Month: March 2019

Month: March 2019

Local women’s participation is a necessary ingredient for the success of the implementation of the peace agreement in the Philippines

Local women’s participation is a necessary ingredient for the success of the implementation of the peace agreement in the Philippines

March 27, 2019 by Mallika Iyer
Edited by Mavic Cabrera-Balleza
 
The conflict with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) has been framed purely from a militaristic point of view,” stressed a participant at the National Peace Forum organized by the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), the Center for Peace Education (CPE) at Miriam College, and the Young Women + for Peace and Leadership (YWPL) in Manila, Philippines on March 6 th, 2019.
 
The National Peace Forum convened key stakeholders from national government, civil society organizations, security sector, academia, local government, youth organizations, and faith-based organizations to analyze the prospects of an informal peace process with the CPP-NPA-NDF; and reframe the response to the conflict into one that address its root causes. With the aim of de-escalating the weaponized approach to the peace process, participants discussed Tracks 1.5 and 2 activities that could be conducted by local women-run civil society organizations in collaboration with key stakeholders in barangays (local government). Through these activities, local women will work to bolster the informal peace process between the government and the CPP-NPA-NDF and advocate for the resumption of an inclusive, formal peace negotiation after repeated failed attempts over the past 30 years. 
 
Given the recent ratification of Bangsamoro Organic Law through plebiscites held in January and February 2019, the National Peace Forum addressed the way forward in the implementation of the peace agreement signed in 2014 between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government of the Philippines. The ratification of Bangsamoro Organic Law, which grants the region greater political autonomy, brought new hopes to the implementation the peace agreement with MILF. The formation of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) following the plebiscites is a most welcome development. The BTA will be responsible for the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). 
 
Local women’s meaningful participation 
The National Peace Forum aimed to identify effective mechanisms to ensure local women’s meaningful participation, leadership, and influence in the BTA and the full implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law; as well as in the informal peace process with the CPP-NPA-NDF.
 
Maisara Latiph, a member of the Bangsamoro Tranistion Authority explains the status of the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao
 
Local women, who make up part of the approximately four million people [1]covered under the BARMM, must meaningfully participate in the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law. The Bangsamoro Organic Law has provisions for the participation of women in the Bangsamoro Cabinet and mechanisms for consultations for women and marginalized groups that would contribute to a more equitable and prosperous future for the country. “The narrative of extremist groups will prevail if we do not support the peace process,” Maisara Latiph, a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority stated. Local ownership of the effective implementation of this law will be necessary in order to support the region’s transition from rebellion to governance. Participants of the National Peace Forum suggested inter-ethnic community dialogues to create an inclusive, gender-sensitive, and peaceful vision of the Bangsamoro region as a first step.
 
Continuing challenges
The peace processes in the Philippines require active and sustained participation of local populations and strong commitment from government leaders and other stakeholders. Despite the few gains as in the case of the peace process with the MILF, big challenges remain. Some of these challenges include the continuing violence (such as the bombing of Jolo Cathedral on January 28 th, 2019); the attacks against Lumad (indigenous people from Mindanao) communities; prolonged militarization; increasing radicalization due to active recruitment by extremist groups associated with ISIS; and politicians who continue to divide Muslims and Christians for their own political gain.
 
The voices of women, Lumad (indigenous people in Mindanao), LGBTQIA+, youth, and other marginalized and vulnerable groups are essential to changing the narrative of violent extremism and armed conflict which has served as an obstacle to the success of the peace agreement with the MILF and the resumption of the formal peace talks between government and CPP-NPA-NDF.
 
The National Peace Forum is part of a three-year initiative to help build sustainable peace in the Philippines by enhancing the capacities and increasing the opportunities for local women and other historically marginalized groups to meaningfully participate in informal peace processes with the CPP-NPA-NDF and implementation of the peace agreement with the MILF. GNWP, CPE, YW+PL and their partners in local communities believe that increasing the meaningful participation of local women as key influencers and decision-makers in peace negotiations and the implementation of existing peace agreements will promote, protect and fulfill women’s rights, gender equality which in turn can lead to sustainable peace and development.
 
 
The National Peace Forum and its related activities are supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.
 
 

Fulfilling the promise of women’s rights instruments: Strengthening the synergies between CEDAW and Resolution 1325 for more effective implementation

Fulfilling the promise of women’s rights instruments: Strengthening the synergies between CEDAW and Resolution 1325 for more effective implementation

Geneva, Switzerland – March 7, 2019 by Agnieszka Fal-Dutra Santos

In order to achieve sustainable peace, women must be meaningfully included in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 and the supporting resolutions on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) are two powerful legal frameworks that mandate such inclusion.  Still, nearly nineteen years since the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on WPS and forty years after the adoption of CEDAW, the protection of women’s rights, and the meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention and decision-making in conflict and post-conflict situations remains limited. While important progress has been achieved, more needs to be done to truly fulfil the promise of WPS and CEDAW.

