 June 2009 at the launch of demobilization in Southern Sudan. More critically, numerous incidence of insecurity since the end of the CPA have been triggered by disputes over WAAF. Unofficial reports indicate that even the two major CPA violations in Malakal in November 2006 and Abyei in May 2008 started due to a dispute over a WAAF. Thus, the presence of WAAF in and around the armed forces and groups is not only a security threat to the WAAF themselves but also to the community at large. If WAAF are not properly reintegrated, a high probability exists that they will remain at the fringes of the armed groups for sustenance and protection.

There are some 3,600 WAAF and female ex-combatants pre-registered in South Sudan. WAAF in South Sudan have specific psychosocial needs, both on account of their experiences during the conflict, and as a consequence of the often high-risk survival strategies they have employed in order to sustain themselves and their families since the signing of the CPA. Many WAAF and female ex-combatants also have specific economic needs related to their position as the head of the household and primary care for children and elderly family members.

In accordance with the SDDRP endorsed by the GONU and GOSS and the UN in Geneva, on 25 June 2008, the reintegration element focuses on individual support to ex-combatants. Reintegration planning is underway in South Sudan, but little headway has been made on ensuring that both economic packages and social support are gender-responsive, taking into account the specific needs, interests, and capacities of WAAF and female ex-combatants. Significant work was undertaken several years ago to assess vulnerabilities and capabilities of this caseload but it needs to be expanded. In addition, work must be done to identify the capacity of potential implementing partners.

The National Gender Officer would be working in a team with the UNDP International Gender Advisor, the Gender Focal Point from the SSDDRC and Gender and HIV Officers from the IUNDDRU. The National Gender Officer will report specifically to the UNDP International Gender Advisor. He/she will support the gender team in the following:
- identify the specific vulnerabilities of the target population and cultural, socio-economic and security issues that might affect the development and take up of the reintegration opportunities of WAAFs in South Sudan;
- identify the specific reintegration interests and capabilities of WAAF in South of Sudan through focus group discussions in local languages looking at skills and experience they have acquired either before or during their association with armed groups;
- support the development of appropriate, relevant social and economic reintegration interventions to meet the specific capabilities and vulnerabilities of female ex-combatants and WAAF in South Sudan;
- assess the delivery and organizational capacity of national and international implementing partners specifically related to gender, including identifying areas of strength and key gaps with a view towards contracting their support for WAAF and female ex-combatants in Southern Sudan;
- support monitoring and evaluation colleagues to develop gender-responsive programming evaluation and monitoring tools, including programme indicators;
- support public information colleagues to include relevant information related to WAAF and female ex-combatants according to specificities of Southern Sudan culture;
- draft reports; and
- any other tasks as required.

III. Competencies:

• Capacity to build strong relationships with internal and external partners
• Good research and analytical skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and capacity to build trust with programme participants
• Demonstrates integrity by modeling UN values and ethical standards
• Proactive, organized and results-oriented
• Demonstrated capacity to perform in hardship conditions and adapt to rapidly changing circumstances

Education and work experience:

Master’s degree equivalent in Gender or related field OR Bachelor’s degree in Gender or related field with 2 years of relevant work experience in the field

• knowledge of gender, economic/social reintegration and/or DDR
• In-depth understanding of the economic and social context of Southern Sudan
• Previous work experience in any part of Southern Sudan an asset
• Good knowledge of the UN system and its procedures
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills
• Willingness and ability to travel to different States with in Southern Sudan
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) with good typing skills in English

Language Requirement:

Fluency in written and spoken English. Knowledge of at least one local language spoken in Southern Sudan is desirable. Knowledge of Arabic language would be an asset.

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