Jordan Times
Saturday, May 15, 1999
Queen Noor launches international campaign on women and peace building
AMMAN (J.T.) — Her Majesty Queen Noor Thursday launched the international campaign “From the Village Council to the Peace Negotiating Table: Women in Peace Building” at the Hague Appeal for Peace Conference in the Netherlands. The aims of the campaign include ensuring the full participation of women into all aspects of the peace process and as leaders in all spheres of the promoting and protecting women's rights during conflicts as well as increasing the proportion of development aid for women's organisations involved in peace building and reconciliation. In her remarks, Queen Noor noted that the role of women as peacemakers has adopted a “multi-sectoral approach to peace building and governance.” The Queen cited the contributions of women from “Jordan, Palestine, Israel, El Salvador, Somalia, Northern Ireland, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Nicaragua, Liberia and Sri Lanka,” which have comprised “peace marches, election lobbying, prayer vigils, showing solidarity with women on the “other side” and promoting reconciliation among and within communities.” She added that women are also making a difference by increasingly joining United Nations Peacekeeping missions and operations, where it was found that “peace and development are accelerated in communities where there are U.N. women peacekeepers.”
Earlier, Queen Noor met with members of the “Children's Movement for Peace” from Colombia, who have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in a pioneering step for the Noble Committee, which has never nominated children for the prize before. The Children's Movement for Peace was founded in 1996 with support from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Colombia National Network for Peace known as Redepaz. It mobilised millions of children to vote in a special election — known as the Children's Mandate for Peace and Rights — in which children aged 7 to 18 years chose which of their human rights were most important to themselves and their communities.
Queen Noor will be speaking at The Hague Appeal for Peace's closing ceremony on Saturday with the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikha Hasina, U.N. Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Mohammed Sacirbey and other prominent officials. The Hague Appeal for Peace is a major end-of-century campaign dedicated to the delegitimisation of war and the construction of a culture of peace. It marks the 100th anniversary of the First International Conference at The Hague.
Later, Her Majesty Queen Beatrix hosted a dinner in honour of Queen Noor at Tenbose Palace.
Senator Sharaf is accompanying Queen Noor on her visit to The Netherlands.