Through communication and knowledge management, The Centre, formerly Isis-WICCE seeks to inform and influence global discourse on gender, peace and security, serving as a vital resource hub and reference point for policy makers, activists, academia, civil society, ordinary women and men to effect gender-responsive social change.
We prioritise sharing information and communicating directly to decision-makers as well as a diverse set of individuals shaping women’s lives at local, national, regional and international levels.
Through this, The Centre contributes to building an informed wave of world leaders who respect gender diversity and uphold women’s rights.
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In February, Women’s International Peace Centre as the Peace and Security thematic lead of the Gender is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC) cohosted the 33rd GIMAC Consultative Meeting on Mainstreaming Gender Equality in African which took place on the 3rd to 4th February,2019 at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the theme: “Towards Gender Responsive Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement”. The theme was aligned with the African Union (AU) dedication of the year 2019 as the year for “Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement”.
This year’s theme sought to tackle the issue of forced displacement in Africa which is largely due to conflict, natural disasters, human rights violations or political instability that has resulted in over 12 million internally displaced persons and an estimated 6.2 million refugees and asylum seekers across the continent. Women and girls who are forcibly displaced by conflict, natural disasters, economic reasons or other causes, face specific threats and diverse forms of gender-based discrimination, violence and human rights violations. Their access to legal protection, safety, gender-responsive assistance, a life of dignity and respect for their rights is often further undermined by factors such as age, disability, previous marginalized social position among others.
#GIMAC33 Press Conference
The panel discussions tackled Governance, Peace and Security; Early Warning and Early Response for Prevention of Crises and Forced Displacement, Integration and Return of Refugees and IDPs: registration and documentation processes, discriminatory laws, and inclusion in national development frameworks, Gender-responsive Humanitarian Response: addressing human security needs of IDPs and refugees including physical, psychosocial, legal, health etc, Displaced Women’s Contributions to Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement and Seeking Accountability for Non-implementation of Policy Commitments, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Education in emergency situations, Accountability for Implementation of Policy Commitments and the Solemn Declaration Index Monitoring Report.
Our partners from Mouvement des Femmes et des Filles pour la Paix et la Sécurité (MFFPS) (Photo Credit GIMAC)
The 33rd GIMAC brought together over 250 delegates from over 30 countries, including representatives of Diplomatic Missions, African Union and United Nations officials, leading Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) on Gender in Africa and other interested groups in advancing women’s rights in Africa.
Drawing from the two-day discussions, participants recommended an increase in public investment in provisioning of gender-responsive services in IDP settlements, Invest in education technology to refugees, IDPs and returnee children, introduce Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Conflicts, engage men as partners in the fight against SGBV and GBV and also encourage judicial institutions to establish mechanisms that will eliminate and fast track sexual and gender-based violence cases especially the inclusion of forensic technology and post-incident trauma care.
The 34th GIMAC will take place from 29th to 30th June in Niamey, Niger under the theme “1st GIMAC Strategic Engagement with AU, RECs and Partners on the AU Summit Theme of the Year.”
On the margins of the 33rd Pre-summit Consultative Meeting on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union, The Women’s International Peace Centre held a Regional Exchange from 31st January to 1st February 2019 at Azzeman Hotel, Addis Ababa. The Regional Exchange brought together 35 women peace builders from Burundi, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda sharing information on women’s experiences of conflict/post conflict, promoting women’s rights and capacities and attempts to claim spaces to influence the peace processes. The women reflected on their role in peace building and conflict resolution in each country and at regional level, define a common vision for peace as women of the region and identified, shared priorities and approaches to strengthen the role of women in peace building and conflict resolution, nationally and at regional level.
As we approach the 20th anniversary of resolution 1325 in 2020, documented evidence demonstrates that though peace is more long-lasting as a result of women’s meaningful participation in peace, security and humanitarian processes, that value does not consistently translate into women’s inclusion or participation in peace negotiations and implementation mechanisms. Isis-WICCE/The Centre under its new strategic plan has renewed its commitment to facilitate platforms for women to claim space and participate in national and regional peace processes with impact.
