Month: May 2018
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Month: May 2018

Indonesian Girl Ambassador for Peace calls for peace in wake of violent extremism

Indonesian Girl Ambassador for Peace calls for peace in wake of violent extremism

May 25, 2018 by Vica A.V.P Kambea*

Poso, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia—Violence and terrorism has destroyed everyone’s lives around the world.  We, young people in Poso, have experienced how acts of violence and terrorism have not only taken lives of many individuals but also damaged many lives with a lasting impact and trauma in the society.  Therefore, we condemn all forms of violence and acts of terrorism in any name including religion.

As Girl Ambassadors for Peace in Poso, we deeply regret the making of women and children as perpetrators of terror as happened in suicide bomb attacks in several churches and Mapolrestabes in Surabaya, Indonesia during this month.  This makes it very evident that children should be well educated and should be provided with proper values of tolerance, instead of being suicide bombers. Involvement of women and children in acts of violence and terrorism is a clear violation of international laws including the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 2250.

As Girl Ambassadors for Peace, we would like to invite young Indonesian people to stay positive and not be affected by anything that potentially destroys and divides unity among the Indonesians.  As young women and men of Indonesia, let us join hands and unite to help and support the government, police and Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) to fight against terrorism.  Let us continue to live in peace, and unite to build peace to strengthen tolerance.

 

GNWP’s Girl Ambassadors for Peace has over 200 participants in the program, the program consists of 1) Literacy and numeracy; 2) Leadership; 3) Capacity-Building; 4) Use of Media and Theater for Peace; and, 5) Economic Empowerment. Currently, the program is operational in South-Kivu and North-Kivu, DRC, in South Sudan and Rhino Camp in West Nile, Uganda, in Lamongan and Poso, East Java, Indonesia, and starting soon in Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong, Bangladesh.

 

*Vica A.V.P Kambea is a Girl Ambassador for Peace in Poso, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. For more information about the program please contact our GA4P Coordinator at: katrina@gnwp.org

Palestinian women’s rights cannot be fulfilled under the current conditions of occupation and violence: GNWP Calls on the Israeli Government to honor obligations under CEDAW

Palestinian women’s rights cannot be fulfilled under the current conditions of occupation and violence: GNWP Calls on the Israeli Government to honor obligations under CEDAW

May 24, 2018

The Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) condemns the violence and excessive use of force by the Israeli troops against peacefully marching Palestinian protesters.

The violence against Palestinians, which unleashed in the past weeks following the start of the “Great March of Return”, calling for the right of return and an end to the blockade imposed by Israel, is yet another atrocious incident contributing to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza over the past eleven years. The recent violence has killed over 100 Palestinians, and injured many more – including Palestinian women activists, who have been at the forefront of peacebuilding efforts in this region.

As we watch the persistent violence and violation of the rights of Palestinians by the Israeli government and army, we stand in solidarity with women civil society in Palestine, brave women relentlessly working for the achievement of peace and gender equality.

When GNWP held a workshop on synergies between the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and supporting resolutions on Women, Peace and Security with Palestinian women activists, and government representatives in March, the message we heard was clear: women’s rights cannot be fulfilled under the current conditions of occupation and violence.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories are both State parties to CEDAW, thus sharing a commitment to recognize and uphold the rights of Palestinian women and girls. This was made clear in CEDAW Committee’s “Concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of Israel” from November 2017, which called on Israel to “give full effect to the provisions of the Convention and implement its obligations under international humanitarian law with regard to all persons under its jurisdiction or effective control” (CEDAW/C/ISR/CO/6, para 15).

We note with regret that the recent violence stands in stark defiance of this recommendation and obligation, and call on Israeli government, and the wider international community, to take immediate steps to ensure an end of the violence, and of wider violations of the rights of Palestinians, including Palestinian women and girls, under Israeli Occupation.

 

For more information, and further calls for an end to the unwarranted and disproportionate violence, please see the following statements on the recent violence by other women’s rights organizations:

http://arrow.org.my/right-of-return-solidarity-palestinians-gaza/

https://wilpf.org/wilpf-joint-statement-to-the-un-human-rights-council-on-palestine/

 

To request information about GNWP’s work with Palestinian women on the joint implementation of CEDAW and the WPS resolutions, please contact: agnieszka@gnwp.org

Indonesian Girl Ambassador Reflects on Surabaya Bombings

GNWP’s Girl Ambassador for Peace, Nur Aisyah Maullidah, from Lamongan reflects on the bombings in Surabaya, Indonesia.

 May 23, 2018 by Nur Aisyah Maullidah*

Firstly, I would like to start with the chronology of the recent terror acts in Indonesia.  The first attack was related to the error process of food checking at Common Headquarters (Mako) Brimob jail, Depok that led to the chaos followed by shootings and hostages leading to the deaths and injuries among both the authorities and the prisoners.  The dead prisoner is a terrorist prisoner.  On May 13, 2018, Sunday, precisely the day when the Christians hold worship, three churches at different locations became the scene of the explosions of suicide bombings in Surabaya, Indonesia.  The next day, Monday, a police station that became the entrance of the public service unit was bombed.  All of these explosions resulted in many deaths, injuries and trauma.

