Participation

On 4th June 2013, the Permanent Mission of Ireland organized and hosted a High Level Panel discussion on Women and Peacebuilding in the Great Lakes region, with the participation of Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Mary Robinson; Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zainab Bangura; Development Minister of Ireland Joe Costello and women's civil society leader and Ugandan lawyer

For more than 20 years there has been a continuous stream of bad news where Somalia is concerned with images of war, famine and piracy. Now with Al Shabaaab driven out of Mogadishu, and the Somali Transitional Government and African Union in control of the capital, Somalia seems to have joined the Africa Rising tide, and interestingly the image of Somalia's new era of a peaceful future seems to be largely women.

Women and girls have a unique perspective on the causes and effects of conflict on the population. Yet they are often under-represented, or even denied any role in efforts to resolve hostilities and address their root causes, and on deciding how to rebuild society in a manner that promotes peaceful resolution to conflicts.

Congolese women and women from Burundi, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda who took part in the Women's Peace Dialogue held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo April 5-6, 2012 demanded discussions on the formation of the first Intervention Brigade that will operate in the eastern part of the DRC.

The Iraqi delegation has concluded that ‘militarism is not a solution to maintain peace and security'. Iraq has recommended a few points that include eliminating marginalisation of women, and implementing SRC 1325. There also needs to be a ‘genuine' partnership between women and men to build peace and security.

“Muslim women can and should play a significant role in ensuring peace in their communities and countries around the world,” said Dr. Rosa Rai Djalal, President of the Muslim Women's Association, at a forum on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 20, 2013. “If women are not involved in the peace process, peace is unlikely to be sustainable.

Israel is home to one of the largest Eritrean communities in the world. However, they face discrimination and live in constant fear. One Eritrean woman has founded a centre to give them support.

An estimated 35,000 Eritreans live in Israel. Many survived a perilous 2000-kilometre desert journey across Sudan and Egypt to get to Israel.

Ten years ago on this day, a few of us—sick and tired of the Liberian civil war—joined forces and started the women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace Campaign. We had three major agenda items:

1. Immediate unconditional ceasefire
2. A fruitful dialogue by the warring parties and
3. The deployment of an intervention force.

“What makes women leadership different - women not only can manage homes but also the country”

There is therefore a need to continue civic education programmes particularly to increase awareness and use of human rights treaties and commitments at the community and sub-national level. Civic education must also reach women where they are - in their clubs and groups.