August 2016 Update
While everyone else was at the beach, the Institute army was busy with an international conference! Organized with our partner the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) Centre for Women, in collaboration with the Danish Center for Gender, Equality, and Diversity (KVINFO), AiW hosted an international conference to engage international, regional, and national stakeholders in strategic dialogue on women, peace and security in the Arab region. As you can imagine, this is no small task, considering the many security challenges we have in the region!
For three days, we gathered experts, academics, practitioners, civil society, government, and the United Nations to talk about United Nations Security Council Resolution (SCR) 1325 and other resolutions, CEDAW (the Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women) Recommendation 30, and other international obligations that collectively form the women, peace, and security agenda.
So, what’s the big deal? Why is this so important? In 2000, global leaders at the United Nations decided that it was time to examine the impact of war on women and to recognize the critical role they play in conflict resolution and in building sustainable peace. Of course women were always involved – we just decided to commit more strongly to making sure women are involved – not as an afterthought – but as fundamental players in every step of peace processes, at every level.
We know that the experiences of women and men in war are undoubtedly different. These differences bring perspective, engage diverse experiences and ideas, and highlight strategies for future peacebuilding. So this Resolution – and many others – changed the way we think about peace and security, resting on a foundation of prevention, protection, participation, and peacebuilding.
Last year, this mandate was reviewed. And we learned that there has been too little progress, too little commitment, and – as always – too little funding. Women aren’t engaged and represented the way they should be. Meanwhile, the world is changing – and not for the better! Conflicts and mass displacements are increasing, violent extremism is on the rise, and we don’t seem to be able to prevent some of the worst consequences of conflict for women – specifically sexual violence. In the words of a UN peacekeeper: It is now more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in modern conflicts.
So – that’s why our conference Towards Prioritizing Women, Peace, and Security on the Arab Agenda came about, to solidify actions - individual, community, national, and regional – while retaining focus on the lives and lived realities of women in this region - in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Yemen, in Palestine. And we’ve got evidence to back this up! You might be surprised to know that the clearest predictor of peace in a country or region is not its wealth or its type of government – but how the country treats its women!
Watch this space for the conference report to read testimonies from women in Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon, and more. We learned more about the plight of Yazidi women and the situation in Syria – both of which are examples of failed protection. And you can read the Beirut Call for Action, our collaborative document that outlines what we think is needed to make things happen!
The important thing to remember is this: there is a role for ALL of us in this! Students and seasoned experts, academics and activists – everyone. In fact, academia is helping to advance our thinking on women, peace, and security. Here at the Institute, we promote interdisciplinary education and research with a view to social change and policy change. We create and share knowledge on women, peace and security, building partnerships and forming strategic collaborations to address violence against women in conflict, and in conflict-affected situations. We provide capacity building and continuing education programming that focuses on women, peace, and security. We connect academics and practitioners working to create space for women at the table and engage in global dialogues on women, peace and security to raise awareness and rally action. This conference was a good example! In short – the Institute is committed to engaging women, to promoting peace, to building security, and to ensuring equality. Join us!
And also this month, we were joined by a very special guest – visiting fellow and resident human rights expert Frank Elbers. Frank has 25 years of experience in development and human rights in post-communist Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. Most recently, from 2009 through 2015, he served as the Executive Director of Human Rights Education Associates (HREA), an international non-governmental organization dedicated to education and training about human rights and the rule of law. Before joining HREA in 2003, he worked for the Anne Frank House as Education Officer for Southeastern Europe; as a staff associate in the Human Rights Education Program at the Netherlands Helsinki Committee; and as Program Officer West Africa at SATELLIFE and was a consultant for Education Development Center and UNESCO. Frank has also served as a consultant for UN Women on strategies for violence against women, implementation of CEDAW, and the Beijing +5 review process. He was a member of the Advisory Committee to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) for the course on Gender and Humanitarian Action: Different Needs, Equal Opportunities.
Frank has extensive experience training and teaching about human rights, gender and advocacy. He has been an instructor and trainer for courses and workshops on human rights-based programming, gender mainstreaming, international human rights law, and monitoring women’s human rights in Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Cyprus, Hungary, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine, among other countries. Frank will be with us for a year – don’t miss the opportunity to meet him!
We’re looking forward to having students back on campus – we’ve missed that contagious energy and curiosity!
Happy fall!
Lina
