GAPS Newsletter: July 2022

1 August 2022

Welcome to our July wrap up.

This month, the UK Government released its 2021 Annual Report to Parliament on the UK National Action Plan. The Report documents the UK Government’s progress in meeting its commitments to the Women, Peace and Security agenda in 2021, and provides an update on how the government is implementing its 5-year strategy. In collaboration with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Women, Peace and Security, GAPS usually holds an annual event with ministers to discuss the Government’s report and release our own Shadow Report. Due to circumstances outside of our control, this event has been delayed. We hope to be able to host it in Autumn 2022! Find out more about the APPG and how to sign up to emails on our website.

The UK Government ratified the Istanbul Convention this month, following years of campaigning from women’s rights organisers and activists. The Government’s ratification came with reservations on Article 44 and Article 59. In particular, reserving Article 59 means that migrant women who are dependent on their spouses will be left subject to abuse, destitution as they have no recourse to public funds, and prosecution if they escape abusive situations. The UK Government has positioned itself as a champion of women and girls rights, and yet continue to push a hostile environment for migrant women in the same breath. GAPS is calling on the Government to ratify the Istanbul convention in its entirety and end the hostile environment.

Finally, GAPS is recruiting for a one-year maternity cover Policy Advocacy and Communications Manager. We are welcoming applications on a full time, part time or job sharing basis! Find out more about the role and how to apply on our website.

July Reads

Monthly Action Points (MAP) for the Security Council: July 2022

For July, in which Brazil has the presidency of the UN Security Council, the MAP provides recommendations on the situations in Haiti, Libya and Yemen.

Research on Challenges, Barriers and Opportunities for Women-led CSOs in the Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Crisis

This report mapped women-led and women focused national organisations and analysed responses from field research and interviews to outline the challenges, barriers and opportunities for women-led CSOs working in Afghanistan and provide recommendations for partners on how to boost their power and agency.

Inseparable but not Interchangeable: Inclusion and Gender Sensitivity for Effective Peace Mediation

This report focuses on how understanding the difference between women’s inclusion and gender sensitivity is crucial to developing targeted approaches to shape the process and substantive outcomes of peace mediations. The report provides recommendations for partners.

The UK’s global contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals: Progress, gaps and recommendations 2022

Bond’s report looks at the impact of Covid-19, UK Aid cuts and other emerging threats on the UK’s ability to deliver the sustainable development goals. The report provides recommendations for each of the 17 SDGs.

In case you missed it

Conciliation Resources held an event in July exploring the complex connections between the climate crisis, conflict and peace. The discussion explored unique climate challenges across West Africa, South Asia and the Pacific, with a strong focus on the gendered implications of these. You can watch the full recording on their website.

The G7 Communique and W7 Communique were published earlier this year. The Gender and Development Network have written a response to the G7 Communique outlining how it falls short on addressing challenges to implementation for women and girls.

What Works 2, a 7-year FCDO-funded program to scale up evidence-based efforts to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG), has opened a Request for Proposals (RfP) to:

Support scaling impact through grants to consortia led by women’s rights organizations, especially those based in the Global South, to fund the expansion of VAWG intervention programs of 3-5 years duration; and
Support innovation through grants to women-led women’s rights organizations based in the Global South to fund theory-driven VAWG intervention programs of 3 years duration, with the potential for future scaling.

To find out more about the What Works 2 programme and how to apply, check out the website.