CONFERENCE/MEETING: Determined to Save Succeeding Generations from the Scourge of War
On Thursday, June 6th, 2013, DPI/NGO Relations, in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of Switzerland at the United Nations (UN), presented a panel discussion, “Determined to Save Succeeding Generations from the Scourge of War” addressing the UN charter preamble, which highlights this goal as one of the UN's major purposes. The panelists included: Ms. Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Chair of the Nobel Women's Initiative; Mr. Ralph Zacklin, Former United Nations Assistant-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, 1998-2005; and Ms. Nounou Booto Meeti, Programme Manager, Centre for Peace, Security and Armed Violence Prevention. Panelists were asked to examine how far humanity has come in adopting the preamble of the UN charter, and also to consider modern day challenges we face in trying to ensure a peaceful world for future generations.
Consistent with WILPF's ongoing women's peace activism for global demilitarization and disarmament, the discussion stressed the point of investing in human development in place of the arms trade as a crucial effort in preventing war and aiding peace. Judy Williams emphasized the key role of civil society in taking action to hold governments accountable, especially in regards to the implementations of resolutions like UNSCR 1325. She highlighted the importance of recognizing violence as a global pandemic, not just just something ‘over there' that we are divorced from and that only happens during periods of conflict. Further, Meeti highlighted sexual-gender based violence as a devastating effect of war. According to Meeti, the importance of empowering women is multidimensional: in response to the quote, “Educate a woman, educate a nation”, she stated that to “Destroy a woman is to destroy a nation and its posterity”. Panelists agreed that trying to prevent war must be a collective effort where human development is prioritized over arms and military, thus supporting WILPF's longstanding commitment to demilitarization and women's full and equal participation in anti-war and peace-building efforts.