Jordan Times
Monday, December 3, 2007
Women leaders speak in one
voice for peace
By Linda Hindi
AMMAN - International women leaders have met in the capital with Arab peers to
join forces under their common goal of amplifying women’s voices in resolving
global crises.
The Women Leaders Intercultural Forum (WLIF) launched the WLIF chapter in the
Arab region yesterday through their partnership with Her Majesty Queen Rania, a
co-host of the event.
“As mothers and grandmothers, wives, daughters and sisters, we understand both
the practical and the emotional cost of global insecurity. Those of us from this
region know it better than we would like because we are living with it every
single day,” Queen Rania said yesterday.
Among priorities discussed, the leaders want UN Security Council Resolution 1325
fully implemented to make sure their opinions are heard in the aftermath of last
week’s US-hosted Annapolis peace meeting, enabling active involvement in the
discussions for a peace agreement.
Adopted in 2000, Resolution 1325 specifically addresses the impact of war on
women and women’s contributions to conflict resolution and sustainable peace.
It calls on parties to take action in the areas of decision making, gender
perspectives, training in peacekeeping and the protection of women and girls.
“Annapolis is the only hope for peace in the region in the near term and women
who represent voices from the ground are not engaged,” WLIF co-host Mary
Robinson told The Jordan Times.
Robinson, a former Irish president and the founder and president of a WLIF joint
initiative, “Realising Rights: The Ethical Globalisation Initiative”, explained
that governments need to adopt the Security Council resolution which states
women must be a part of peace negotiations because “women know what needs to be
done, want to be agents for change and have a track record of working on these
issues”.
On Annapolis, she told The Jordan Times: “The negotiators are in their silos and
are talking about tired issues… we need the energy of practical solutions that
women can bring to lift the discussions because otherwise the danger is that
interest will be lost.”
Queen Rania noted that WLIF must bring more awareness to Resolution 1325, while
highlighting the role women can play as “able negotiators for solutions”.
Women leaders who participated in last month’s International Women Leaders
Global Security Summit in the US came up with a “call for action”, which the
Queen signed yesterday.
“In a world where threats to peace are not contained by borders, military force
must not be the only tool used to address insecurity,” the document reads.
It calls for addressing the “economics of insecurity”, and more effectively
facing up to terrorism and climate change.
The two-day event, which ends today, was held in partnership with the UNIFEM
Regional Office.
It attracted the participation of 25 women leaders from Jordan and the Arab
world for consultation on the issue of security and the role WLIF can play to
provide a collective voice to prioritise action for a more secure world.