The Implications of MONUSCO Mandate Renewal & Transition on the Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the Democratic Republic of Congo

This policy brief examines the critical implications of MONUSCO’s mandate renewal and transition on the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As the country grapples with persistent conflict, ethnic violence, and the systematic use of sexual violence, particularly in the eastern provinces, the situation for women and girls remains dire.

While MONUSCO has played a key role in peacekeeping efforts, allegations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers and the ongoing insecurity raise serious concerns about the mission’s effectiveness. Despite some progress, including the adoption of National Action Plans for UNSCR 1325 and the FONAREV law for conflict-related sexual violence survivors, justice remains elusive for many.

This brief underscores the urgent need for gender-sensitive security sector reform, meaningful inclusion of women in MONUSCO’s decision-making, and stronger partnerships with local civil society to advance the WPS agenda and deliver transformative change in the DRC.

Download Brief: Implications of MONUSCO Renewal & Transition on the Implementation of the WPS Agenda in the DRC.

Stakeholders Validate Napak District’s Local Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security

Napak District on 19th January 2024, conducted a validation meeting to review and refine its Local Action Plan (LAP) on Women, Peace, and Security. The meeting saw active participation from a diverse array of stakeholders, underscoring the community’s collective commitment to promoting gender equality and sustainable development.

The validation meeting, attended by 35 participants, aimed to critically assess the initial draft of the LAP, ensuring that it accurately reflected the needs and aspirations of the Napak community. Participants in the meeting, included religious leaders, cultural representatives, civil society organizations, and women’s rights advocates, who facilitated a comprehensive review process that incorporated a wide range of perspectives and insights.

Throughout the session, participants meticulously examined the LAP document, scrutinizing each element to ensure clarity, accuracy, and relevance. From refining the LAP’s vision, mission, and goal to fine-tuning strategic objectives and interventions, stakeholders actively engaged in shaping a robust and actionable plan for advancing women’s empowerment and peacebuilding initiatives in Napak District.

Modifications were made to various sections of the LAP, including strategic objectives and interventions, reflecting stakeholders’ commitment to crafting a comprehensive and effective action plan. Key revisions included setting more realistic targets, refining strategic interventions, and aligning activities with the district’s priorities and resources.

The validation meeting also provided a platform for stakeholders to share valuable insights and recommendations for enhancing the LAP’s efficacy and impact. From emphasizing the importance of traditional leadership structures in promoting peace to highlighting the interconnectedness of food security and gender-based violence, participants offered invaluable perspectives that will inform the LAP’s implementation and monitoring framework.

Following rigorous deliberations and amendments, the validated LAP document was endorsed for presentation to the District Technical Planning Committee and subsequently forwarded to the District Executive Committee for further review. The culmination of these efforts will see the formal approval and adoption of the Napak LAP, marking a significant milestone in the district’s journey towards creating a peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous community.

Communique for the Annual Women’s Conference on Women Peace and Security

In a significant stride towards fostering inclusivity and democracy in South Sudan, the 3rd Annual National Conference on Women, Peace, and Security was recently concluded at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Juba. The conference, held from October 25-26, 2023, brought together South Sudanese women leaders from all ten states and various partners. Under the theme “Building Inclusive Democracy: Women’s Leadership and Political Participation,”

The event yielded a joint communiqué outlining pivotal recommendations and initiatives aimed at empowering women in the political sphere.

Acknowledging Collaborative Efforts: The conference recognized the collaborative efforts of organizations such as Eve Organization, the National Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, Cordaid, Plan International, Christian Aid, HealthNet TPO,  PAX and the Women’s International Peace Centre. Their successful organization of the event facilitated dialogue among over 200 delegates from South Sudan’s ten states.

