Women Peace And Security February E-News 2018

By Marina Kumskova, Women, Peace and Security Programme Associate

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(Visual: UN Women)

In just over a week, WILPF activists from Japan, Nigeria, Lebanon, Kenya, Syria, the UK and elsewhere will join thousands of other women leaders at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for the sixty-second session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62). This year, the focus of discussion is on challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls.

In preparation for the Session, WILPF worked to strengthen the meaningful participation of rural women across the conflict spectrum by delivering a statement on the Fulani herdsmen violence in Nigeria at the 25 January 2018 CSW62 Multi-Stakeholder meeting in New York, and advocating for strengthening language on women's meaningful participation, disarmament and accountability for gender equality and peace in CSW62 draft agreed conclusions.

During the session, WILPF International will focus on amplifying the experiences and work of our partners and sections. Join us!

• Women Halting War on North Korea: The Promise of 1325 and Feminist Foreign Policy, Women Cross the DMZ, 13 March 2018, 10:30AM, UN Church Center, 777 UN Plaza, Second Floor;
• Women, Agriculture and the Vital (R)evolution in US Farming, WILPF US, 14 March 2018, 12:30PM, 4 W 43rd Street;
• Intersectional Feminism: Sharing Leadership in Women’s Peace and Security, WILPF US, 16 March 2018, 12:30PM, Salvation Army, 221 E 52nd Street, Downstairs;
• From Words to Action: Women’s Participation in Arms Control, International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) & WILPF, 19 March 2018, 4:30PM, Location: TBD.

We will also support mobilising youth leadership for intersectional movement building, through providing a capacity-building training for the WILPF US Student Practicum and engaging in strategic dialogues with activist and partners.

Read more about WILPF’s CSW62 engagement here>

By Ijechi Nwaozuzu, United Nations Security Council Monitor Fellow

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H.E. Lise Gregoire-van Haaren, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations, delivering her statement at the Arria Formula Meeting on 12 February 2018 (UN Web TV)

On 12 February 2018, the United States in partnership with Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom convened the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Arria Formula Meeting titled “The Electoral Process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)”. The meeting was framed as an opportunity for the UN Secretariat, African regional leaders and the international community to discuss ways to ensure that elections in the DRC are held in a timely, peaceful and credible manner in December 2018. Among the key elements that will enable this, the participants listed: democratic political space and stabilisation of security and human rights situation in the country.

Sweden, Peru and Kazakhstan all brought attention to the importance of women’s political participation, which is a critical issue. However, discussions were otherwise predominantly gender-blind. The gendered impact of armed violence on the security and development of women, and its relevance to sustainable peace, were absent from conversation. Speakers also missed an opportunity to address pressing challenges such as the impact of the new electoral law on the distribution of seats for women, small political parties and independent candidates. They also did not to address limits of MONUSCO’s ability in monitoring the pre-electoral process and preventing the crackdown on civil society. Strengthened gender conflict analysis based on local women’s voices is critical to effective action that addresses WPS commitments moving forward.

Find the full Analysis of the UN Security Council Open Arria Formula Meeting on the Electoral Process in the DRC here>>