Abu Dhabi to host conference on women, peace and security next week

The meeting will examine achievements and challenges related to the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which emphasizes the importance of women’s equal participation and full participation in all efforts to maintain peace and security in conflict zones around the world, as well as in post-conflict construction. The meeting will also seek consensus on specific procedures for implementing the UAE National Action Plan.

On this occasion, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said that the UAE organised the conference out of its belief in the important and critical role women play in all fields. and their contribution to the prosperity of society.

Sheikh Abdullah acknowledged the UAE’s strong commitment to achieving gender equality and empowering women in society, and thanked Sheikh Fatima for her pivotal role in supporting women as true partners in the UAE’s progress and her commitment to this High-level meeting.

The minister highlighted the important role the UAE plays in supporting the women, peace and security agenda within the UN framework, especially given the UAE’s current non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Mohammed Ahmed Al Bawardi Al Falasi, Minister of Defence, said that since the signing of the MoU in 2018, the leadership of the UAE, in particular Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, has supported and endorsed the Women, Peace and Security agenda between the General Union of Women and UN Women.

“All stakeholders are committed to developing women’s military capabilities and their understanding of the fundamentals of peacekeeping. The Ministry of Defence has supported the training of over 350 women from Arab, Asian and African countries at Khawla Bint Al-Azwar Military School with great success , we will continue to implement these training programmes to maintain security, peace and stability,” he said.

Noura Al Suwaidi, Secretary General of the General Women’s Union, said: “We are pleased to express our full confidence in the ability of the participants of the conference to come up with a set of practical outputs and recommendations to strengthen women’s important role in building world peace.”

Dr Muza Al Shehi, Director of UN Women’s Liaison Office in the Gulf Cooperation Council, said: “Advancing the women, peace and security agenda is a priority for UN Women as women have long played an important role in peacebuilding in many conflict zones. role in formal peace negotiations, in which women still largely play no formal role. Between 1992 and 2019, only 13% of negotiators on average were women, Although research shows that women’s participation increases the chances of achieving sustainable peace and leads to agreements that contain more provisions that benefit women and men equally.The conference aims to bring together policymakers and interests from different countries through its various sessions Stakeholders come together to analyze the role of women in peace and security in light of the goals of UNSCR 1325.”

The meeting will highlight the UAE’s enormous efforts in the areas of women, peace and security, and develop specific procedures to implement the UAE’s national plan to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325.

It will also focus on how to meet ambitious goals set by the United Nations to increase the participation of women in UN peacekeeping, such as increasing their share of troops in military missions to around 15%, as well as in police missions. 20% of troops by 2028.

In 2000, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325, which established the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, recognizing women’s leadership in promoting international peace and security and their contributions to conflict prevention, peacekeeping, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Progress has been made over the years.

In 1993, women accounted for 1 per cent of deployed uniformed personnel. However, after the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the number of women among peacekeepers increased rapidly. Between 2018 and 2021, the percentage of female staff officers and military observers rose from 12.3% to 17.8%, while the percentage of female police officers rose from 22.3% to 30.4%, and the percentage of women in established police forces rose from 9% to 14.8%.