How can the multilateral system embrace women’s participation in peace and security processes and implement the objectives of UN Security Council Resolution 1325? These were the key questions at the ICM’s fifth retreat held on June 19-20. Thirty UN ambassadors, experts, and practitioners representing governments and civil society organizations convened to examine some of the challenges in the multilateral system toward advancing women’s security and empowerment and opportunities to close the (…)
The ICM hosted its first public consultation on November 4th, focusing on the findings and recommendations of the Women, Peace, and Security Discussion Paper, and providing an opportunity to reflect on the recent fifteenth anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
Watch the webcast:
Advancing the women, peace, and security agenda may require a fundamental rethinking of the traditional approach to peace and security in the multilateral system. There is compelling evidence that (…)
Interviews
On the margins of ICM’s fifth retreat on women, peace and security, Warren Hoge of the International Peace Institute spoke to Román Oyarzun Marchesi, Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations, about Security Council Resolution 1325, which highlights the important role of women in the resolution and prevention of conflicts, and Spain’s plans for the women, peace and security agenda when it has the presidency of the Security Council in October.
Listen to the interview:
In (…)
Women can be strong partners for United Nations peace operations by improving access to communities affected by extremism, according to Rina Amiri, senior research associate at Princeton University.
“These actors have access to vital information,” said Ms. Amiri, who was formerly a member of the Standby Mediation Team for the UN. “They have key relationships with elements within the community to be able to advance some of the priorities that the UN and the international community are (…)
When it comes to increasing women’s participation in peacemaking, getting access to positions of power is a major barrier, according to Antonia Potter Prentice, Senior Manager on Mediation Support, Gender and Inclusion for the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI). “If they don’t have access to the sort of positions that put them at the head of multilateral organizations or political organizations, then it’s hard for them to get the space,” she said.
Another obstacle is the political parties (…)
“When women are economically empowered and in better control of their own lives and destiny, they have the capacity to be more resilient,” said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women and former deputy president of South Africa. “They are able to take themselves and their loved ones, especially children, away from harm’s way.
“Women who are more educated, more empowered, are among the minority of those who live with violence, because the economic empowerment allows them the (…)
“We like to bring the men into the forums where gender equality is being debated,” said Einar Gunnarsson, Permanent Representative of Iceland to the United Nations. “Not only that, we also want to bring the gender equality debate into the rooms where men are.”
Speaking with International Peace Institute Senior Adviser Warren Hoge, Mr. Gunnarsson said gender equality and women’s empowerment are cornerstones of Iceland’s foreign policy.
Among the ways it has encouraged this is through an (…)