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Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
NHRC chief urges nations to embed equality in laws
QNA Geneva Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee HE Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah has called for encouraging countries to incorporate the concept of equality into legislation and public policies and to adopt temporary positive measures to enhance women's participation in all fields. In her remarks during the 59th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Al Attiyah highlighted the progress made by the State of Qatar in this field, as well as in many countries around the world, and pointed out the challenges that continue to hinder women's empowerment. Al Attiyah stated that the forefront of these challenges is climate change, armed conflicts, rising rates of migration and displacement, in addition to the unethical use of emerging technologies that deepen violence, discrimination, and the digital gender divide. As part of the NHRC's efforts in the State of Qatar as well as in monitoring national and international efforts to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, Al Attiyah said that the Committee recommends supporting conflict-affected countries in implementing national action plans related to the Resolution 1325, to ensure the effective participation of women in peace, security, recovery, and reconstruction efforts, in accordance with the General Recommendation No. 30 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in addition to emphasizing the importance of women's participation in policymaking and decision-making processes, in line with the principle of inclusivity and ensuring that women take part in shaping the future of their communities.
Kuwait Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Kuwait reaffirms commitment to women's rights
Nada Al-Dhubaib GENEVA: The State of Kuwait has reiterated its firm commitment to promoting, empowering, and protecting women's rights, highlighting their central role in achieving the country's New Kuwait 2035 Vision and in fulfilling the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 5 on gender equality. This reaffirmation came in a statement delivered by Nada Al-Dhubaib, Second Secretary at Kuwait's Permanent Mission to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, during the UN Human Rights Council's 59th session as part of the annual discussion on women's rights, held in observance of the International Day of Women in Diplomacy. Al-Dhubaib emphasized that Kuwait's constitution guarantees equality among citizens without discrimination and has served as the foundation for several tangible measures to boost women's participation in public life. Among these efforts, she noted the establishment of a national committee including representatives from both government bodies and civil society, tasked with implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. Since its inception, the committee has launched initiatives to increase women's representation in the security and military sectors, in addition to awareness and training programs developed in partnership with international and regional organizations. — KUNA Al-Dhubaib also stressed Kuwait's strong prioritization of combating violence against women and girls. She pointed to the formation of a National Committee for Protection from Domestic Violence, the establishment of a dedicated public prosecution unit, and the rollout of protection centers that offer legal, psychological, and support services for victims. She concluded by reaffirming Kuwait's ongoing dedication to creating an enabling environment that ensures women's full and active participation across all fields. — KUNA
The Wire
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
Women's Role in War Must Extend to Peace
Support independent journalism. Donate Now Society Peace processes must clearly recognise and directly promote women's agency. This does not mean paying lip service to women's needs and contributions. Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty. Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute Now Pretoria: Despite all the progress that has been made toward gender equality globally, many are still tempted to view armed conflict as primarily the domain of men. In fact, women often prove decisive in such settings, including in combat, non-combat, and leadership roles. Nonetheless, they are routinely sidelined in formal peace processes and post-conflict governance. This pattern reflects a moral and practical failure. During armed conflicts, women become more vulnerable to genocide, trafficking, slavery, and sexual violence, with all the associated health risks and psychological trauma. This alone earns them the right to participate in peace processes. But women are not only passive victims of conflict: as we have seen in Ukraine, they make profound wartime contributions on the battlefield, as well as in civil society and as peace advocates. In this sense, women often increase their agency during times of conflict, despite the risks they face. But when they are then excluded from peace negotiations and what follows – as is the case, so far, in Ukraine – these agency gains are reversed, with outdated gender norms reasserting themselves. This is especially true in conflict-affected countries with more entrenched patriarchal structures. Legal frameworks promoting women's inclusion in conflict resolution, peace-building, and post-conflict reconstruction have so far failed to turn the tide, owing partly to implementation and operational challenges. For example, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted in 2000, 'urges all actors' to increase women's