Continental dialogue on 20 years of African women's participation in peace and security
DATE: 22 October 2020
Pretoria, Thursday 22 October 2020 – Members of the media are invited to join the online continental dialogue on 20 years of African women’s participation in peace and security activism. The event will be held on Friday 23 October 2020 from 10h00 until 13h15.
The dialogue seeks to articulate 20 years of experiences of African women peacebuilders in implementing the Women’s Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. It will also pay attention to women’s voices and perspectives on progress and challenges in order to chart new pathways for women’s peace and security.
According to the Human Sciences Research Council’s Prof Cheryl Hendricks, African women have played a formative role in shaping the agenda, raising awareness of peace and security issues, developing and implementing WPS frameworks as well as building networks and mobilising support.
"Two decades later there is definite progress in intergovernmental buy-in to the agenda, the elaboration of National and Regional Action Plans and the advancement of peacebuilding and mediation networks.
"However, the participation of women in peace and security decision-making structures and processes remains marginal and women remain insecure in both conflict and non-conflict areas,” said Prof Hendricks.
She added that the pillars of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) – participation, prevention, protection and relief and recovery – are still far from being realised.
The three hour dialogue will bring together women from across the African continent who have worked on various aspects of the agenda, including peace activists, human rights defenders, researchers, academics, and representatives of the international community. These women will reflect on the gains and challenges of the last two decades and exchange ideas on alternative futures for the women peace and security agenda.
The overall objective of the dialogue is to enunciate civil society perspectives on 20 years of UNSCR 1325 and chart a new path for moving forward.
The dialogue specifically seeks to:
• Celebrate twenty years of peace activism, networking and solidarity;
• Reflect on the implementation of the women’s peace and security agenda;
• Chart new pathways for implementing the agenda;
• [Re]Build, strengthen and renew women’s collective and collaborative peace activism;
It is hosted by organisations who have worked on Women’s Peace and Security across the continent for decades. They include the HSRC’s Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA), Women’s International Peace Centre (WIPC), Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Training for Peace (TfP), South African Women in Dialogue (SAWID), African Women in Dialogue (AFWID), Fammes Africa Solidarite (FAS), West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), the Africa Leadership Centre (ALC) and the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD).
This webinar can only be accessed via the Zoom link: bit.ly/womensecuritypeace. Please download Zoom to register beforehand.
Details of the Webinar
Date: 23 October 2020
Time: 10h00 to 13h15
Zoom Link: bit.ly/womensecuritypeace
For more information or to set up interviews, please contact Adziliwi Nematandani, 0827659191, email: anematandani@hsrc.ac.za
About the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
The HSRC was established in 1968 as South Africa’s statutory research agency and has grown to become the largest dedicated research institute in the social sciences and humanities on the African continent, doing cutting-edge public research in areas that are crucial to development.
Our mandate is to inform the effective formulation and monitoring of government policy; to evaluate policy implementation; to stimulate public debate through the effective dissemination of research-based data and fact-based research results; to foster research collaboration; and to help build research capacity and infrastructure for the human sciences.
The Council conducts large-scale, policy-relevant, social-scientific research for public sector users, non-governmental organisations and international development agencies. Research activities and structures are closely aligned with South Africa’s national development priorities.
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