GAPS Newsletter: May 2023
Welcome to GAPS May wrap-up.
GAPS attended the 2023 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development organised by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). This year’s theme focused on ‘Seeking Solutions for Turbulent Times’ and explored lessons and experiences from past and ongoing peace-building, stabilisation and state-building efforts; examined international cooperation efforts in the context of reconstruction; and highlighted interlinkages between different crises to tackle them more effectively.
GAPS held two side events at the forum focusing both on the role of women’s rights organisations and women-led organisations and women’s participation in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. The first event, in partnership with Oxfam, focused on locally led actors’ implementation of Women, Peace and Security, where civil society organisations and women’s rights organisations from Ukraine, Yemen and Iraq spoke. The second event, in partnership with the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD), focused on women’s participation & gender-responsive leadership in peace-building. Read the highlights, including recommendations from the women’s rights organisations, on our Twitter.
GAPS attended the #WednesdaysForWomen conference hosted by Centenary Action and Care. The conference brought together organisations across the domestic and international women and girls’ rights sectors. It cemented clarity across the sector that advocacy asks ahead of the 2024 election should bring together the rights of women and girls at home and abroad. You can learn more here.
In advance of the G7, and through GAPS’ role as part of the W7 advisory group, GAPS contributed to the development and promotion of the W7 Communique. This communique was shared with Prime Minister Kishida and Foreign Minister Hayashi ahead of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. Moreover, GAPS published a statement in response to the G7 communique and a twitter thread outlining our response.
Finally, the APPG on Women, Peace and Security held an event on ‘The effect of Innovation and Technological Change on Women, Peace & Security’, with interventions from Su Moore, CEO of the Jo Cox Foundation, and Taniel Yusef, outgoing international representative at the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom UK (WILPF UK). The discussion highlighted the opportunities and risks of new technologies for women and girls in international and domestic settings. You can read more about our event on GAPS’ website.
May Reads
Monthly Action Points (MAP) for the Security Council: May 2023 
For May, in which Switzerland has the presidency of the UN Security Council, the MAP provides recommendations on the situations in Iraq, Israel / Palestine, and Sudan.
The Taliban’s war on women: The crime against humanity of gender persecution in Afghanistan
This report, from our member Amnesty International, presents a detailed legal analysis of how the Taliban’s draconian restrictions on the rights of Afghanistan’s women and girls, together with the use of imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment, could amount to the crime against humanity of gender persecution under Article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Resourcing change: supporting women’s rights organisations in fragile and conflict-affected states
This briefing paper from our member Saferworld and Women for Women International presents the main outcomes and learning from this project and sets out recommendations for donors and international organisations seeking to support women’s rights organisations in fragile and conflict-affected states.
Breaking the gender trap: Challenging patriarchal norms to clear pathways for peace
Our member International Alert published new research drawing from Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nigeria and the Philippines that has found that peacebuilding is compromised by restrictive patriarchal understandings of gender roles. Each of these countries has developed National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security, yet each has struggled to promote meaningful and sustainable gender equality because they are missing programming that transforms discriminatory gender norms.
Under the Pall of War
This discussion paper from our member Conciliation Resources focuses on the impacts of war in Ukraine on the peace processes of the South Caucasus, a region fractured by protracted conflicts dating back to the 1990s.
Domestication+: The Fifth U.K. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security
This report from the New Lines Institute looks at the domestication of the newly launched fifth U.K. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security.
In case you missed it
The Gender and Development Network (GADN) is recruiting a new member of its Board of Trustees. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone to be involved in the governance and future direction of GADN’s dynamic network. For further information and details on how to apply please visit their website or email coordinator@gadnetwork.org asking for a Trustee Application Pack. The closing date is 9am on Monday July 3rd 2023, with interviews held on Thursday July 20th, 2023.
The Illegal Migration Bill, which will put the UK at odds with its international commitments to women and girls’ rights, has now progressed into the House of Lords where it has passed its first and second reading and is now at Committee Stage. Following this, if successful, it will move to the report stage and the third and final reading in the Lords. Our member, Amnesty International UK has written a helpful explainer on why the Immigration Bill is dangerous to communities already made vulnerable. GAPS and our members have been continuing advocacy related to the Illegal Migration Bill, including signing on to the open letter to the Secretary of State on the Immigration Bill. Please check out our Twitter to find out more. Please also find this post from Loraine Masiya Mponela, a refugee herself, on her ‘10 tips for refugees whose asylum statuses have not been determined’.
On the 17th of May, GAPS observed the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. LGBTQIA+ people, especially women and gender diverse people, face distinct challenges during and hold unique expertise of preventing conflict. The risks LGBTQIA+ people face in experiencing violence must be confronted everywhere through inclusive prevention, humanitarian and peace building efforts. The statement from Victor Madrigal-Borloz, UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, after his visit to the UK indicates the worrying rising risks of violence LGBTQIA+ people face, a reality sadly echoed in ILGA Europe’s 2023 Rainbow Index where the UK continues to drop.
Job Board
Plan International
Head of Programmes, (Dublin). Apply by 18 June
Womankind Worldwide
Fundraising and Database Officer, (London). Apply by 11 June
Mercy Corps
Senior Officer Digital Communications – UK, (Flexible). Apply by 5 June
Assistant Program Officer , Africa, (Edinburgh). Apply by 11 June
Amnesty International
Project Manager- Research and Evidence Management Digital Transformations, (London). Apply by 21 June
Global Youth Engagement Lead, (London, Flexible). Apply by 18 June
Programme Assistant, (London). Apply by 15 June
ActionAid
Proposals and Grant Manager, (London). Apply by 12 June
Senior Policy Specialist on Women’s Economic Justice, (London). Apply by 8 June