participation and 'incorporate gender perspectives in all UN peace and security efforts.' But, as of 2018, the number of women signing peace agreements had not significantly increased. This has important implications for the content – and outcomes – of peace agreements. In a recent study, my co-authors – Matthew Clance, Romuald Meango, and Charl van Schoor – and I used natural language processing to examine the use of gendered language (including words like man, girl, boy, her, his, female, male, wife, and daughter) in peace agreements reached between 1990 and 2023. We created a 'gender bias index' – ranging from -0.6 to 0.6 – with a lower score indicating lower use of gendered language and, thus, a reduced focus on gender-based outcomes. None of the peace agreements we studied had a particularly high gender bias index, but even those that used more gendered language – which reflected a somewhat positive bias toward women – were not necessarily associated with significant improvements in women's agency. In other words, even frameworks that were gender-sensitive (acknowledging gender inequality) did not bring about meaningful change. The problem is that the mentions of gender were not accompanied by concrete requirements, let alone monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. For example, a peace agreement might advocate for increased women's political participation, but include no targets to be met, and thus produce few, if any, results. This approach can even harm gender equality, by giving the impression that action is being taken when it is not. Other studies show that peace agreements with disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) components rarely mention women. This compromises the post-conflict rehabilitation of women combatants, who might be excluded from the kinds of interventions aimed at their male counterparts. Evidence shows that including women in conflict-resolution and peace-building processes leads to better outcomes for everyone. As a 2018 analysis found, there is a 'robust correlation' between the inclusion of female delegates as signatories of peace agreements and the durability of the ensuing peace. Moreover, agreements signed by women tend to include significantly more provisions focused on political reform, and boast higher implementation rates for such provisions. In El Salvador, the 1992 agreement that ended the country's 12-year civil war extended DDR benefits to women fighters, and included non-combatant female members of the opposition movement in reintegration programs. Women went on to play a stabilising role in reintegration processes and to make major contributions to reconstruction efforts. The communities that received more consistent, systematic support through reintegration and reconstruction programs made greater progress on gender equality and, ultimately, on development. Similarly, in Liberia, women were involved in negotiations to end more than a decade of civil war in the early 2000s. Female representation in politics subsequently increased significantly, with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2005 becoming the first female elected head of state in Africa. The message is clear: women must be included in all dimensions of any peace process, from designing, negotiating, and signing agreements to implementing post-conflict stabilization and reconstruction plans. They also must have access to all relevant benefit programs, such as those related to DDR, as well as initiatives to address gender-specific needs. More broadly, peace processes must clearly recognise and directly promote women's agency. This does not mean paying lip service to women's needs and contributions, while relying on ambiguous language to minimise accountability. Rather, supporting women's agency in making peace and forging the post-conflict future demands concrete, enforceable measures to uphold women's rights and expand their participation in all forms of decision-making. Carolyn Chisadza is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Pretoria. Copyright, Project Syndicate. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Society 'Could Not Believe What I Saw, Just Started Running': Sole Known Survivor Aboard Air India Flight 171 View More
Euronews
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Lack of funding threatens women-led peace initiatives, UN warns
Amid growing pushback on women's rights in some countries and a general backsliding of gender policies, persistent institutional and societal barriers prevent women from equally participating in peace and security processes. But there is no peace or security without women — a statement the United Nations has been emphasising for the last quarter century. "We know that when women call it, peace follows. When women call it, peace is sustained," UN Women Deputy Executive Director Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda said at an event co-organised by UN Women in Brussels on Wednesday. Policymakers, civil society leaders, and international organisations met in the Belgian capital on Wednesday to reflect on the progress made and challenges still faced by the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda since its implementation. On 31 October 2000, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325, a landmark bill that acknowledged the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women and girls and called for women's equal participation in conflict prevention and resolution, as well as peace processes. The resolution laid the groundwork for the WPS programme, a framework that seeks to institutionalise the goals set out 25 years ago. The anniversary goes alongside the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which laid