US AID Sudan Property Rights Programme

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Sudan Property Rights Programme (SPRP) is working with Southern Sudan Land Commission (SSLC) to develop a land policy for the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS). The policy will be based upon an extensive programme of public consultation and research. Throughout consultations in each southern Sudan’s 10 states, women’s land rights were a contentious subject, particularly related to land ownership by women in rural areas. Further, women were not always adequately represented in some State consultations. Thus, SPRP staff identified the need for a separate thematic consultation focusing specifically on women’s rights to land and how to address this issue in the land policy. A workshop was convened on May 6th in Juba, Southern Sudan, for 33 policymakers, practitioners, and women leaders from government, traditional institutions, and civil society organizations to discuss how the land policy can best provide a basis for strengthening women’s land rights.