Participation

The Participation theme focuses on women’s representation and participation in peace processes, electoral process – as both the candidate and voter – UN decision-making positions, and in the broader social-political sphere.

The Security Council acknowledges the need for strategies to increase women’s participation in all UN missions and appointments to high-level positions in SCR 1325(OP3) and 1889(OP4) and further emphasises the need for women’s participation in peacebuilding processes (1889). 

Specifically, it calls for the mobilisation of resources for advancing gender equality and empowering women (OP14), reporting on the progress of women’s participation in UN missions (OP18), equal access to education for women and girls in post-conflict societies (OP11), and the increase of women’s participation in political and economic decision-making (OP15). Until this language translates into action, the potential for women’s full and equal contribution to international peace and security will remain unrealized.

For more resources on this Critical Issue, visit PeaceWomen Resource Center >>

Author of Elusive Peace Teaches Incarcerated Women Peacemaking Skills

Douglas E. Noll Professional Mediator and co-founder of Prison of Peace, a non profit organization dedicated to teaching peacemaking and mediating skills for incarcerated women, discovered insights from working with inmates that helped shape his new groundbreaking book, Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts (Prometheus Spring 2011).

Women Must Be Brought from the Margins of Conflict Prevention, Mediation 'Into the Centre, Where They Belong', Says Secretary-General

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's remarks at the Security Council open debate on woman and peace and security, in New York, 28 October:

I commend Nigeria's choice of theme for today's debate, and I thank Madam President and Council members for understanding and agreeing to start earlier than usual to allow me to participate in this important meeting.

INTERNATIONAL: Wise Muslim women shatter stereotypes at Istanbul conference

More than 180 Muslim women from 45 countries attended panels and seminars in İstanbul last week focusing on educating and empowering Muslim women and promoting their rights from an Islamic perspective.More than 180 Muslim women from 45 countries attended panels and seminars in İstanbul last week focusing on educating and empowering Muslim women and promoting their rights from an Islamic perspective.

INTERNATIONAL: UN Chief Calls for Greater Role of Women in Conflict Prevention

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Friday called for a greater role of women in conflict prevention and mediation, which he said "is essential for building peace and reinforcing the foundations of democracy."

The statement came as the secretary-general was addressing an open debate at the UN Security Council on the role of women in achieving peace and security.

EGYPT: Still struggling

Will the lot of Egypt's women improve after the country's revolution?

AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan's Secret Weapon

On Friday, President Obama announced that all American troops would leave Iraq by year's end. Newspapers and broadcasts--to say nothing of Facebook and Twitter--hummed with the news.

SIERRA LEONE: In Sierra Leone, ActionAid Discusses Access to Justice With Rural Women

As part of its campaign to reduce injustice and increase Access to Justice (AtoJ) for women in Sierra Leone, ActionAid Sierra Leone has convened one day advocacy dialogue on safety and security for women accessing justice in Freetown on Monday October 24, 2011.

KENYA: Kenya Struggles With Female Lawmaker Quota

In Kenya, a Cabinet task force is grappling with how to implement a constitutional requirement that women comprise at least one-third of the country's Parliament.
Currently, the parliament consists of 222 members. But only 22, or 10 percent, are women.

EGYPT: Did Egypt's Women Win the Revolution Only to Lose Out?

In the immediate aftermath of this spring's revolution, something new and unfamiliar happened in Egypt: women and men participated equally in political events.

INTERNATIONAL: Women Activists Inspired by OWS: Intervention in UNSC Debate

International women peace activists from Fiji, Georgia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Philippines gathered in New York on the heels of the Occupy Wall Street Movement are determined to monitor and intervene in the UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security this Friday. On the eve of the UN debate, a roundtable discussion will reaffirm their claim that it is time to invest in non violence not militarization:

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