March 2021 WPS Monitor
Arria-Formula Meeting on Ensuring Women's Participation
On 8 March 2021, International Women's Day, an open Arria-Formula meeting was held on the topic of ensuring women's meaningful participation in UN-led peace processes. The event was hosted by Ireland and Mexico, and was co-sponsored by a total of 12 Security Council members.
WILPF partner, Rasha Jarhum, Director of the Peace Track Initiative, delivered a briefing at the meeting on the topic of women's participation in Yemen. She called for the UN to make women’s participation a norm in all processes that it supports. WILPF supported the development of her statement, along with the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security.
Watch her briefing starting from 22:10.
Policy Brief Series: Women, Peace and Security and Generation Equality
WILPF is contributing to the Generation Equality Forum as a Catalytic Member of the Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action which is currently being developed. As a Catalytic Member, we are contributing specifically on the topic of women’s meaningful participation in peace processes, which is one of the main focus areas of the Compact. Over the past months, we have been engaging in advocacy with key stakeholders to shape the work of the Action Coalitions and Compact.
Looking for some reading ahead of the Mexico City Generation Equality Forum?
Last month, we released a series of six policy briefs on the interlinkages between the Women, Peace and Security agenda and the Generation Equality Forum Action Coalitions. These policy briefs are meant to guide the work of the Action Coalitions and the Compact for Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action from a feminist peace perspective, built from the expertise of WILPF's global network.
65th Commission on the Status of Women
This year’s 65th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65) focuses on the priority theme of women’s participation in public life, which is deeply connected to the work of our programme.
Throughout the month of March, we will be participating in several online events that relate to this priority theme, and have also been engaging in advocacy to advance WPS and feminist peace in the CSW65 outcome document. Additionally, we are holding online discussions with our members about WILPF’s approach to CSW, to create space for knowledge and experience sharing across our network. Stay tuned for further information about events!
Last fall, WILPF submitted a statement to the CSW, the drafting of which was led by our programme. The statement focuses on the priority theme of women's meaningful participation, and provides recommendations for eliminating the systemic barriers to democratized decision-making and peace.