skip to Main Content
info@gaps-uk.org

GAPS Newsletter: August 2023

Welcome to the GAPS August wrap-up.  

August marks two years since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan. The human rights violations faced by women and girls, as well as other targeted communities based on ethnicity, religion, disability and sexual orientation, continue to rise. In the meantime, draconian UK asylum policy has further reduced access to safe passageways for Afghans seeking sanctuary. In the same week of the anniversary six Afghan men drowned in the Channel. GAPS continue to work across civil society to keep the situation in Afghanistan and its refugees on the agenda. You can also read a statement by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights marking the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover and ‘After August’, a collection of stories documenting the lives of Afghan women here. 

On the 9th and 10th of August 2023, GAPS joined  the Regional Conference “Promoting Peaceful and Inclusive Societies in Asia and the Pacific: Experiences in Advancing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda”, alongside 70 other Government and civil society representatives from the Asia-Pacific region working on women, peace and security (WPS). At the Bangkok conference, GAPS presented our recommendations on National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security (NAP-WPS) development and spoke on closing civic space. A summary of the event can be found here. 

The latest and final episode of Season 1 ‘Mind the GAPS’ podcast is published. In this final episode, our very own Florence and Eva review the different themes discussed throughout the season, note the emerging themes necessary to support women’s rights and women-led organisations, and check-in on progress of the United Kingdom’s implementation of its fifth National Action Plan. Florence Waller – Carr is Policy and Advocacy Manager and Eva Tabbasam is Director, both at Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS). The entire season is a great resource on Women Peace and Security and is available for free on our website or wherever you listen to podcasts. Do not forget to subscribe to receive news on season 2 and leave us a rating – it helps tremendously with spreading the word! 

Our staff, alongside other civil society organisations and academics, joined a thematic day organised by the University of Sheffield and the Centre for Gender in Politics on ‘Queering Peace and Security’, where GAPS supported the facilitation of the event. This event brought together experts from across civil society and academia to discuss how the WPS agenda can better meet the needs of LGBTQI+ communities as well as the opportunities a queering approach offers to WPS and other security agendas. From the event, an outcome document with concrete recommendations for the inclusion of peace and security will be shared with the incoming UN Independent Expert on the Prevention of Violence and Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and gender Identity. You can find out more about our attendance at the event on our X/Twitter here. 


August Reads

Monthly Action Points (MAP) for the Security Council: August 2023

For August, in which the United States has the presidency of the UN Security Council, the MAP provides recommendations on the situations in LebanonLibyaSyria, and Yemen

 

Fostering Feminist Peace at Home: Implications for CNAP3 (2023) 

WPSN-C’s new publication aims to provide analysis, inspiration, and recommendations to support the understanding of “domestic issues” in the next Canadian National Action Plan. 

 

 

What are gender responsive and transformative approaches and how can they strengthen peacebuilding? Lessons from Nigeria 

In ConcilIations Resources latest blog, their West Africa Programme Director, Janet Adama Mohammed, explains how their approach to gender and peace-building is helping to build a more inclusive community peace-building processes in northeast Nigeria. 

 

 

 

Gender equality and social inclusion assessment for Kurdistan Region of Iraq 

This report provides a gender equality and social inclusion analysis, in order to advance gender equality and women, peace and security as they pertain to recommendations contained in the Regional Human Rights Action Plan for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for the period of 2021 to 2025. 

 

 

The Frontline: Trans Inclusion in the Women’s Movement

This episode of our podcast focuses on the ways in which actors in the women’s movement are actively inclusive of trans women, questioning the exclusionary narrative that dominates much of the media, and exploring how this dominant narrative is both being driven by and playing into the hands of anti-democratic forces.

 


In case you missed it

The Conference of States Parties to the Arms Treaty took place on 21st August in Geneva, where states convened to discuss implementation of the Treaty. The theme of the conference was the role of industry in international transfers of conventional arms. Information and analysis of the event can be found on the ATT Expert Group Twitter. Alongside the conference, the ATT Monitor published its 2023 Report. 

The FCDO is still accepting evidence for a new International Development White Paper, with the deadline for evidence being 16 September. At GAPS we are submitting evidence as a network as well as many of our members are submitting evidence separately. Please consider submitting evidence, in particular that highlights the need for centrality of gender equality in development.  


Job Board

United Nations Association – UK

Head of Campaigns, (London). Rolling basis

Plan International UK

Youth Engagement Officer, (London). Apply by 18 September

Senior Acquisition and Retention Manager, (London). Apply by 17 September

International Alert

Project and Grants Manager, (London). Apply by 18 September

Senior Security, Safeguarding and Safety Officer, (Multiple Locations). Apply by 17 September

Call for Consultants to join International Alert’s Roster of Peacebuilding Experts, (Any Location). Apply by 17 September

Back To Top