A/HRC/40/CRP.1 committees charged with carrying out is mandate. 51 In addition, the NPTC has reportedly been facilitating the return of opposition politicians to Juba.52 Likewise, the National Constitution Amendment Committee met in Juba in November 2018 and drafted the Constitutional Amendment Bill incorporating the R-ARCSS into the Transitional Constitution;53 however, finalisation of this important text was delayed as the National Constitutional Amendment Committee (NCAC) worked to reach agreement on the description of the system of government during the Pre-Transitional and Transitional Periods.54 The NCAC eventually provided Transitional Constitution of South Sudan, 2011 (Amendment) (No.6) Bill, 2019 to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs on 24 January 2019.55 An important milestone for advancing gender equality has been the R-ARCSS’s commitment to including 35 percent women at the executive level.56 However, this commitment has not been matched by the nomination and appointment of representatives to the various mechanisms and institutions, thus far.57 For example, the National PreTransitional Committee only included one woman to the 10 person Committee.58 This reflects a pattern seen in the peace negotiations where there was a stated commitment to greater participation of women (and indeed 27 women were participating by May 2018) but none of the chairpersons or spokespersons were women, limiting the prospect of their voices being heard in a meaningful way. 59 Empirical evidence indicates that peace processes that include women’s participation are more likely to result in sustainable and lasting agreements. 60 Indeed, research has found that peace agreements are 35 percent more likely to last 15 years if women participated in the peace process.61 On 26 September 2018, President Kiir issued Republican Order No. 17/2018 on the implementation of the permanent ceasefire and transitional security arrangements in which he ordered the observance of the Khartoum Declaration ceasefire, the release of “prisoners of war” and detainees, the cessation of recruitment and training of SPLA and other forces, and the prohibition on acts of revenge, vengeance and retribution. While some political detainees and “prisoners of war” have been released, many remain detained as detailed below. On 2 October 2018, the President issued a Presidential Order changing the name of the SPLA to the “South Sudan People’s Defence Forces” (SSPDF).62 While the Commission notes this change, for consistency and to aid in comprehension, throughout this Report, it continues to refer to the SSPDF by its former name, the SPLA, including in relation to incidents that took place after 2 October. On 31 October 2018, former First Vice President Riek Machar returned to South Sudan for the first time since he fled the fighting in July 2016. He addressed thousands of people who turned up for a peace celebration, which was also attended by regional leaders 51 R-JMEC, Report by H.E. Amb. Lt. Gen. Augostino S.K. Njoroge (Rtd), Interim Chairperson of RJMEC, on the Status of Implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, For the Period 1 st October to 31st December 2018, p. 6. 52 R-JMEC, Statement by H.E. Amb. Lt. Gen. Augostino S.K. Njoroge (Rtd), Interim Chairperson of RJMEC, to the 3 rd RJMEC Monthly Meeting, 23 January 2019, para. 22. 53 R-JMEC, Press Release: NCAC concludes deliberations to incorporate Revitalized Agreement into the transitional Constitution, 28 November 2018. 54 R-JMEC, Progress Report No. 4 on the Implementation Status of the R-ARCSS 2018, 10 December 2018. 55 R-JMEC, NCAC hands over constitutional amendment to Constitution Minister, 24 January 2019. 56 R-ARCSS, Article 1.4.4. 57 R-JMEC, Progress Report No. 3 on the Implementation Status of the R-ARCSS 2018, 5 November 2018; R-JMEC, Resolutions of the 3rd R-JMEC Plenary, Juba, 23 January 2019. 58 Republican Order No. 16/2018 Formation of the National Pre-Transitional Committee, 25 September 2018. See also Statement from South Sudanese Women Leaders, 26 September 2018, Djibouti, ERN D112671- D112672. 59 Presentation at Launch of Evaluation Report on the recently concluded High-Level Revitalization Forum by Organization for Responsive Governance (ORG) / South Sudan Civil Society Forum (SSCSF), 2 October 2018. 60 UN Women, Women’s meaningful Participation in Negotiating Peace and the Implementation of Peace Agreements, Report of the Expert Group Meeting, 2018. 61 Laura Stone, “Quantitative Analysis of Women’s Participation in Peace Processes” in Reimagining Peacemaking: Women’s Roles in Peace Processes, Annex II, by M. O’Reilly, A. Ó Súilleabháin, and T. Paffenholz, International Peace Institute, 2015. 62 Presidential Order No. 18/2018 for the Transformation and the Change of Name of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) to the South Sudan People’s Defence Force (SSPDF). 17