GAPS Newsletter: October 2018

31 October 2018

Updates

18th anniversary of UNSCR 1325

Today we celebrate 18 years since the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1325!

At this year’s Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, the UN Security Council heard from a Palestinian woman for the first time: Randa Siniora, Head of the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling. Read her statement here.

Read the UN Secretary General’s report on Women, Peace and Security here.

Legal Action Worldwide joins GAPS

We are delighted that Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) is the newest member organisation of the Gender Action for Peace and Security network! LAW provides innovative legal assistance to the least represented people in fragile and conflict-affected states. Read more about their work here.

Events

Discussion on the WPS Index at the House of Lords

On Thursday 1 November at 1pm The Henry Jackson Society is hosting a discussion with Dr Jeni Klugman on the Women, Peace and Security Index launched last year. See here for further details.

LSE public lectures:

Realising Aspirations? Gender, Ethnicity and Job Inequalities, Thursday 8 November

Human Rights and Climate Change, Thursday 8 November

The Story of Scottish Women’s Hospitals, Friday 9 November

Make A Stand!, Monday 12 November – Friday 14 December

The Global Gag Rule and Women’s Reproductive Health, Monday 12 November

Translating Feminism in National and Transnational Spaces: women’s movements around 1900, Tuesday 27 November

From pillars to practice: pushing the boundaries of “Women, Peace and Security”, Thursday 29 November

Rethinking human rights: a southern response to western critics, Monday 10 December

Research and resources

VAWG, statebuilding and peacebuilding

The Global Women’s Institute and GAPS members CARE and the International Rescue Committee’s have published their report “Intersections of violence against women and girls with state-building and peace-building: lessons from Nepal, Sierra Leone and South Sudan“, part of DFID’s What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls programme. This report identifies and explores the linkages and interconnections between VAWG and statebuilding and peacebuilding processes in three contexts. It is hoped that findings will inform future conflict and post-conflict statebuilding and peacebuilding processes to ensure they are more effective at addressing forms of VAWG that act as barriers to peace and stability.

Women’s participation in formal and informal peace talks

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security has published a policy brief, “Connecting Informal and Formal Peace Talks“. This brief looks at current practices and advances in mediation, including the role of women mediators and emerging women’s mediation networks, and offers recommendations for better incorporating the informal roles that women play in the formal peace processes.

Human rights defenders

Read the 2018 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders here.

Widows and social protection

Widows for Peace through Democracy have released a statement for the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Read it here.

Inclusive ceasefires

Read Inclusive Security’s new publication “Inclusive Ceasefires: Women, Gender, and a Sustainable End to Violence“. In this report, Inclusive Security analyses two case studies – the 2014 South Sudanese Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and the 2015 Myanmar Nationwide Ceasefire agreement, along with the sparse literature on women, gender, and ceasefires – to emphasise the benefits of women’s inclusion in ceasefires.

Global Disability Summit

Read the official readout of the Global Disability Summit held on 24 July 2018 with summaries of the plenary sessions and spotlight sessions.

WPS training resources

Inclusive Security have launched an expanded set of free online training resources on Women, Peace and Security available here.

Calls for participation and opportunities

CSW 63

The sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 11 to 22 March 2019. The theme for 2019 is “Social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls”.

Jobs

Womankind Worldwide:

Consultant for final project evaluation in Ethiopia, apply by Friday 2 November

Saferworld:

Yemen Project Coordinator, apply by Wednesday 7 November

Consortium Team Leader – women’s empowerment & social cohesion Cox’s Bazaar, apply by Sunday 11 November

Programme Manager Cox’s Bazaar, apply by Sunday 11 November

Senior Campaigns Adviser, apply by Sunday 11 November

Plan International UK:

Director of Communications, Campaigns and UK Programmes, apply by Wednesday 21 November

GAPS and the APPG-WPS

On Tuesday 30 October, the APPG on Women, Peace and Security hosted the UK launch of the Women’s Regional Network report “The Cycle of Struggle: A human security perspective on Afghanistan’s IDP women“. The findings of the report were presented by Barin Sultani Haymon, author of the report and independent consultant for the Women’s Regional Network. Also on the panel were: Mandana Hendessi, Senior Technical Adviser on Women, Peace and Security at ActionAid UK; Miriam Lopez-Villegas, Shelter Adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council; and Hanif Ahmadzai, Political Counsellor at the Afghan Embassy in London.

GAPS provides the Secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women, Peace and Security (APPG-WPS). The APPG-WPS holds events throughout the year that explore the situation for Women, Peace and Security around the world through thematic or country focuses. If you would like to be notified of upcoming events through the APPG-WPS, please inform us at appg-wps@gaps-uk.org.