Displaced Women and Girls: Leaders and Survivors.
On October 28, 2014, the Security Council held its fourteenth annual open debate on Women, Peace and Security with a focus on Displaced Women and Girls: Leaders and Survivors. The debate - which included 70 speakers - brought attention to the situation of the hundreds of thousands of women who have been displaced, and how women are disproportionately affected by the experience of displacement. Suaad Allami gave the civil society statement on behalf of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (NGOWG). A Presidential Statement (PRST S/PRST/2014/21) was adopted at the debate.
Many speakers focused on violent extremism, including as a driver of displacement. Speakers called for better legal and security protection mechanisms for women against human rights abuses, increased participation of women in peacemaking efforts, and better social services in terms of healthcare (including psychological aid) and education, and more effective bridging of remaining implementation gaps. The Ambassador of Malaysia, for instance, emphasized that it was critical to end the culture of impunity and replace it with a system that promotes justice and the rule of law, especially when dealing with the protection and prevention of violence against women. DPKO emphasized that, “we must recognize that the best way to protect and support [internally displaced] women is to help women help themselves.”
WILPF reminds the international community that militarization supports a continuum of violence - including both state and non-state actors - and calls for increased action on demilitarization, disarmament, and support of women's full and equal participation and rights in creation and maintenance of peace.