Category Archives: WOMEN’S EQUALITY

UNGA77: Aisha Buhari advocates inclusion of peace education in African schools

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Sun News On Line

The First Lady of Nigeria, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari has advocated for the mandatory inclusion of peace education in the curriculum of basic education in African schools in order to promote a culture of peace on the continent.

She made the call at an event in New York on “The Role of Young Women and Girls in Advancing Peace and Security: Promoting a Culture of Peace in Fragile Settings”.

The High Level event was organised by the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) on the margins of the ongoing 77th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Mrs Buhari, the President of AFLPM, who spoke virtually, said she it was necessary to include peace education in curriculum because of the peculiarity of conflicts in Africa.

“I made a case for the mandatory inclusion of “peace education” as an essential subject in the curriculum of Basic Education of schools in Africa, during the Extra-Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in May, 2022.

“I am happy to report that the initiative was well received,’’ she said.

Mrs. Buhari called on the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization to do the same as core partners and implementers of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda (UNESCO)

She stated that she has extended a similar call to UNESCO, in consultation with other entities and partners, to consider developing a universal curriculum on gender, peace, and security education for all schools as a way of putting Resolution 1325 into action.

The Nigerian First Lady noted that the event coincided with the 22 years anniversary since the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on WPS, and subsequently, nine other resolutions to advance the WPS framework.

Mrs Buhari added that it was also significant that these historic resolutions on the preeminence of women and girls in peace-building, peace-making, and peace-keeping processes were adopted in this great city of New York.

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Questions for this article

Can the women of Africa lead the continent to peace?

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“We are meeting at a time of heightened tension and conflict in all regions of the world.

“Therefore, it is time for women and their organisations to step up their contribution to the cause of peace and justice, and for the international community to attach greater value to the special voices of women in the peace process.’’

According to her, as a guardian and partner in the struggle for African Peace, the challenge is even greater “for our 12 year-old institution to rise and insist that women’s priorities are central to peace and security policy, at all levels.”

She added that “it is evident that violent conflict takes its greatest toll on women and girls, although we form more than half of the world’s population.

“In conflict situations, we are pre-disposed to the double jeopardy of horror and gender injustice in various forms.

“Already, there is a wide deficit in the realisation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), due to limited access to healthcare, welfare services, economic opportunities and political participation by women and girls in Africa,” she said.

In a continent plagued by widespread disorder and state fragility, she said our individual countries were more than ever before faced with alarming ratios of maternal and child mortality.

“Besides death, injury and displacement, conflict destroys infrastructure, undermines  social ties, and reduces the capacity of states to deliver on the development agenda promised the African electorate.

“Our vital resources are increasingly being diverted to put out the fire at various battle across Africa – from the Sahel, to the Oceans,” she said.

Mrs Buhari said it was in the face of these difficulties that women had proved their peculiar skills-set as peace agents in conflict situations although this role has largely been ignored.

The First Lady said accepting and integrating the unique experience, capability and particularity of women into all aspects of the peace and security sector was therefore essential for the success of each of the components of our peace efforts.

“To achieve this and other goals, the social, cultural and political barriers that limit women’s full participation in achieving sustainable peace should therefore be addressed with renewed tempo.

“Happily, follow-up UN Security Council Resolutions 2242 have provided for “measures and standards” with which to monitor the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security mandates”, among others,’’ the First Lady said.

The Minister of Women Affairs Mrs Pauline Tallen; the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire; Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amb. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande and his wife; the wife of the Consul-General of Nigeria in New York, Mrs Florence Egopija, Wife of Edo State Governor, Mrs Betsy Obaseki, wife of Plateau state Governor, Mrs Regina Lalong, were among those that attended the event.

Africa, EDUCATION FOR PEACE, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY, ,

Kazakhstan: Congress of World and Traditional Religious Leaders to Address Social Status of Women

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Astana Times

The seventh Congress of World and Traditional Religious Leaders, scheduled for Sept. 14 – 15, will hold a special session devoted to the social status of women for the first time in the congress’s 20-year history, reported the congress’s press service on Sept. 8.  (The Congress will take place in Kazakhstan’s capitol Nur-Sultan, which was renamed in 2019 from its traditional name of Astana).