With the three-day series of terror acts, five explosion points and raids operation in various regions across Indonesia, it is clear that the terrorists are always ready to bomb at unpredictable locations and carry out attacks on central security post points like Riau.  The terrorists want the public to know that they are very strong and if any of their group members are hurt (like in the recent case, some of their leaders have been caught in arrest operations), the resulting damage will have widespread impact not only on victims or people around that area but in all Indonesia.  This is also evident since Indonesia is a venue for ASEANG GAMES in Jakarta and Palembang in few days.

All of this background information leads to the question: why did they bomb the churches? The only answer to this question is to create provocation among each religion and spread fear.  The dominant adherents of Islam are the majority, as much as 87.18% and Christians occupy the minority with the second rank.  However, this does not mean that the bombings in several churches in Surabaya are part of the Islamic teachings.  In fact, Islam is a religion that likes peace and tolerance as described in Surah Al-Hajj verse 40, which protects places of worship of any religion from violent and irresponsible acts.  Another surprising fact is that the perpetrators of five explosion points in Surabaya are family members consisting of father, mother and their children.  This shows that women and children are also directly involved in the process of doctrinization and even terrorist attacks like suicide bombing.

The human rights violations perpetrated against the community are much larger and have wide impacts in a short time, especially for the victims in this particular case.  The acts have clearly infringed the United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 1325, 1820 and 2250, which outlines the protection of women and children, the provision of freedom and, the guarantee of life with a sense of security.  Further, the necessity that requires the participation of family members in the series of acts of terrorism in the form of wife and child also violates their right to freedom of choosing a normal life because if they do not participate in these acts, they are threatened to be killed.  Women and children should get special and primary protection during wars, according to the UNSCRs on Women, Peace and Security and Islamic teachings.

There is a lack of legislation, which gives the police greater authority to arrest and hold terrorist suspects in Indonesia.  The promulgation of effective legislation on terrorism is estimated to be in June. Despite this progress and daily surveillance and tracking, these kinds of action remains unavoidable, because reading a trace of a terrorist network is very difficult, and also because the best units of government have ceased to do their jobs to the fullest.

With what has happened lately, people should certainly be more careful in choosing the networks, which protects them instead of pushing them into radical actions.  Strengthening character and moral education in children from family, school and daily environments should be applied more despite formal education system.  Women should play a more active role, such as fortifying themselves with the knowledge of religion and nationalism so that they are able to play a role in protecting the family from the danger of radical ideology.

 

GNWP’s Girl Ambassadors for Peace has over 200 participants in the program, the program consists of 1) Literacy and numeracy; 2) Leadership; 3) Capacity-Building; 4) Use of Media and Theater for Peace; and, 5) Economic Empowerment. Currently, the program is operational in South-Kivu and North-Kivu, DRC, in South Sudan and Rhino Camp in West Nile, Uganda, in Lamongan and Poso, East Java, Indonesia, and starting soon in Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong, Bangladesh.

 

*Nur Aisyah Maullidah is a Girl Ambassador for Peace in Lamongan, Indonesia. For more information about the program please contact our GA4P Coordinator at: katrina@gnwp.org

 

 

Girl Ambassadors: Stories of strength and resilience

This week we choose to celebrate and highlight the resilience and strength of young women. We showcase stories like, Ruth’s, of young women who support their communities fight for sustainable peace and gender equality.
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Cette semaine nous choisissons de célébrer et de mettre en valeur la résilience et la force des jeunes femmes. Nous mettons de l’avant des histoires comme celle de Ruth et d’autres jeunes femmes qui soutiennent leurs communautés en luttant pour la paix durable et l’égalité du genre.
Last update: May 16, 2018 

We want to be heard! Local women demand inclusion in the discussion and implementation of the Sustaining Peace Agenda

We want to be heard! Local women demand inclusion in the discussion and implementation of the Sustaining Peace Agenda

May 15, 2018 by Agnieszka Fal-Dutra Santos*

In just over a week after the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) launched its research on the Sustaining Peace agenda, more than 170 women from Canada, Colombia, Liberia, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sweden and Ukraine responded to the survey and participated in focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) to share what “Sustaining Peace” means to them.

The research, coordinated by GNWP with support from UN Women in 15 countries[1], aims to shed light on what “Sustaining Peace” means to women civil society; the work that is already done by women civil society around the world to sustain peace and that needs to be recognized, highlighted and supported; the challenges women civil society face when sustaining peace; and how the international community can support them more effectively. The high rate of response in the short timeframe clearly demonstrates the determination of local women’s activists to make their voices on sustaining peace heard.

