WILPF PeaceWomen's October Delegation on the 16th Anniversary of UNSCR1325
By Naimah Hakim
WILPF International and a special delegation of women peace leaders from Syria, Yemen, and Libya at the 16th Anniversary of UNSCR1325. (Photo: WILPF/Marina Kumskova)
This October marked 16th Anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 and the broader Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda. During the week of the Security Council WPS Open Debate, WILPF hosted a delegation of women peace leaders including from Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Nigeria and engaged in a variety of events, bilateral meetings, and other engagements for concrete action.
WILPF partners from the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region highlighted regional patterns in how gender blind institutions result in ongoing challenges to women’s meaningful participation in peace efforts and what women civil society leaders are doing to rebuild communities and promote peace. “Women’s experiences and impact of conflict on women are not prioritised and often misrepresented,” said WILPF Crisis Response Programme Manager Laila Alodaat.
WILPF also co-hosted an event on “Financing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda: Good Practice and Lessons Learned for Accountability and Implementation.” The event built on WILPF’s launch of the #MoveTheMoney toolkit in September and focused on the importance of concrete action to finance the WPS Agenda in order to move from commitments to accomplishments. “We spend trillions on war and pennies on peace; and of course, you get what you pay for,” Abigail Ruane, WILPF PeaceWomen Programme Director, said.
Find more information about WILPF’s engagement at the 16th Anniversary of UNSCR 1325 here.