Jointly developed by the Australian Government’s Australian Civil-Military Centre and UN Women, “Side by Side — Women, Peace and Security” explores how the international community has and can meet its commitments on women, peace and security. The 30-minute documentary features an introduction by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, as well as interviews with United Nations personnel, peacekeepers, mediators, humanitarian actors, policy makers and survivors of conflict.
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On the occasion of the election of the South African Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as the new Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger stressed the importance of the AU for peace, security, and development on the continent. “For the first time, a woman was elected to lead the African Union Commission”, said Spindelegger, “this is a milestone and a signal of the significant changes taking place on this continent. I congratulate Minister Dlamini-Zuma for this responsible position”.
“I am an Israeli, and a Jewish-Mizrahi feminist activist. As my identity is a mixed identity with my being Israeli, Iraqi, and American, I also consider myself an international woman. I became an activist in the year 2000, after my first boy was born and the second intifada began. I am writing my PhD thesis on the Israeli women who participated in formal peace negotiations with the Palestinians up to the year 2000.
As a feminist activist, I have been involved in many, many projects and campaigns for women’s social, economic, and political rights. I’ve closely worked with the feminist health center, Isha L’Isha. We believe that since Israel is a multicultural society, we need to have representation of women from different parts of society: Israeli, Palestinian, Mizrahi, Ashkenazi, and lesbian.”
Photo By: James Akena/Reuters, courtesy of Trust.org/Alertnet
In 2004, UN Member States were urged to create National Action Plans (NAPs) to detail their strategies for implementing SCR 1325. Since then, 34 countries have created such NAPs. National Action Plans establish a framework for countries to pursue women, peace and security issues in a comprehensive, coordinated and measurable way. The United States released its plan in December 2011. As a member of the U.S. Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, the Women’s Refugee Commission contributed to an expert statement on why a U.S. plan is so important and how it could be most effective.
Women need to be involved in more influential positions in the world” — Dalai Lama
Poonam Gupta is one of a 105 strong paramilitary police women from India who went to Liberia on January 2007 to help keep the peace in a country which is still recovering from 14 years of civil war. In 2006, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 which calls for a full and effective participation of women in peace building, peacekeeping and reconstructing efforts.
Delegates attend the UN Security Council meeting on women and peace and security at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, Oct. 26, 2010. The UN Security Council issued a presidential statement here on Tuesday to reaffirming its “commitment to the continuing and full implementation” of the Resolution 1325, a Security Council measure adopted ten years ago. Resolution 1325 seeks to help protect women from sexual violence associated with conflict and to involve women more in the processes of peacekeeping, peace-building, and peace negotiations. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)
- Photo: UN Photo/Christopher Herwig
The power to empower