The initial responses gave rise to a number of interesting emerging trends:

– Peace is more than an absence of war: Development, good governance, culture of peace, or gender equality were mentioned by 100% of respondents when defining “sustaining peace”.

– Despite some progress in women’s inclusion in peace processes, exclusion of women; youth; and other marginalized groups remains a key obstacle to sustaining peace (identified by 40% of respondents as hindering implementation of peace agreements).

– Reasons for exclusion include patriarchy and lack of respect/recognition of women’s contributions (40%); lack of a platform for meaningful participation, such as access to the media, consultation processes etc. (18%); lack of resources (10%); and lack of education or awareness of one’s rights (10%).

– Despite these challenges, women civil society’s contributions to sustaining peace range from preventing electoral violence and organizing neighborhood watch; through advocacy, awareness-raising and peace education to foster the culture of peace; to supporting those affected by conflict, and working towards social justice and development to address the root causes of conflict.

– There is a strong need to improve local ownership of international peacebuilding programs/interventions – with 65% of respondents saying that the local civil society was able to influence donor priorities “to a limited extent”; “to a very small extent”; or “not at all”.

Following the review of the UN peacebuilding architecture in 2015, in 2016, the UN General Assembly and Security Council adopted twin resolutions (UNSC Resolution 2282 and General Assembly Resolution 70.262), emphasizing the importance of a broad approach to peacebuilding, encompassing all stages of peace, not only the immediate post-conflict reconstruction. The Sustaining Peace agenda, which has since been elaborated on by the Secretary General[2], recognizes that efforts to sustain peace are “necessary not only once conflict had broken out but also long beforehand, through the prevention of conflict and addressing its root causes”, and that multi-sectoral, locally-driven and owned approach is needed to ensure effective peacebuilding and conflict prevention.[3]

Such an approach reflects this taken by the local women’s organizations and civil society, especially in their efforts to implement the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. Recognizing that the civil society are the pioneers and leaders on the Sustaining Peace agenda, GNWP, with support from UN Women, initiated this research project to make sure local women’s civil society voices are represented in the global discussions on sustaining peace.

GNWP presented the initial findings of the research in a panel discussion at the UN on April 26, 2018. The panel was co-organized by GNWP and UN Women in partnership with the Peacebuilding Support Office, and the Permanent Missions of Canada; Japan; and Liberia to the UN on the margins of the High-Level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, convened by the President of the General Assembly. The discussion also featured four women activists – Ms. Maheen Sultan from Bangladesh; Ms. Francy Jaramillo from Colombia; Ms. Sophia Dianne Garcia from the Philippines; and Ms. Ma Annie Nushane from Liberia – joining by phone, since she had been denied a visa to enter the U.S. The speakers provided insights into local women’s work to sustain peace, and the challenges they still face in their countries.

“Solidarity is the foundation of sustaining peace” – said Ms. Sultan, opening her speech. Ms. Jaramillo, on the other hand, emphasised that Colombia will not see true peace until it can eliminate violence against women, and against human rights defenders. Ms. Garcia – coordinator of the “Girl+ Ambassadors for Peace” in the Philippines and the voice of the youth of the vicious cycle – “war on drugs”. She also spoke about the Marawi Siege that resulted to the destruction of schools in the area, denying youth access to education and making them more vulnerable to recruitment by violent groups. Finally, Ms. Nushane called for greater inclusion of women in justice and security sector to ensure durable peace.

Closing the discussion, Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, GNWP’s CEO highlighted the intersectionality of the Sustaining Peace agenda and the fact that “local populations and local women do not live their lives in mandates and silos” – they experience conflict in a complex and holistic way.

GNWP will continue its work to bring local women’s voices, perspectives and experiences to the global policy discussions on Sustainable Peace. The Civil Society Study is planned to be completed by August 2018. Its findings will be presented in the Fall of 2018, and the final report will be produced by the end of 2018. GNWP also hopes to continue the cooperation with UN Women to bring the discussions on Sustaining Peace agenda to the regional, national and local level, and ensure their implementation through regional conferences.

Please see the full speeches of the panelists:

Amb. Louise Blais’_Sustaining Peace opening remarks

Amb. Hoshino’s Sustaining Peace opening remarks

Sophia Dianne Garcia_Sustaining Peace Speech

Maheen Sultan_Sustaining Peace Speech

Ma Annie Nushane_Sustaining Peace Speech

Francy Jaramillo_Sustaining Peace speech [ESP]

Agnieszka Fal_Sustaining Peace speech

*Agnieszka Fal-Dutra Santos is a Program Coordinator at the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders. She leads the Civil Society research  study on Sustaining Peace.

[1] These include countries currently experiencing conflict; post-conflict; and those that have not experienced armed conflict in the recent history. The sample includes: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burundi, Canada, Colombia, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mexico, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sweden, Syria and Ukraine

[2] Report of the Secretary-General on Peacebuilding and sustaining peace. S/2018/43, 18 January 2018.

[3] Ibid. Paragraphs 3 and 13.