Key Recommendations:

  1. Political Participation: Urging for expedited implementation of transitional security arrangements, the communiqué emphasizes the deployment of unified forces and payment of their salaries to ensure a safe environment for elections. Additionally, the reconstitution and operationalization of key bodies like the Political Parties Council and the National Constitutional Review Commission are stressed to ensure women’s inclusion.
  2. Legislative Support: The document highlights the importance of passing key bills, including the Women Enterprise Fund Bill and the Anti Gender Based Violence Bill, to protect women’s rights. It also calls for the Ministry of Interior to facilitate national ID acquisition for women and support their political participation through resources and initiatives.
  3. International Collaboration: Donors, UN agencies, and INGOs are urged to support women’s organizations financially, specifically during the constitution-making and electoral processes. Establishing funds for civic education, monitoring elections, and responding to gender-based violence incidents were emphasized.
  4. Civil Society Initiatives: Civil society organizations are encouraged to intensify civic education, advocate for the passing of crucial bills, organize conferences to reconcile women from different political backgrounds, and bridge the gap between senior and young women leaders through dialogues and mentorship programs.

Looking Ahead: The communiqué reflects a collective commitment to closing the gender gap in South Sudan’s political landscape. By empowering women, fostering inclusivity, and addressing systemic challenges, the nation takes a significant step towards building a democratic society where every voice matters. Through collaborative efforts and targeted initiatives, South Sudanese women are poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the country’s future.

Download Full Communique : Final-Communique-Annual Women’s Conference-Oct-2023

Feminist Peace & Movement Building in the Digital Age

The 67th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) took place from the 6th to 17th March , 2023 under the theme “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”

Women’s International Peace Centre Peace hosted a parallel event on feminist peace & movement building in the digital age on 10th March.

The event brought together Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) and peacebuilders from Burundi, South Sudan, Uganda and Nepal to share their experiences with access to and use of digital technologies to advance women’s leadership and feminist peace.

Discussions highlighted the specific cases of young women, refugee women, women in rural areas and women in advocating for peace in contexts with shrinking civic space, limited digital infrastructure and challenges of access to and safe use of digital platforms.

For instance, in South Sudan, women used digital platforms to advocate for inclusive peace processes. They organized and held virtual meetings, discussed transitional justice issues, drafted statements and shared them using social media to decision makers for action.

Digital technologies also enhanced women’s power to share their experiences on social media, to discuss violations and call for action in real life

For many women and girls, the prospects/opportunities of digitalization are limitless with so many benefits which include access to information and knowledge sharing, the ability to build movements and fostering connections with others. However, the same is true for the dangers associated with it.

Women peacebuilders and vocal women are oftentimes threatened, face online trolls, backlash and are forced to endure character assassinations and online sneak campaigns. These pose great challenges that hinder women’s empowerment in digital skills.

By end of the meeting, women’s innovations, good practices and recommendations for ensuring diverse conflict-affected women are included in efforts to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of innovation and technological change in the digital age were spotlighted.

Find more videos of women peace builders here;

https://studio.youtube.com/video/-7fLebrAxEw/edit

https://studio.youtube.com/video/IpgvDdIIvL4/edit

https://studio.youtube.com/video/xSrgeOccx8I/edit

Accélérer l’impact grâce aux partenariats en faveur des sociétés pacifiques, justes et inclusives – Monde Des Femmes 54

Monde Des Femmes 54 propose des réflexions sur les approches utilisées et les leçons apprises dans la mise en œuvre du programme Just Future par les organisations de la société civile partenaires du Burundi, de la RDC et du Soudan du Sud.

Dans cet article, les partenaires reviennent des progrès réalisés dans leurs initiatives de plaidoyer, en se focalisent les connaissances et les compétences acquises grâce aux différentes interventions de terrain. De ce fait, les organisations de la société formulent des recommandations susceptibles de contribuer à l’amélioration du programme Just Future ainsi que sur la manière dont la participation des acteurs clés peut être renforcée en attirant l’attention sur les domaines clés de leur croissance et les points saillants de leurs efforts régionaux de plaidoyer qui leur permettent d’influencer le discours et les pratiques en matière de paix et de sécurité à ce niveau.

Les expériences ici partagées soulignent diverses approches réussies lesquelles peuvent être exploitées dans les pays ayant le même contexte, mais en les adaptant aux programmes spécifiques pour faire progresser l’agenda femmes, la paix et la sécurité.

Telecharger: Monde des Femmes 54

Leading Change; Young People’s Agency in Peace Building in Uganda

The Peace Centre is running a project Women Reclaiming Agency for Peace building in Uganda aimed at strengthening the knowledge and skills of women and youth to effectively participate in peace building processes.

