Women’s Peace and Security in the Digital Age
Commemorating the 21st Anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325
19 October 2021
10-11:30 AM US EDT
The uses of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the context of armed conflict and peacebuilding have received increasing attention from theorists and practitioners in recent years. While, in most contexts, ICTs continue to be perceived primarily as a threat to international peace and security, mediators have increasingly recognized and utilized their potential to facilitate rather than disrupt peace processes. From instant messaging to coordinate between the negotiating parties and monitor ceasefires in Syria to creating online platforms for broad constituencies to inform the official peace talks in Colombia and Libya, mediators are increasingly employing ICTs to broker and maintain peace.
On 19 October 2021, the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), ICT4Peace, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in New York, are organizing a panel discussion to present the research findings and recommendations on the linkages between ICTs, human rights, and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda conducted by GNWP and ICT4Peace; and to provide a space for local women and youth peacebuilders to speak with policymakers and ICT experts and explore ways to strengthen policies on the use of ICTs to advance the WPS agenda and protect women’s human rights. At the same event, WILPF's WPS Mobile App will be relaunched.