April Round-Up of the Women, Peace and Security Program
April 25, 2013| UN Headquarters, New York, NY
April has proven to be another exciting month for the Women Peace & Security program at Global Action, especially with the Sexual Violence in Conflict (SViC) debate (please click here for a report on the debate.) Global Action was also honored to host a delegation from the Kosova Women’s Network (KWN) to brief the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace & Security (NGOWGWPS).
The KWN is a network of 100 organizations working to promote women’s rights in Kosova. Executive Director Igballe Rogova and Program Manager/Leader Researcher Nicole Farnsworth addressed the NGOWGWPS. Rogova spoke about her personal experiences in engaging with the UN Mission in Kosovo and promoting women’s participation in the peace negotiations (as portrayed in KWN’s recent book 1325 Facts & Fables). Rogova and Farnsworth also discussed their current initiatives to promote women’s rights in Kosova and challenges they face in securing the necessary political will for the advancement of women’s rights. Particularly noteworthy are efforts currently underway to achieve justice and reconciliation in the region by bringing to the forefront and securing acknowledgment of violence against women during the conflict in the Balkans. Additionally, among several specific recommendations, the KWN stresses the need for capacity-building to ensure that gender mainstreaming is effectively completed in policies and established processes.
For information on this briefing, please contact Melina Lito (melina[at]globalactionpw.org)
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2nd NPT Preparatory Committee Opens in Geneva
April 29, 2013| UN Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
The second session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the 2015 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference (RevCon) opened in Geneva this past week under the leadership of Chairman Ambassador Cornel Feruta of Romania. This PrepCom represents the approximate mid-way point between the conclusion of the 2010 Review Conference, at which the 64-point NPT Action Plan was adopted, and the next RevCon by which time the 2010 Action Plan is to be fully implemented. There is increasing anxiety with each passing year as states parties hope to build on the consensus 2010 outcome document and take concrete steps towards the full realization of the ‘grand bargain’ of the NPT, commitment from non-nuclear weapon states to not pursue nuclear weapons and the pledge by of the 5 nuclear weapon states to pursue nuclear disarmament.
The most salient issues regarding the NPT regime came to light during the general debate including the lack of progress in implementing the disarmament-related obligations in the Action Plan as well as the failure to convene a conference for the establishment of a weapons of mass destruction free zone (WMDFZ) in the Middle East during the 2012 calendar year as was mandated in the 1995 resolution on the Middle East.
Global Action was also pleased to participate in the NGO presentations to the NPT delegates. Katherine Prizeman presented on an interactive panel intended to raise some of the most important disarmament and non-proliferation issues facing governments today.
For a full report from the opening of the PrepCom, please click here.
For daily reporting from the NPT PrepCom from Reaching Critical Will and other colleagues, please click here.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
GAPW and UNODA Launch Joint Disarmament Publication
April 9, 2013| UN Headquarters, New York, NY
The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, in cooperation with the Global Action to Prevent War, launched the publication, “Applying a Disarmament Lens to Gender, Human Rights, Development, Security, Education and Communication: Six Essays,” with a panel discussion at the United Nations on Tuesday 9 April 2013.
Moderated by GAPW’s Katherine Prizeman, the panel consisted of two of the six contributors to the publication: Ray Acheson, Director, Reaching Critical Will of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and Sarah Taylor, Executive Director, NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security. Also on the panel was Rodrigo Pintado from the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations.
The central theme of the event was the cross-cutting nature of disarmament as articulated in the opening remarks of Virginia Gamba, Director and Deputy to the High Representative in the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, which was echoed by the panelists as they addressed their particular areas of expertise. In her remarks, Ms. Gamba highlighted that disarmament is no longer seen as an isolated, narrowly defined field. She said that, “the world is learning that progress in disarmament-or the lack of it-has enormous implications in many other areas, including social and economic development, the protection of human rights, and in peace-building operations.”
For access to the full publication, please click here.
For more information on the launch, please visit the UNODA website.
For Ms. Gamba’s remarks, please click here.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The Arms Trade Treaty Adopted by UNGA Majority Vote
April 2, 2013| New York, NY
After more than a decade of advocating for and working towards a robust and comprehensive arms trade treaty (ATT), relevant stakeholders can now mark a conclusion to the first step in this process. This was an imperfect process that yielded an imperfect treaty. Nevertheless, the task now is to take what has been adopted and ensure that it has the most effective impact possible on the ground so that the human suffering caused by the illicit and unregulated arms trade-the original purpose of and impetus for this process-is prevented to the greatest extent possible.