The session will focus on women’s contributions to the sustainable development of modern society. It will also address the role of religious communities in advancing women’s social position.

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Questions for this article

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

How can different faiths work together for understanding and harmony?

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The speakers of this meeting include several prominent religious and public figures such as Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States for Social Affairs Haifa Abu Ghazal, Bishop of Los Angeles and Metropolitan of Southern California and Hawaii of the Coptic Orthodox Church Serapion, Head of the Center for the Study of Islamic History Mahmud Erol Kilic, Art and Culture at the OIC (IRCICA), General Director of the Office of the UAE’s Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence Afra Mohammed al-Sabri, Chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Uzbekistan Grand Mufti Nuriddin Kholiknazarov, President of the UniãoPlanetária Isis Maria Borges de Resende, and President of Christian Solidarity Worldwide Jonathan Aitken. 

The congress, which will focus on the role of leaders of the world and traditional religions in mankind’s spiritual and social development in the post-pandemic period, is expected to gather more than 100 delegations from 50 countries. Among them are representatives of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Shintoism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and other religions, including the Head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis, Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb, and Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem. 

As part of his visit, Pope Francis will conduct an open-air holy mass  for Roman Catholics and representatives of other religions and confessions on Sept. 14 at the EXPO square. 

South Asia, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Mexico: First “Festival of the Heroines of Independence”

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Page 3 (translation by CPNN)

From 5 to On September 11, the “First Festival of the Heroines of Independence” will be held in the City of Oaxaca. It will contribute to the construction of a culture of peace by recognizing the women who, with their effort, courage and even with their lives, have contributed to the foundation of our country.

Music, theater, history, cinema, poetry and gastronomy will serve as vehicles to pay tribute and make visible the women who have been systematically erased from the history of Mexico.

At a press conference to publicize this Festival, the general director of the “Las Heroínas” Collective, Martha Toledo Mar, explained that the idea of ​​the project arose as a result of the Bicentennial Celebration of the Independence of Mexico, which only gave tribute to heroic men.

“There we realized that there was a deep historical void in the psyche of the Mexican people; It is not that those who write the history books forgot, it is not something free, it is on purpose, it is a matter of the system, of the patriarchy, ”she remarked.

This Festival, said Toledo Mar, seeks to recognize all those women with names and surnames. She mentioned that there is a record of more than 50 women who fought for independence, however, the majority of the population only remembers two: Doña Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez and Leona Vicario.

“We believe that for a culture of peace to exist, it is necessary to recognize and give the place that corresponds to each of these women and thus reduce the historical debt. We firmly believe that what is not named, does not exist”, underlined Martha Toledo Mar. And she added that precisely for this reason, on this occasion the Festival will pay tribute in life to the historian, researcher and activist Margarita Dalton.

In a subsequent interview, the co-director of the Consortium for Parliamentary Dialogue and Equity, Yésica Sánchez Maya, stressed that it is essential for this organization to continue to influence the visibility of all the contributions of women in all structures of society; hence, she pointed out, the importance of this artistic project by Martha Toledo Mar.

“This festival seemed like a fundamental proposal to us because historically we have been unrecognized, always made invisible. This exercise of women for women is a long-term commitment to the construction of peace that seeks to generate new ways of recognizing and dignifying, through the arts, singing and creativity, to those women who were not recognized at the time,” he said.

In this sense, Sánchez Maya welcomed the support of the municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez for making available public spaces where some of the activities will take place. This will make art and culture more accessible for Oaxacans.

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(Click here for the original Spanish version.)

Questions for this article

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

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For her part, Rocío Morales, singer-songwriter and cultural manager added: “telling a story in a song is a challenge. This is documented in the book Addicted to the Insurgency by Celia Palacios which makes known and honors the women whom history does not mention.

Similarly, Jade Midori, an Oaxacan plastic artist, remarked: “I think it is very important to make women visible within social movements, not only on commemorative historical dates such as Independence, but also within historical and contemporary social struggles.”

The women to be honored by artists are:

Tonena,
Leticia Gallardo,
Martha ToledoMar,
Olympia Silvavarez,
Anastasia Sonaranda,
Evelyn Acosta,
Rosalia Leon,
Dolores Sanjuan,
Ana Diaz,
Coyolicatzin,
Reina Valenzuela,
astrid hadad,
Olinka,
Violet Parrandera,
Athena Ochoa,
Salma Corres,
Nancy Zamer
Elo Vit,
Rocio Morales and
Akna.