This report documents the unique experiences, strategies and changes seen
by implementing the project.

Download the report: Leading Change; Young People’s Agency in Peace building in Uganda

Reflections From the United Nations Security Council 2022 Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security: The Rhetoric Continues

By Helen Kezie-Nwoha

October 31st 2022, marks exactly 22 years since the adoption of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security (WPS). Every year during the month of October the UN Security Council convenes an open debate to receive the report of the UN Secretary-General on WPS and listen to member states, UN entities, and different actors on the status of implementing the women, peace and security agenda. This year was no different as the meeting took place on October 21st 2022.

In this article, I share some of the gains of the WPS movement and areas that need more work as reflected in the 2022 UN Security Council open debate.

Read More “Reflections From the United Nations Security Council 2022 Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security: The Rhetoric Continues”

Young Women Leader’s Training; Building Sustainable Peace in South Sudan

Currently, the Women’s International Peace Centre is implementing a project  “Building Sustainable Peace: Women, Peace, and Security (2019-2022)” in South Sudan. The project seeks to strengthen the capacity of women in South Sudan to mitigate conflict and sustain peace by enhancing their peace-building skills with a focus on mediation, conflict early warning, monitoring, analysis, and reporting from an engendered perspective. 

From 20th to 25th June 2022, The Peace Centre conducted a training for 41 young women leaders from Wau, Yei, and Juba in South Sudan under the theme: “Young Women as Champions of Peace Building”, including youth leaders in the informal sector, young women leaders with disabilities, Civil Society youth leaders, political parties, academia, and female journalists.

Major topics of discussion included; Understanding peace and security in South Sudan, climate change and its dimensions in S.Sudan, documenting, reporting from a gender and women, peace and security lens, sexual reproductive health, and understanding feminist digital activism as an advocacy action plan.

During the training, participants were guided to share on the status of WPS in their communities. Key issues raised included increased gang violence, rape that is perpetuated by soldiers, weak laws on Gender Based Violence and the economic situation causing frustration in people among others.

Participants were also introduced to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 which emphasises the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building initiatives

It was noted that South Sudan is subject to International, continental and domestic frameworks such as; the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on Rights of women in Africa (MAPUTO Protocol), AU Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, Intergovernmental Authority of Development to mention but a few whose commitments she needed to respect. This however has not been the case as evidenced by the level of insecurity in the country.

The training also highlighted climate change and its impacts such as food insecurity and famine, displacements, excercabation of poverty as major causes of instability in the country thus solutions had to be found to combat the escalating problem.

Other topics of discussion included leadership skills, financial literacy skills, wellness and self-care sessions.

From the training, the young women developed action plans focusing on addressing issues of early child pregnancies/marriages; Child labor and street children, and inaccessibility of Sexual Reproductive Health Rights for women living with disabilities which were to be implemented in their various communities based on the knowledge acquired.

Young Women Refugee Inclusion in Peacebuilding in Uganda

This policy brief is based on the the findings of the assessment on young refugee women’s participation in peacebuilding processes (The Peace Centre, 2021). The analysis reveals low participation of young refugee women in peacebuilding due to low levels of education and thus affecting their positioning in leadership. This policy brief argues that to ensure young refugee women’s participation in decision-making, there is a need for government and all humanitarian actors to promote refugee women’s leadership and participation in decision-making in humanitarian and recovery efforts through the strategic engagement of women leaders and women’s organisations.

Download the Policy brief here: Young Women Refugee Inclusion in Peacebuilding in Uganda_Policy Brief (1)

Training Women Peace Mediators; Strengthening Capacities for Women’s Effective Participation in Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding in South Sudan

Through implementing the project “Strengthening Capacities for Women’s effective Participation in Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding in South Sudan (2022)”, the Women’s International Peace Centre project seeks to strengthen the capacity of women in South Sudan to mitigate conflict and sustain peace through enhancing their peace building skills.

Read More “Training Women Peace Mediators; Strengthening Capacities for Women’s Effective Participation in Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding in South Sudan”

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