Last week, delegates to the “Final Diplomatic Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty” were unable to adopt, by consensus, an ATT due to formal objections by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DRPK), Iran, and Syria. But the text was brought to a vote on Tuesday, 2 April through a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution sponsored by more than 100 states. An overwhelming majority of UN member states voted in favor of this resolution, thus adopting the ATT text. The final tally was an overwhelming 154 states in favor, 23 abstentions, and three votes against (DPRK, Iran, and Syria).
The adoption of the ATT at the conclusion of these two weeks, even if it was a few days after the close of the Diplomatic Conference, was surely due in part to the strong leadership and good management of the President of the Conference, Ambassador Peter Woolcott of Australia. Ambassador Woolcott was able to bring forth a text that had enough support to garner easy passage quickly in the UNGA.
GAPW, with our partner Reaching Critical Will, provided daily reporting and analysis on the negotiations in the ATT Monitor. For all previous issues and in-depth analysis, please click here.
For a full analysis of the final text and moving the ATT process forward from Katherine Prizeman, please click here
For final analysis from Dr. Robert Zuber, please click here.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
>
New Publications on “Final” Arms Trade Treaty Conference
March 18, 2013| New York, NY
As the “Final Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty” begins in New York this week, delegations and civil society alike are working to ensure that a robust, comprehensive and effective arms trade treaty (ATT) comes to fruition at the conclusion of the next nine negotiating days. After the July 2012 Diplomatic Conference failed to produce a consensus text, the General Assembly mandated that a second and ‘final’ two-week conference be held to finalize work on the treaty text. Many substantial challenges remain,perhaps the most important of these is to ensure that a text is not only reached by consensus, but that it is also a text worthy of implementation — a text that can effectively combat the consequences of irresponsible and unregulated trade. This need for such a Treaty remains the goal of all the stakeholders who have worked tirelessly on the ATT process since its inception over ten years ago.
As part of GAPW ‘s lead-up work to the “Final” conference, Katherine Prizeman co-authored two papers focused on different aspects of the Treaty process moving forward.
“The Arms Trade Treaty and the Control of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies,” by Daniel Fiott and Katherine Prizeman.
“Anticipating the Final Arms Trade Treaty Conference: Eight Concrete Proposals,” by Katherine Prizeman and Niels van Willigen
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Achieving Gender Justice: The Case for Reparations
March 7, 2013| New York, NY
On the margins of the first week of the 57th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), Global Action through the leadership of Ms. Melina Lito, in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Finland and the ICC Liaison Office to the UN, hosted a high-level side event on Achieving Gender Justice: The Case for Reparations. The event featured Elisabeth Rehn, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the ICC Trust Fund for Victims; Stephen Rapp, US Ambassador-at- Large for War Crimes Issues; Luz Mendez, President of the Advisory Board of National Union of Guatemalan Women; and Saidu Conton Sesay, Commissioner, National Commission for Social Action, Sierra Leone (a UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women grantee), and was moderated by John Hendra, Assistant Secretary-General of UN Women.
Examining the issue of how do we achieve the goal of transformative reparations for women, the purpose of the event was to focus on the potential contributions that reparations can have for achieving post-conflict gender justice as well as to explore possible approaches for reparations programmes in generating sustainable and transformative impact for women in overcoming gender inequalities and promoting economic development.
For the full report from the event, please click here.
For the formal invitation, please click here.
For the full concept note of the event, please click here.
For John Hendra’s Opening Remarks, please click here.
For Elisabeth Rehn’s remarks, please click here.
For Luz Mendez’s remarks, please click here.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
International Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons
March 4-5, 2013| Oslo, Norway
From 4-5 March, the government of Norway hosted an International Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in Oslo. Representatives of 127 member states were present as well as UN secretariat officials, civil society, and other humanitarian response technical experts detailing the environmental, health, and developmental impact of nuclear weapon explosions. GAPW’s Katherine Prizeman attended as part of the civil society delegation.