Toledo Mar explained that through her music, the participants will honor:

Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez,
Leona Vicar,
Gertrudis Bocanegra,
Maria Ignacia “La Güera Rodríguez”,
Altagracia Market,
Maria Manuela Medina “The Captain”,
Mariana Rodriguez del Toro
Luisa Martinez,
Antonia Nava from Catalan “La Generala”,
Rita Perez de Moreno,
The Women of Miahuatlan,
Rafaela Lopez Aguado,
Cecilia Villareal,
Maria Josepha Martinez,
Manuela Herrera and
Anonymous heroines.

As part of this Festival, two plays will also be developed at the “Juárez” Theater by the Compañía Nacional de Teatro Novohispano and the Compañía de Teatro “Lola Bravo”, in addition to 3 conferences by historians Margarita Dalton, Rebeca Orozco and Celia del Palacio; a round table, four projections of historical films and the presentation of three commemorative murals. Poetry readings, literary gatherings and themed dinners are also planned.

The “Las heroínas” Collective is made up of the Zapotec singer-songwriter and priestess Rocío Morales, the decimist and former Goddess Centéotl, Evelin Acosta, the singer and cultural manager Nohemí Mondragón, and the singer-songwriter and composer Anastasia Sonaranda.
It also includes the composer and visual artist José Luis Guzmán Wolffer, the playwright and actor Francisco Hernández, the marketer and activist Lalo Lara and the coordinator of the Institutional Program for the Culture of Peace of the Autonomous University “Benito Juárez” of Oaxaca (UABJO), Leticia Cruz Lopez.

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Mexico: Curricular Strategy on Gender Equality to be implemented in public schools

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article by Aura Moreno for the Estado de México

Gender stereotypes have been identified in children up to 5 years old, so when they join primary school they already have extensive knowledge about what it means socially to be a man or a woman, said Rosa María Torres Hernández, rector of the National Pedagogical University and member of the Consultative Council for the Review of Educational Content in the Matter of Gender Equality for Basic and Upper Secondary Education of the State Educational System

“These ideas are built in a society with a history that has generated unequal relationships, privileging the masculine over the feminine, according to what we know from the 2018 youth consultation of the INE and the consultation carried out by INMujeres”

In a public event, she pointed out that in recent decades gender studies have multiplied in the face of the growth of violence, especially that experienced against women.

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(Click here for the original Spanish version)

Question for this article

Gender equality in education, Is it advancing?

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

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Gender stereotypes

The results of these analyzes have allowed us to know that children, from a young age, acquire basic concepts about gender. To address this problem, she said, the Curriculum Strategy on Gender Equality will be implemented in public and private schools at the basic and upper secondary levels in the State of Mexico.

This in a state where more than half of the students in the state public system are women and 60 percent of the enrollment of the Autonomous Mexiquense is made up of women. Practically 7 out of 10 Mexican teachers are also women.

Curricular Strategy on Gender Equality will be implemented in public schools

“One of the problems in the national territory is gender inequality and violence, especially towards girls and women of all ages, mainly indigenous women, poor women, with low schooling, sexual diversity or if they live with a disability.”

For his part, the governor, Alfredo del Mazo, added that with the matter of Gender Equality they seek to build a fairer society. He explained that they have prepared 4 books for teachers and 5 for students that will be distributed in public and private basic and upper secondary education.

(See also Unesco Recognizes the Implementation of the Subject of Gender Equality in Edoméx Schools.)

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Gabon: Women’s Commitment to Health and Sanitation in the Province Woleu-Ntem

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article for CPNN by Jerry Bibang (translation by CPNN)

The Pan-African Youth Network for the Culture of Peace, Gabon section (PAYNCoP Gabon) launched, on Wednesday August 03, in Oyem, in the north of Gabon, the project “Women’s Commitment to Health and Sanitation in the Province Woleu-Ntem”.

The initiative supported by the Conference of Ministers of Youth and Sports of the Francophonie (CONFEJES) and the Town Hall of the municipality of Oyem is part of a vast program of CONFEJES entitled Woman – Sport – Health .

