Women to Be Seen as Partners, Rather Than Victims in Peace and Security  Management, UNECA Chief Says.

Addis Ababa, 08 October, 2009 ( ECA) - Women should play an important role in resolving peace and security challenges in Africa as this is the best way for achieving lasting solutions, according to United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Mr Abdoulie Janneh.

“Many of the existing challenges reflect the fact that women are continually seen as victims and not as key partners in addressing and resolving situations of conflict,” said Mr. Janneh.

Mr. Janneh  made his remarks during a roundtable discussion that was part of the Women’s Leadership for Peace and Security in the Greater Horn of Africa workshop. The workshop was a chance for women from different civil society organizations to increase their skills and capacity in peace and security related issues.

 The workshop is a partnership of the UNECA along with the African Union Commission (AUC), Isis-WICCE (an international resource centre that focuses on women’s human rights), SISHA (a network of member organizations representing gender equality in the Horn of Africa) and the Club of Madrid (a membership group comprised of 70-current and former Heads of State/Government from 50 countries). 

Mr. Janneh called the meeting a chance to make concrete the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, passed in 2000 that called for among other things, an increased representation of women in all decision making levels for the prevention, management and resolution of conflict.

Setting the tone for the roundtable, former Canadian Prime Minister Ms. Kim Campbell, said the importance of women to the peace and security is not longer in question. The real debate is how to take the goals of better inclusion and translate them into reality.

“How to create a relationship between those of you who are on the front lines, who understand so much what it means when we talk about security…what it means in the real lives of real people,” she said.

Mr. Erastus Mwencha, Deputy-Chairman of the African Union Commission, spoke of how an organization deeply committed to peacekeeping, like the AU, has enshrined gender balance in its Charter. And the work it is doing in meetings such as the roundtable, help them to be aware and mindful that women can be the answer to some of the challenges.

“As we are looking and trying to get lasting solutions, it is important for us to involve the people who bear the brunt of the scourge that is on our continent,” Mr. Mwencha said. “But they are also the people would build a lasting solution to these problems.”

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