At regional level, the Office of the Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security has created a continental results framework for monitoring and reporting on the WPS in Africa and the African Union has designated 2019 as the year to work towards durable solutions to forced displacement in Africa, many of which are caused by conflict; this was a critical moment to further reflect on progress in advancing the women, peace and security agenda.
Agenda 2063 presents the vision of the African Union, to build an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in international arena. Aspiration 4 reflects the goal of a peaceful and secure Africa. This is mirrored by the AU’s decision to Silence the Guns by 2020 and in declaring 2010-2020 the African Women’s Decade. 2019 marks nine years into both and provides an opportunity for reflection on the needs, concerns and agency of women on the continent along with efforts to address and amplify the same in line with peace building.
The ‘Women and Peacebuilding in Africa’ project looks at the cost of women’s exclusion and the possibilities for their inclusion in peace talks, peacebuilding, and politics in Somalia, Algeria, northern Nigeria, South Sudan, and Sudan. The project also examines the struggle for women’s rights legal reform and political representation as one important arena for stemming the tide of extremism related to violence in Africa.
The three themes that make up the project are:
Inclusion and exclusion in postconflict governance
Women activists’ informal peacebuilding strategies
18 years since the
adoption of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, implementation of the
Women, Peace and Security Agenda continues to falter. Despite eight resolutions
on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and a strong evidence base for action, women
continue to be side-lined. The numbers of women and young women engaging at the
highest levels of peace decision-making in their countries and in regional intergovernmental
processes continue to fall short; women, young women, and girls face
gender-related barriers as well as other obstacles such as (dis)ability,
ethnic, and sexual orientation, preventing their meaningful participation in
community level peace and security processes; funding for women’s organizations
remains dismal while funding for militarized security continues to increase.
2020 marks the 20th
Anniversary of UNSCR 1325, providing an important milestone to mobilize around
and demand accelerated action on the WPS agenda. In preparation for the 20th
anniversary of UNSCR 1325 in 2020, members from the coalition NGO Working Group
on Women, Peace and Security facilitated a forum during the October WPS Week
that brought together global feminist peace leaders to start the conversation
on how we can catalyze on moments ahead of the 2020 anniversary to ensure
holistic implementation of the WPS Agenda moving forward
The forum aimed to create the space for women from across the world to network
and share learning and experiences; identify key tensions and lessons
learned in navigating the challenges of implementing the women, peace and
security agenda; and identify key mobilizing
opportunities for 2019 and 2020, around which
to build collaborations
The annual United Nations Security Council (UNSC) open debate on
Women, Peace and Security reviewed the Secretary-General’s most recent report on Women, Peace and Security, and focused on “Promoting the
Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and Sustaining Peace
through Women’s Political and Economic Empowerment” organized by the Plurinational
State of Bolivia. This debate was an opportunity for representatives of Member
States, Observer States and regional organisations to assess their progress in
implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda as well as make new
commitments towards advancing WPS at local, national and regional levels.
In his intervention, the Secretary-General focused on the
importance of securing funding for women’s organisations and expertise, as well
as supporting women’s participation in peacebuilding at the local level. Civil
society speaker Randa Siniora Atallah, the first Palestinian woman to address
the UNSC in official public proceedings, Shared the experiences of women in the
Israeli occupation. The most prominent themes of the discussion included the
barriers that structural inequality poses to women, the effects of the lack of
resources on women’s meaningful participation, and the importance of civil
society in future implementation.
Many representatives used their statements to address structural
inequalities as an important theme to overcoming obstacles to women’s
meaningful participation and how they are linked. The representative of Bolivia
highlighted masculinities and patriarchal society as barriers to combating
violence and ensuring women’s participation. The representative of Albania
highlighted that masculinity was rooted in power. However, the discussion of
such inequalities went beyond tangible barriers; for example, the
representative of the International Organization of La Francophonie questioned
the usefulness of discussing empowerment altogether, suggesting that the
concept of women’s empowerment implied a stereotype that women required
capacity-building to perform duties, a question which was not mentioned when
discussing men’s capacity in peacebuilding. Therefore, the speakers agreed that
it is critical to dismantle stereotypes.