It was noted throughout that member states must continue to seize opportunities to act responsibly to prevent any accidental or intentional use of these weapons, a goal guaranteed only by virtue of their abolition. The Foreign Minister of Norway, Espen Barth Eide, offered a Chair’s Summary at the conclusion of the conference that, although it did not offer any concrete recommendations for future movement, did note clearly that, “It is unlikely that any state or international body could address the immediate humanitarian emergency caused by a nuclear weapon detonation in an adequate manner and provide sufficient assistance to those affected.”
For more information on the Conference in Oslo, please click here.
For the full report from Katherine Prizeman on the Conference, please click here.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
GAPW Participates in CEDAW General Discussion
February 18, 2013| UN Geneva, Switzerland
As has been highlighted on previous occasions on our website, GAPW has monitored and presented at various sessions of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The Committee reviews states’ parties to ensure that they are abiding by their obligations under the CEDAW Convention. Last summer, GAPW monitored the Committee’s work as they celebrated their 30th anniversary and reviewed states’ parties during their 52nd session. Global Action also made a written submission during the Committee’s General Discussion on the protection of women’s human rights in conflict and post-conflict contexts.
Last week, Melina Lito of GAPW went to Geneva to participate in the Committee’s 54th session and make an oral intervention at the Committee’s General Discussion on Access to Justice. The Committee has formed a working group on the General Recommendation and is expected to put together a draft text during the course of 2013. Global Action submitted a written statement to the Committee reflecting the recommendations from our November 2012 seminar in Guatemala City: Security and Justice for Women in Guatemala. The oral intervention highlighted parts of the written submission.
The General Discussion brought together a variety of nongovernmental organizations, mostly Europe-based, that work on a wide-range of women’s rights issues. Among the issues raised during the interventions included access to justice for widowed women, and the status of migrant women and gay and lesbian women. The Committee had also put together a series of panels focusing on procedural and institutional barriers that women face in accessing justice as well as social and economic challenges.
For those of who mostly work at the UN Headquarters in New York and focus mostly on the situation of women in conflict societies, the General Discussion served as an interesting opportunity to observe a different lens on the UN system and note the successes and challenges of the process in this setting. Additionally, it was a refreshing experience to have included in a discussion a broader range of women’s rights, focusing not only to the rights of survivors of violence, but also to the challenges that widowed women, gay and lesbian, and migrant women face in their efforts to access justice.
GAPW’s written submission to the General Recommendation is available here.
The Committee’s concept note for the General Recommendation on Access to Justice is available here.
All other written submissions made by NGOs can be found here.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Developing and Training “Glocal” Organizers and Advocates
February 13-15, 2013| New York, NY
Under the direction of Liberato Bautista, director of the United Nations office of the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, over two dozen key advocates met in New York to assess the relevance of what they call “Glocal organizing.” More than a new slogan, this concept refers in part to the understanding that the arena for our organizing is not about blending insights from local settings with the power of global institutions, but in seeing how both are intertwined with and constitutive of each other. “Glocal” also serves as a reminder that institutions such as the UN can be a local setting for some like GAPW staff, in the same way that otherwise local initiatives can incarnate a global reference and serve an audience beyond community boundaries.
GAPW participated in the conception of the New York assessment, in final planning for a “Resource Manual for GlocalOrganizing: Public Witness and Advocacy in the Global Public Square,” as well as in clarifying the pedagogical assumptions and responsibilities of advocates and institutions involved in “glocal” organizing and activities.
This meeting provided us with a welcome opportunity to engage with the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church and also allowed us to test some of our policy ideas and pedagogical principles in advance of a similar engagement for us in Jerusalem this coming April.
For the remarks from Dr. Robert Zuber at the convocation, please click here.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Linking Disarmament and Development
September 2012| New York, NY
At a recent session of the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development, GAPW’s Katherine Prizeman offered some remarks on the linkages between disarmament and development, in particular the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and UN Programme of Action on small arms (UNPoA) processes.
The presentation is available on YouTube and can be accessed here.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
-
Donate and Make a Difference!
Blogroll
-
Partner Spotlight!
GAPW has recently signed an MOU with our partners in Brussels-- Global Governance Institute! -
Be Part of the Conversation through Social Media!
Follow DISARMAMENT DIALOGUES on Facebook and Twitter!
Global Action is pleased to announce that our 501(c)3 application has been approved by the IRS as of 1 January 2013! Please consider donating on our new JustGive.org Page!
