Feminist Consortium Releases Five Principles for a Meaningful Ceasefire

NEWS: Today, five prominent feminist organisations have released a set of feminist principles for a meaningful ceasefire. The principles are a direct response to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres who on the 23 March issued an appeal for a global ceasefire in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The five feminist principles are:

  • Ensure the full, effective, and consequential participation of women and civil society groups
  • Hear and act on social, economic, and humanitarian priorities
  • Prioritize full and non-discriminatory urgent access to services for survivors
  • Commit to developing practical measures to ensure the sustainability of the ceasefire
  • Reallocate military expenditure to fund local civil society-led efforts to lead the way in recovery, reconciliation, and reconstruction

“The global ceasefire represents an important means to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and mitigate its impacts. More than that, it presents an important opportunity to create sustainable peace in conflict-affected regions. To succeed in that ambition, the global ceasefire must take into account a feminist perspective,” state the members of the feminist collective comprised of Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, MADRE, medica mondiale, Nobel Women’s Initiative and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).

The five organisations have recently formed the consortium FIRE, an acronym for “Feminist Impact for Rights and Equality.”

“FIRE has developed five feminist principles to serve as the foundation for the negotiation, design and implementation of meaningful ceasefires. FIRE will continue to build on these principles and support the UN Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire as part of its collective response to COVID-19. There is more to come,” states the consortium and refers to that António Guterres in his call reiterated that the UN is calling on “all those that can make a difference, to make that difference.” FIRE is committed to making that difference.

 

The Feminist Impact for Rights and Equality Consortium (FIRE) is a new feminist collective comprised of the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, MADRE, medica mondiale, the Nobel Women’s Initiative and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). FIRE formed to act as an accelerator for the realisation of a feminist vision of peace and security. COVID-19 has exposed the urgent need for this vision: for exposing the fault lines, for a radical reimagining of our future, for transformative – and lasting – change.