WomenPeaceWire
A Newsletter from the Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security April 2013
“It is no coincidence that so many of the countries that threaten regional and global peace are the very places where women and girls are deprived of dignity and opportunity…It is no coincidence that so many of the countries where the rule of law and democracy are struggling to take root are the same places where women and girls cannot participate as full and equal citizens…It is no coincidence that so many of the countries making the leap from poverty to prosperity are places now grappling with how to empower women.” - Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking at Women in the World, 2013 April was a busy month for the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and I wanted to take this opportunity to reconnect with all of you about our progress and to share some insights on important developments in this field. Overview of Activities for the Past Month: I have just returned from a trip to London on behalf of the Institute where we hosted a panel event, as part of Georgetown’s John Carroll Weekend Conference, featuring some truly inspirational leaders. We had the pleasure of hosting Kosovo’s first female president, Atifete Jahjaga, who has been a true champion of women’s participation in Kosovo’s post-conflict economic recovery, state building and democratization. She was joined by one of the key leaders of the Northern Irish peace process and a transitional justice expert, Dr. Monica McWilliams, as well as the Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. Discussing lessons learned from our collective experiences, together, we examined best practices for elevating women in peace and security efforts in post-conflict settings, such as Kosovo and Northern Ireland, creating and breathing life into the U.S. National Action Plan, and sustaining the gains made for Afghan women in the last decade and building upon those gains during this time of transition. To watch the video of this event, please visit our website. Our Profiles in Peace Oral Histories Project also continues to flourish. Most recently, Institute staff traveled to Belfast to interview several women leaders from the Northern Irish peace movements to better understand their experiences. In April, we also had the honor of hosting Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Professor Muhammad Yunus, during his visit to D.C. to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. Prof. Yunus’ talk at Georgetown was entitled “Social Business and Microcredit for Women’s Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation.” His life’s commitment to helping women realize and live to their fullest potential continues to inspire us. You can watch these videos soon on our online video library. In June, the Institute will host its inaugural research symposium on women, peace and security, which will bring together a group of top scholars and practitioners to identify the most pressing gaps in the field of women, peace and security and facilitate thoughtful discussions on how to best apply research to policymaking and program implementation. Important News and Events: • At the Foreign Ministers meeting of the G8 in London on April 11th, significant progress was made by member countries to prevent and eradicate sexual violence in armed conflict. The unanimous declaration reiterates that sexual violence in conflict is unacceptable in all forms, in all places. The declaration also specifies the need to multilaterally support initiatives that promote protection of women and children from sexual violence, including raising awareness, investigating and punishing perpetrators, offering survivors necessary psychosocial and medical support and strengthening judicial institutions to respond to and prevent sexual violence in conflict. The U.S., Canada, Japan and the U.K. also announced major financial commitments to implement these goals, including $10 million pledged by the United States. The next G8 leaders’ summit will be on June 17th – June 18th in Northern Ireland. • The fourth annual Women in the World Summit, hosted by Editor-in-Chief of Newsweek/The Daily Beast Tina Brown, took place in New York on April 4th – April 5th. I had the privilege of moderating a panel on women and business featuring the CEO of Coca Cola, Muhtar Kent, and others to discuss innovative approaches to integrating women in business, the worldwide growing purchasing power of women and the transformative power of access to economic resources and employment for women in post-conflict and transitioning societies. • The National Democratic Institute recently hosted a forum on lessons learned from the use of gender quotas in Kenya and Tunisia. As the conversation and analysis reveals, while quotas can serve as a useful mechanism for increasing women’s participation in governance, the effectiveness and impact of this participation depends on a number of factors including legislation, leadership capacity, functioning democratic institutions, etc.
Thank you for your support and continued interest in our work. I wish you all the best in your endeavors. Respectfully, Melanne Verveer
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security giwps.georgetown.edu
Women, Peace and Security Research Repository giwps.georgetown.edu/repository