Monthly Action Points (MAP) for the Security Council: August 2026

South Sudan

Widespread violence continues in South Sudan, risking a return to full-scale war while authorities systematically dismantle key provisions of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS). Over 375,000 people have been internally displaced in 2026, over 60% of whom are women and girls. About 7.8 million people face acute food insecurity, including over 1.2 million acutely malnourished pregnant or breastfeeding women, and two states face a continued risk of famine. Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), including rape, abduction, exploitation and forced marriage, remains a serious concern for women and girls, particularly those who are displaced; in some cases, perpetrators have targeted women and girls for SGBV on the basis of ethnicity. Child marriage has also increased in displaced and refugee communities. 1.37 million refugees and returnees have entered the country from Sudan since that conflict began in April 2023, compounding existing humanitarian challenges in South Sudan. Deliberate obstruction of aid and targeted violence against humanitarian personnel have forced the suspension of vital services, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care and SGBV response services.

Authorities have consistently failed to implement the R-ARCSS by violating the ceasefire and neglecting institutional, legal and policy reforms, including constitution making, judicial reform and transitional justice; rampant corruption further inhibits implementation efforts. Women’s representation continues to fall short of the 35% quota established by the R-ARCSS. While the transitional government has announced that a general election will be held in December 2026, concerns persist regarding election security and inclusivity. Civic space is severely constrained as the government and National Security Service (NSS) restrict freedom of expression and repress dissent with impunity, including through arbitrary detention of political opposition members. A new cybercrimes law threatens to further restrict free speech. Women human rights defenders (WHRDs) and women’s civil society report surveillance, intimidation and gender-based harassment by state authorities, both in-country and abroad. 

The Security Council should:

• Demand that all parties immediately cease hostilities and take all necessary measures to protect civilians, including from SGBV. Call on all parties to recommit to implementation of the R-ARCSS and work to deescalate tensions.
• Demand that all parties guarantee safe and unhindered humanitarian access throughout South Sudan, and the protection of all humanitarian workers and facilities.
• Demand the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of diverse women through enforcement of the minimum 35% quota in the implementation of the R-ARCSS and the electoral process, as well as any peace, constitutional or transitional justice processes. 
• Urge the South Sudanese authorities to end practices of unlawful arrest and detention, including by releasing or presenting in court all detainees under NSS detention; uphold due process and ensure fair trial proceedings in line with international human rights standards; and protect the rights of freedom of assembly, association and expression.
• Call on the South Sudanese authorities to take concrete steps to ensure accountability and address impunity for SGBV, including by finalizing the draft Anti-Gender-Based Violence Bill and adopting comprehensive legislation to address domestic violence.
• Call on donors to fully fund the humanitarian response; provide direct, flexible and consistent funding to diverse local women-led, LGBTIQ-led and women’s rights organizations; strengthen comprehensive SRH services for SGBV survivors, including maternal health care, emergency obstetric care, contraception, clinical management of rape and psychosocial support; and ensure a gender-responsive humanitarian architecture.
• Demand full compliance with the UN arms embargo on South Sudan in order to prevent further human rights violations, including SGBV, against women and girls.

Syria

Many challenges remain to an inclusive and sustainable transition in Syria, including accountability for serious abuses, perpetrated primarily by the Assad government, before December 2024. Violations have also been committed during the post-Assad transitional period, including violence against ethnic and religious minorities. Syrian women and girls, stateless communities, LGBTIQ people and other marginalized groups continue to face entrenched social and legal discrimination. WHRDs, journalists and civil society frequently face threats and reprisals as a result of their work, including through the continued enforcement of Assad-era restrictions on freedom of expression. There is only one woman in the transitional cabinet, and women now comprise only 10% of the People’s Assembly.

Since December 2024, the UN has documented the return of over 1.7 million refugees from abroad and 1.9 million IDPs within Syria, but an entrenched humanitarian crisis presents significant obstacles to safe, voluntary and dignified return, including: damaged or destroyed infrastructure, including a lack of adequate housing; explosive remnants of war; lack of access to basic services including SGBV response; poverty and lack of livelihood opportunities, particularly for women; continued food insecurity; and climate-related shocks. Gender discrimination in Syria’s nationality laws creates additional risks for displaced Syrian women and their families including family separation, as well as children being rendered stateless or undocumented and facing restrictions entering Syria or accessing national services. Women-led and women’s rights organizations are instrumental in the humanitarian response, but they face chronic underfunding and operating and registration restrictions. Regional conflicts further compound the situation: for example, over 581,000 refugees and returnees have entered Syria from Lebanon since the escalation of that conflict in March 2026.