On March 1, 2019, the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) in partnership with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Committee) held a panel discussion on the synergies between CEDAW and WPS Resolutions. The discussion was held as a side event during the seventy-second session of the Committee, and was attended by CEDAW Committee members, representatives of the State Parties, and civil society.

There is already a strong appreciation of the importance of the complementarity between the WPS agenda and CEDAW, and the need for strengthening the synergy between the two policy instruments. The need for greater synergy was recognized in the General Recommendation 30 (GR 30), on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations, which instructs all 189 States parties to CEDAW to report on the implementation of the WPS resolutions. Other important milestones were the Arria Formula meeting on the linkages between UNSCR 1325 and CEDAW GR 30 in December 2016, and the development of a Framework of Cooperation agreement between the CEDAW Committee and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (SRSG SVC) in July 2018.

The discussion provided a space to reflect on the achievements in strengthening the synergies between CEDAW and WPS to date, and to identify concrete recommendations and next steps to further strengthen them. Hilary Gbedemah, Chair of the CEDAW Committee, opened the meeting and Ibrahim Salama, Chief, Human Rights Treaties Branch, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ambassador Daniel Klingele, Deputy Director of the Directorate of International Law, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs delivered remarks.

During the discussion moderated by GNWP CEO Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, Bandana Rana, Co-Chair of the CEDAW Committee and Chair of the CEDAW Committee Task Force on GR 30, commended the progress evident in the increasing number of references to WPS in State party reports and civil society shadow reports to the CEDAW Committee. She also emphasized that the CEDAW Committee regularly questions State Parties about the status of implementation of the WPS Resolutions. However, she noted that while more states adopt strong and inclusive National Action Plans (NAPs) on WPS, implementation remains a challenge. Sharing the experience from her native Nepal, she emphasized the importance of a dedicated budget, and localization for effective implementation. “Localization of UNSCR 1325 can contribute to the effectiveness of other processes, such as preventing violent extremism, community mediation, increasing women’s participation in elections, and ensuring access to justice. However, few State Parties adopt a localized approach to WPS, and even fewer report on it in their CEDAW reports,” she concluded.

Ms. Hanaa Edwar, the Co-founder of the Iraqi Women’s Network shared her experience of coordinating the drafting of the shadow report for Iraq, which is due to report in October 2019. She emphasized that effective implementation of both CEDAW and WPS requires an all-of-government approach and strong coordination. This is often lacking as different ministries are in charge of implementation and reporting on different international instruments. GR 30 provides an instrument to bridge these gaps and advocate for a more harmonized and systematic approach to protecting and promoting women’s rights.

Ms. Christine Loew, Director of UN Women Liaison Office in Geneva also highlighted the progress achieved to date, including the publication of the UN Women “Guidebook on CEDAW General Recommendation No. 30 and the UN Security Council Resolutions On Women, Peace and Security”. She also shared that in advance of each meeting of the Security Council Informal Expert Group on WPS (IEG), UN Women prepares a written briefing package for participants, which includes background information from CEDAW Committee reports when relevant. Turning to the challenges, she emphasized the need greater inclusivity within the UN Security Council, and in particular the need to have more briefing by human rights experts. “There has been a positive trend in the number of civil society, including women, briefing the Security Council. We have the blueprint for better inclusion – we now have to apply it to increase the number of human rights briefers as well,” she stressed.

Ms. Pramila Patten, SRSG SVC shared a video message, in which she spoke of her office’s commitment to strengthening the synergies between CEDAW and WPS. Highlighting the importance of the Framework of Cooperation between her office and the CEDAW Committee, she emphasised that gender inequality and discrimination against women are among the root causes of sexual violence in conflict. She stressed the importance of information sharing between the SRSG SVC office and the CEDAW Committee to ensure greater accountability of Member States for ensuring gender equality, protecting women’s rights and preventing sexual violence.

Representatives of the Permanent Missions of Austria, Bangladesh, Croatia, Israel and Peru, as well as CEDAW Committee members also took the floor to further emphasize the importance of continued work to strengthen the synergies between CEDAW and WPS, and use both instruments to guarantee women’s meaningful participation in decision making at all levels.

CEDAW and WPS were both historical achievements of the women’s movement around the world. They set the standards for gender equality; women’s rights; and women’s meaningful participation in decision-making at all levels. However, more efforts are still needed to fully realize their promise.  “If we do not make a positive difference in the lives of women in fishing villages, farms, or of those living in internally displaced and refugee camps, as well as host communities receiving a large number of refugees, we are failing the promise of UNSCR 1325,” concluded Ms. Cabrera-Balleza, summarizing the rich discussion.

You can watch the webcast of the discussion, and the video message from SRSG SVC Patten here.

If you’d like to learn more about these issues, read GNWP’s policy brief on the synergies between CEDAW and WPS here.