Its general objective is to encourage women to practice physical and sports activities as well as environmental protection, according to Rachel Oyane, member of the project team.

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(Click here for the original French version.)

Questions for this article

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

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The initiative, which targets 200 women in the province of Woleu-Ntem, is based on three main activities, in particular an awareness campaign on the benefits of sport for women, a walk with the collection of plastic waste, a fitness session and a provincial women’s football tournament which will engage women from Woleu-Ntem province in northern Gabon, said Jerry Bibang, the project coordinator.

After the launch in Oyem, our team will crisscross the municipalities of Mitzic, Minvoul and Bitam for the implementation of these various activities which primarily concern women who do not have regular physical and sports activity, explained Jimmy Thalès ONDO, also a member of the project team.

The objective is to get them to understand the benefits of sport, in particular the fight against certain diseases, but also the need to keep their environment clean, hence the activity of walking and collecting plastic waste.

For the Town Hall of Oyem, represented by the 4th deputy mayor, Mrs. Angue Owono Françoise, the initiative is in line with the vision of the municipal council of the town of Oyem which is to make the provincial capital of Woleu-Ntem a beautiful town. and clean, in accordance with the will of the highest authorities of the country. This project is a real opportunity to encourage women to get involved in the fight for healthy lifestyles and for the practice of physical and sports activities. The town hall, under the leadership of Mayor Christian Abessolo Menguey, will reflect on how to continue these activities even beyond the project, she said.

The implementation of this project follows a call for applications, launched by CONFEJES to public organizations and civil society at the pan-African level. Out of 79 applications, only 14 were selected. The PAYNCoP Gabon project was ranked 4th best project by an international jury.

Africa, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Call for Applications: Strengthening Young Women Peacebuilders’ Capacity in Complex Crises

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An announcment from the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

Are you a young woman peacebuilder or human rights defender leading a local organization? Are you working to build and sustain peace, provide humanitarian relief in your community, prevent conflicts, or fight for human rights and equality? If your answer is YES, do not miss this opportunity!

WHAT IS THE PROGRAMME ABOUT?

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), in collaboration with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), are launching the pilot initiative Strengthening Young Women Peacebuilders’ Capacity in Complex Crises, a programme that seeks to support young women leading civil society organizations in fragile and/or conflict-affected countries.

The objective of this initiative is to provide capacity-building for young women-led organizations to strengthen their fundraising skills, and to create a space for peer exchange, networking, sharing of best practices, and lessons learned among young women peacebuilders.

A 4-day, in-person workshop will be held in November 2022 in Tbilisi, Georgia. You will learn about:

* Key policy areas such as peacebuilding and sustaining peace, the women, peace, and security (WPS) and the youth, peace, and security (YPS) agendas;

* Key project management skills: designing and drafting project proposals (including conflict analysis, theory of change, logical frameworks), fundraising, donor outreach, and reporting.

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Questions for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

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WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

To be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:

* Be a young woman between 18 and 30 years old. LGBTIQ+ individuals are encouraged to apply.

* Be a citizen of, and be living in, one of the following countries or territories: Afghanistan, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Moldova, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen.

* Have not yet received funding from the United Nations.

* Be a founding or key member of a legally registered civil society organization working on peacebuilding, human rights, women’s rights, youth rights, or related.

* Have a working knowledge of either English, French, or Spanish.

HOW TO APPLY

Please fill in the online application form  before 15 August 2022.

For any inquiries, please send an email to marie.doucey@unwomen.org.

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

Bolivia Enacts Law on Femicide, Infanticide & Rape

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Telesur English

On Monday, the Bolivian government enacted a law to protect victims of femicides, infanticides, and rape of children and adolescents, given the cases in the country in which convicted rapists and murderers have been released.

Criticizing the patriarchal system that sustains gender-based violence, Bolivian President Luis Arce said that the law “establishes mechanisms to protect the rights of the victims.” 


President Luis Arce enacted Law 179/2021 for the Protection of Victims of Femicide, Infanticide and Rape of Children and Adolescents. July. 4, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@EmbajadaBolesp

Questions for this article

Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

According to the head of state, the law is intended to counteract acts of prevarication and the formation of consortiums that seek to benefit rapists or femicides.  