The Security Council should:

• Call on all parties to immediately cease hostilities, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and ensure full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access into and throughout Syria.
• Call for the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of diverse women at all stages and levels of a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political transition, including by instituting a minimum 30% quota for women, with the goal of parity. The Security Council, UN and Member States must not endorse, facilitate, participate in or otherwise support any process where women are excluded; further, any new UN presence in Syria should incorporate gender equality, human rights and WPS issues as cross-cutting themes throughout its mandate. 
• Underscore the importance of creating an enabling environment for women’s participation, including protection from reprisals, harassment and smear campaigns.
• Call on Member States to fully fund the humanitarian response; provide direct, flexible and consistent funding to local women’s rights, women-led and feminist organizations. Including women-led organizations delivering SRH services and rights-based information; and prioritize women’s participation and leadership in the humanitarian response.
• Continue to call for independent, impartial and transparent investigations of all atrocity crimes regardless of victim or perpetrator, before and after December 2024, and for transitional authorities to cooperate with and facilitate access for international investigators and accountability mechanisms. The transitional authorities must prioritize human rights-based, non-discriminatory and gender-responsive justice and accountability efforts, which should be designed and implemented in partnership with survivors and must adequately account for sexual and gender-based crimes.
• Call on transitional authorities to urgently step up SGBV prevention efforts and promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigate abductions of Alawite, Druze and other women and girls targeted on the basis of ethnicity or religion, and hold all perpetrators accountable.
• Demand respect by all parties for the human rights of all women and girls, and encourage the transitional authorities to align Syria’s national legislation with international standards, including by reforming discriminatory laws and removing Syria’s reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
• Call on Member States to maintain temporary protection or refugee status for Syrian refugees, refrain from deportations, and uphold the principle of non-refoulement.

Yemen

Women and girls in Yemen are disproportionately impacted by the country’s protracted crisis, which is exacerbated by escalating domestic and regional conflict; environmental degradation and the effects of climate change; and poverty and economic shocks. Over 18 million people face acute food insecurity across Yemen, including 1.3 million acutely malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women in a country with the highest maternal mortality rate in the region. Households, including women-headed households, frequently resort to extreme coping mechanisms, including child, early and forced marriage: over 30% of girls are married before age 18. Despite these extreme needs, humanitarian access restrictions and severe funding gaps threaten access to critical services, including SRH care and GBV response, for millions of women and girls, especially in rural areas. Since June 2024, Houthi authorities have arbitrarily detained Yemeni nationals working for UN agencies and NGOs, violating their human rights and further compromising the delivery of critical humanitarian assistance. 

Women’s human rights are restricted by all warring parties in Yemen. Male guardian requirements impede the ability of women, including aid workers, to work, travel and access healthcare and to participate equally in public and political life. Women-led civil society organizations, journalists and WHRDs face restrictions, threats, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances, SGBV, hate speech, assassinations and targeted killings. Religious minorities as well as people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities have also been targeted. The 30% quota for women’s representation established by the National Dialogue Conference has not been met: there are no women in parliament, and they have also been regularly excluded from peace negotiations. 

The Security Council should:

• Continue to demand the immediate and unconditional release of all arbitrarily detained Yemeni UN and NGO personnel.
• Express support for an inclusive political process with the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of diverse women, including in truce and ceasefire negotiations and the humanitarian response. Demand that all UN-supported peace committees meaningfully include women, in line with the minimum 30% quota. 
• Condemn reprisals and targeting of WHRDs and women civil society, and call for accountability for all acts of politically-motivated violence against women.
• Demand that all parties to the conflict respect international law by ensuring the protection of civilians and civilian objects, and facilitating safe and principled humanitarian access, including lifting movement restrictions on women.
• Support the establishment of comprehensive humanitarian carveouts across sanctions regimes and other restrictive measures, to enable aid to reach those most in need and preserve humanitarian space.
• Prioritize diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions and secure an inclusive and lasting settlement to the conflict, which should include accountability and transitional justice.
• Call on donors to urgently fund the humanitarian response, centering age, gender and disability-responsive protection, and provide quality and flexible funding to women-led organizations, including those delivering SRH services and rights-based information, in order to avert a more severe humanitarian catastrophe.   
• Prioritize gender-responsive climate adaptation and environmental restoration in any peace agreements or political settlements in Yemen.