National action plans

government and the opposition. This agreement aimed to stabilize the security landscape and normalize the political situation in the country, return and resettle South Sudanese people displaced by the conflicts, and allow for greater humanitarian support over a two-year period.266 The R-ARCSS has yet to make a significant impact on access to justice in South Sudan, as it has taken time to establish the infrastructure to support its implementation. However, the peace agreement raises GBV as a priority issue, and lays the groundwork for addressing it through the establishment of specialized justice mechanisms, including a special GBV court. One key informant noted that the peace agreement provides a legal basis from which women’s groups (many of which are signatories to the agreement) can advocate and change the way the international community engages with South Sudan on GBV. The R-ARCSS also seems to be opening space for government actors to become more engaged with GBV. The current Minister of Defence is now a woman, originally from the opposition, and may be more open to addressing sexual violence (she has recently come out in support of the hybrid court, laid out in Chapter V of the R-ARCSS).

As the Philippines contends with the protracted impact of climate change, their legal framework has been shaped to address the particular vulnerabilities of women and girls in disasters. The Philippines’ Magna Carta of Women specifically provides that women have the right to protection and security in times of disasters, calamities and other crises, through all phases of relief and recovery efforts.267 The Magna Carta of Women highlights the need to address the particular vulnerabilities of women and protect them from exploitation and GBV during complex situations. Similarly, the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 recognizes that women face a higher exposure to risk during disasters.268 Thus, local government units and other concerned agencies are tasked with developing and implementing gender-responsive and rights-based plans to proactively prevent sexual violence in evacuation centres and other relocation sites.269

National action plans are another mechanism to address GBV, separate from but complementary to legal reform. Over the last few decades, many countries around the world have developed GBV national action plans, or other national action plans on related issues, such as the Women, Peace and Security agenda. Tunisia, for example, developed a national action plan in 2018 focused on empowering women and girls and promoting their participation in efforts to prevent conflict and violent extremism, eradicating all forms of GBV, and ensuring stable and durable peace.270 Tunisia also has a National Strategy for Combating Violence Against Women Across the Life Cycle.271

Some GBV national action plans are considered quite strong. These plans tend to have the following elements in common:

• Survivor-centred and survivor-led

• Multisectoral and multilevel, promoting coordination among jurisdictions and sectors

• Coordination and complementarity between the national action plan and existing laws and policies