The penalties for prevarication in cases of femicide and infanticide are increased to up to 20 years in prison. The Bolivian Ministry of Justice said that criminal proceedings would be initiated for delay and revictimization would not be allowed.

The President asked the militants of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) and its ministers to “show by example” the “true fight against violence” without “double standards.”

Attorney General’s Office reports showed that between January and June of this year, 48 cases of femicide and 21 infanticides had been registered in Bolivia.   

The Public Prosecutor’s Office said that asphyxiation, blows or trauma, and the use of bladed weapons or intoxication by substances are the leading causes of these violent deaths of women.

This year was declared the Year of the Cultural Revolution for De-patriarchalization in Bolivia, seeking to establish structural solutions to curb the persistent cases of violence against women in the country. 

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Mexico: The Alamo City Council promotes a culture of peace among women

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Avc Noticias (translation by CPNN)

The Nuevo Paso Real, Buenos Aires and Aguanacida ejidos (shared agricultural lands), together with the Pantepec and Santa Cruz neighborhoods, formed the networks of women builders of Peace (MUCPAZ).


Questions related to this article:

Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

The formation of MUCPAZ networks translates into actions aimed at transforming women’s lives, support and direct communication between women and the Municipal Government headed by Lilia Arrieta through the Municipal Institute for Women.

The objective of the MUCPAZ Strategy is to establish citizen networks of women that allow them to collaborate with government agencies to prevent gender violence, through focused and comprehensive strategies that contribute to identifying risk factors, detecting in a timely manner possible situations of violence, promoting equality between women and men, contributing to creating environments free of violence and promoting a culture of peace.

(Click here for the original article in Spanish.)

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

One year driving action for gender equality. One year of Generation Equality

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from the Generation Equality Forum

One year ago, the Generation Equality Forum brought together leaders from governments, civil society, youth and the private sector to take bold global action on gender equality, marking the start of an ambitious 5-year journey convened by UN Women.

Since the Forum, convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the Governments of France and Mexico, countries and partners have already initiated implementation of commitments made  through six Action Coalitions, and a series of global, innovative, multi-stakeholder partnerships for gender equality., In addition, signatories to the Women, Peace and Security, and Humanitarian Action Compact are beginning to make progress on Compact framework actions, designed to drive progress on implementation of existing global commitments to the women, peace and security, and gender in humanitarian action agendas.

Progress made throughout the first year of the Generation Equality initiative includes  work by the Government of Kenya, global leader of the Action Coalition on Gender Based Violence, to make strides in advancement on the implementation of their 12 commitments, which include national gender-based violence prevention and response policies, resource allocation on programmes for prevention and response to gender-based violence, consultations with civil society and violence survivor, production of gender-sensitive data and evidence, and the ratification of international conventions, amongst other actions, including an investment of over US$1 million to eliminate female genital mutilation in the next four years. As part of the one-year anniversary of the Forum, Kenya published a report on the progress that has been made on each one of their commitments.

Other important advancements have been achieved by the Global Alliance for Care Work, which in the last year has presented new evidence on the impact of policies that grant remuneration, recognition and redistribution of care work done by women, helping to develop new national policies and bringing together care work activists and decision-makers to the table.

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Questions for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

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Youth activists have also made progress in coordination with UN Women by leading the Generation Equality localization of commitments, which provides the opportunity for young activists to share how they have leveraged their experiences during the Generation Equality Forum to localize activities in their communities, and in June 2022 a workshop was organized with 32 adolescents and girls to discuss actions and sharing experiences to strengthen the impact at a local level. During CSW66, youth networks convened to outline recommendations for Compact Signatories to increase youth participation and leadership in the women, peace and security and humanitarian space.

The 2021 Generation Equality Forum secured over 1,000 policy, advocacy and financial commitments for gender equality and a historic US$40 billion pledged to make gender equality a global reality. One year on, those commitments have doubled to more than 2,000 and advocates are beginning the important work of ensuring accountability with a first progress report due for publication in September. 

