iVOW is delighted to present the stories of three amazing women who resided at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at USD, as Peacemakers from the countries of Pakistan, South Sudan, and the United States. In this episode, our host, Jenni Prisk, interviews the Honorable Lilian Riziq of South Sudan.
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Biography
Lilian Riziq is a former senior government minister and a key member of the National Dialogue’s Leadership. She is also the founder and managing director of the South Sudan Women’s Empowerment Network. One of the prominent leaders in South Sudan’s women’s movement; Member of Leadership Team of South Sudan National Dialogue Steering Committee, Lilian also served as State Minister of Finance (2013 to 2015) and State Minister of Agriculture (2012 to w013) in the Former Western Bahr El Gazal State. She played a crucial role in mobilizing Diaspora communities, and women in South Sudan’s ten states, for the South Sudan Referendum in 2011. She has worked tirelessly, in partnership with other civil society organizations and UN agencies, especially the UN Women, in ensuring women’s voices are reflected in Sudan, and South Sudan’s post-referendum negotiations/arrangements.
As a member of the National Constitution Review Commission, Lilian was involved in different initiatives to engender the constitution of South Sudan. She also worked in partnership with several developmental organizations in South Sudan, such as the Norwegian People’s Aid, the UN Women and the Joint Donor Team to raise awareness on key international and regional instruments on women’s rights to sensitize and ensure the government of South Sudan ratifies international and regional human rights conventions, including CEDAW, in which the Republic of South Sudan did ratify CEDAW in September 2014.