Crises and Conflict directly derails education, yet it is education that is a catalysis towards renascence of Africa. The number and intensity of violent conflicts has increased in the past decade and Africa has not been an exception. In 2017 Africa experienced 18 state-based conflicts, a decrease from 21 in 2016, though the continent experienced a significant increase in non-state conflict; and the denominator is that girls and women bear the greatest human casualties.  Based on the high population of girls and women affected by these conflicts, it is important that conversations majoring on education are focused towards actualization of education right during and post conflict periods. It is known that existing power dynamics and inequalities are amplified during conflicts, educational gains lost, social fabric torn, and thus jeopardizing the achievements of the continent’s Agenda 2063. 

There is need to deliberate, understand and exchange ideas on policies, legislation, plans, financing and monitoring reforms within the education continuum while being cognizant of conflict situations in Africa.  It is within this context that The Centre joined the Government of Kenya, the Canadian Government in collaboration with the Office of Special envoy of chairperson for African Union Commission of Women Peace & Security, and the Forum for African Women Educationalist (FAWE) in a one day conference focusing on girls and women’s access to education in conflict and post conflict situations in Africa and review existing implementation mechanisms by governments, CSOs and education stakeholders to harmonize execution, strengthen synergy and alignment to regional, continental and global educational frameworks.

The conference recommendations will contribute to the outcome document to be presented as African position on girls and women education in conflict during the Women Deliver conference in Canada in June 2019. The outcome of these deliberations will lead to formulation of policies for the continental position paper on girls and women education in conflict to be tabled at the African Union next Ordinary Session for endorsement and also inform the framework that the Office of African Union Special Envoy Women Peace & Security is currently adapting towards advocacy on education for girls and women in conflict, guide various government implementation strategies in conflict education as well as inform FAWE and other CSOs working education in conflict in Africa.   

The #EducationInConflict conversation was held at Windsor Golf and Country Hotel in Nairobi Kenya, on 22nd May 2019 bringing representation from Government of Kenya, Government of Canada, African Union,  all 33 countries where FAWE has presence, government representation from countries who are / have been faced directly /indirectly by conflict,  within the past decade, civil society under GIMAC, the academia and experts in education in emergencies.   

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.