New commitments include high-impact actions, such as the one presented by the Nordic Council of Ministers for Gender Equality and LGBTI, consisting of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and the autonomous areas of Greenland, Åland and the Faroe Islands. The Nordic Council of Ministers presented a joint commitment to invest in gender-conscious climate solutions and to implement domestic policies that interweave sustainable development, gender equality, and youth engagement with climate action. The private sector has also stepped up commitments, an example being the Koc Group, which will mobilize its Group of companies in support of the Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality.

These and other Action Coalitions commitments by Member States, private sector, foundations, civil society and youth leaders can be viewed through the Generation Equality Commitment Dashboard, launched recently by UN Women: https://commitments.generationequality.org/dashboard/directory/.

The Compact, which calls for the redesign of peace and security and humanitarian processes to systematically and meaningfully include women and girls, has seen more than 160 signatories   pledging investments to over 1000 Compact Framework actions. In the last year, Compact leaders and signatories have developed a Compact Monitoring Framework to track progress and gaps over the next five years, and Compact Signatories have prioritized financing, programmatic, policy and advocacy actions to address women’s and girls’ rights in conflicts and crises in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Myanmar, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.


Compact Signatory Actions can be explored on the Compact Dashboard here: https://wpshacompact.org/wpsha-compact-dashboard/.

A progress report on the first year of Generation Equality implementation will be launched in September at an event in conjunction with the UN General Assembly. Further details will be available closer to the date.

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

Women of the World Call for Peace

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Scheerpost

Presented on May 10th, 2022, by Women Transforming Our Nuclear Legacy, a coalition of the women leaders and activists from around the world call for peace in Ukraine and and an end to the threat of nuclear war. 


Video of their videoconference

Born out of an American-Russian Women’s Dialogue and Peacebuilding Initiative founded just over a year ago, the group started with the goal of improving US-Russia relations, reducing tensions, averting a nuclear war, and working together for the disarmament and elimination of nuclear weapons.

Over the last year, they wrote multiple open letters published in both countries calling for peace. Their most recent open letter, published a week before the Russian invasion of Ukraine link stood with Ukraine calling for peace. They have issued an appeal for peace in Ukraine calling for an immediate ceasefire “to stop the killing, bloodshed, and immense human suffering.”

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Question related to this article:
 
Can the peace movement help stop the Ukraine war?

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

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SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES:

Mairead Corrigan Maguire is a Nobel Peace Laureate and Co-founder of Peace People, Northern Ireland. Mairead was the aunt of three Maguire children who died as a result of being hit by an Irish Republican Army getaway car after its driver was shot by a British soldier. She responded to the violence facing her family and community by organizing massive peace demonstrations appealing for an end to the bloodshed and a nonviolent solution to the conflict. Mairead was awarded the l976 Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous efforts in co-founding a movement to help bring about peace and end the violence arising out of the ethnic political conflict in Northern Ireland. Since receiving the award, she has dedicated her life to promoting peace and disarmament, both in Northern Ireland and around the world.  

Dr. Paula Garb is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Peacemaking Practice at George Mason University. For the past twenty-eight years, Dr. Garb has facilitated citizen dialogues and taught peaceful problem-solving skills in conflict zones of the South Caucasus and to gang intervention workers in Southern California. She also taught mediation and conflict resolution at the University of California, Irvine for twenty-five years.  Dr. Garb serves on the board of UCI’s Center for Citizen Peacebuilding which she co-founded and co-directed for twenty years. She has also published numerous books and journal articles on peacebuilding. 

Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gomez is a diplomat and academic who previously served as the Ambassador from Costa Rica to the United Nations in Geneva. In 2017, Ambassador Whyte presided over the UN Conference that negotiated and adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  Facing extraordinary time pressure, and, at times, contentious debate, Ambassador Whyte facilitated the adoption of this landmark agreement by a vote of 122 nations in favor, one against, and one abstention. Among her many accomplishments, she is also the first woman and the youngest person ever to serve as vice minister of Foreign Affairs in Costa Rica. 

Cynthia Lazaroff is the Senior Creative Producer for US-Russia Relations: The Quest for Stability, a seven-part multimedia documentary produced with philanthropic support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Over the past forty years, Cynthia has been engaged in Track II and 1.5 diplomacy with Russia and the former Soviet Union. Cynthia is the Founder & Director of Women Transforming Our Nuclear Legacy  & NuclearWakeUpCall.Earth.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global, WOMEN'S EQUALITY