Given the increase in civil society speakers that were invited
to brief in the UNSC in the past three years, 6 (7%) of the 81 representatives
praised this inclusion as progress for women’s meaningful participation. In
particular, the representatives of Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands and the
United States highlighted the importance of increasing the number of civil
society speakers in future UNSC briefings.
Overall, the four pillars of the WPS Agenda, namely
participation, prevention, protection and relief & recovery, were generally
referenced by representatives. The theme of participation was addressed by 76
(94%) of the 81 representatives, primarily through general affirmations of the
importance of women’s participation as a necessary step to accessing economic
resources. Prevention and Relief & Recovery were both referenced frequently
by Member States, by 55 (68%) and 53 (65%) representatives, respectively. These
references were in the context of women’s participation as critical to ensuring
peace in pre- and post-conflict societies. Protection was referenced by 48
(59%) Member States, largely within the capacity of providing protection
services to women in relation to SGBV.
This edition focuses on the women, peace and security issues discussed during the institute, as informed by the UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1325 and 2250, Sustainable Development Goals (5, 16) and related national frameworks (including national action plans). It takes a closer look at the state of conflict and post-conflict in the 5 countries, progress in implementing UNSCR 1325 which centres women’s concerns as well as women’s responses to peace and security gaps and challenges.
Being a woman, itself often confronts you with a long and difficult process of emancipation and empowerment. Women and girls living with HIV and AIDS are not only facing the feminist process but are moreover victims of stigma and exclusion, especially in rural areas.
The programme “Livelihood Enhancement for social transformation for women living with HIV&AIDS in Orungo Sub County, Amuria District” was designed to strengthen the livelihood capacity of women living with HIV&AIDS in Orungo Sub-County, Amuria district in Uganda, with special emphasis on the members of Akwenyutu People Living with HIV&AIDS (APHAS). The project has been in effect since in October 2015–June 2018 with the overall objective of the intervention to increase access to sustainable livelihood opportunities for women living with HIV&AIDS. In 2016, Uganda experienced a prolonged drought resulting into poor harvests and famine. Families had nothing to feed on, had to depend on handouts and became destitute. For people living with HIV/AIDS, lack of adequate food was a challenge in the uptake of medication.
The APHAS leadership was responsible
for reaching out to the identified households and ensuring that they reach the
food distribution venue on the 24th of August 2017. Ever since, APHAS has
organized awareness raising sessions through music, dance and drama to over 3000
women and men in different communities. Isis-WICCE has engaged in enterprise
development, entrepreneurship training and providing agricultural inputs that
included seeds and tools to APHAS members
In partnership with APHAS, Isis-WICCE also organized a Girls’ Leadership Camp at Orungo PrimarySchool under the theme ‘My Body My Power’ from 2nd to 3rd June 2018. The girls’ leadership camp was attended by fifty (50) school girls aged between 9 – 12years from five primary schools; Orungo Primary School, Moruinera Primary School, Ocakai Primary School, Ococia Primary School, and Otubet Primary School. The girls were skilled in leadership, understanding their bodies, discovering their dreams and setting goals.
The University of Wisconsin – Madison in partnership with African researchers, Isis Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) and Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) conducted a research project that looks at the cost of women’s exclusion and the possibilities for their inclusion in peace processes, peacebuilding, and politics in countries affected by war in Africa. The research project also examined the struggle for women’s rights, legal reform and political representation as one important arena for stemming the tide of extremism related to violence in Africa.
In 2017, Isis-WICCE partnered with National Union of Women with Disabilities Uganda (NUWODU) and Gulu Women with Disabilities Union (GUWODU) to implement a 1yr project on “Increasing Access to Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights for Women with Disabilities” with funding from Amplify Change. The project sought to strengthen the capacity of Women with Disabilities (WwDs) to advocate for improved SRH services and improve competencies of service providers to ensure quality services for WwDs in Gulu district.