the foundation for the WPS agenda five years prior. While they have seen some successes over the past two decades, attendees said, they warned that not enough has been done to fully implement and actualise the agenda's aims. "Paper commitment is not enough, we must transform this into action that is visible, measurable, and inclusive," Poland's Minister for Equality Katarzyna Kotula said during her opening remarks. This year's anniversary is taking place in an increasingly complex and fractured geopolitical space and a changing security landscape marked by disinformation and hybrid warfare. "Conflict is no longer confined by borders," Kotula said, and warned of the threats posed by information manipulation and cyber violence. "Women bring their lived experiences to the table," Gumbonzvanda told Euronews. "They also come as experts who are able to contribute to the solutions," she added, noting that based on years of work by UN Women, it has become clear that peace talks including women tend to be more sustainable. The Deputy Executive Director of UN Women drew on her own experience — she was born during the 1964-1979 Zimbabwe War of Independence — to emphasise the important role women played during that time. "When early warning signs start to show, it is the women who care for each other and yet they struggle to be part of the solutions," she explained. Women-led grassroots organisations were at the core of Wednesday's discussions. "It's not just about the top level; it's the women on the ground," one panellist pointed out. Yet various barriers remain in place which prevent women from unlocking their full potential in peace and security processes. A lack of adequate funding and resources for women-led organisations was identified and unanimously agreed on as a key hurdle. Data by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) revealed that international aid from donors in 2024 fell by 7.1% compared to the previous year. The OECD noted that this was the first drop reported after five years of consecutive growth. Earlier this month, UN Women warned that the global aid cuts may force organisations helping women in crisis to shut down. A report they published found that 90% of the 411 women-led and women's rights organisations surveyed said they had been impacted by aid cuts. The report also predicted that half of the organisations may have to shut down in six months if current funding levels persist. "Resourcing community and women-led initiatives as part of WPS Agenda is an imperative, it is not a choice," Gumbonzvanda told Euronews. Kotula told Euronews that the European Democracy Shield, a special committee created to respond to new geopolitical challenges, should incorporate financing for women's organisations. Kotula emphasised the role civil society and women's organisations played when the European Union was hit with back-to-back crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which sparked a major refugee crisis. "First in line were usually civil society and women's organisations, it was on their shoulders. So that's why it's one of the reasons that when we now need the funding, it's because we know they passed the test when it comes to [handling] crises, and we know we can count on them," Kotula said. The Polish minister for equality admitted that the topic of gender equality and gender-based violence has been pushed under the rug for far too long, but assured her efforts to incorporate both into Poland's new national action plan. "Poland had been facing backlash for many years, then we won the elections, and we opened the window a bit," Kotula said. She referred back to last year, when the definition of rape was changed under Polish law, and added that she now hopes to use this "window of opportunity," to also crack down on the issue of gender based violence. In 2024, global military spending reached its highest year-on-year rise since the end of the Cold War, a study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) revealed. The start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the uncertainty of European security under US President Donald Trump pushed the continent to rethink its defence readiness. As a result, all European countries, with the exception of Malta, increased their military spending in 2024. However, Founder and CEO of International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN), Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini, argued that shifting the focus to increased militarisation undermines the power of social defence. "We are reducing our own security in the name of militarised security," Naraghi-Anderlini told Euronews. Naraghi-Anderlini, who hosts the podcast "If You Were in Charge", said women peacebuilders take a radically different approach to conflict resolution. In stark contrast to armed conflict, they instead bring "a radical commitment to nonviolence." "Sitting and talking, not shooting, as a driving force," she said. The podcast host said women peacebuilders have the ability "to disarm intellectually, mentally and emotionally." Naraghi-Anderlini said that as a result, women are often stereotyped as soft, but in reality it is an extremely powerful quality when it comes to peace negotiations, where there's often a lot of "mistrust, existential fear, anger and trauma." During her opening remarks, Naraghi-Anderlini outlined how her organisation successfully supported local communities with $11 million (€9.75 million), emphasising the significant impact was made with "just a fraction of the cost of weaponry and military equipment." "This kind of peacebuilding work is actually quite cheap, but it's really important. So if it disappears, we're really wasting investment and good work," she told Euronews. Naraghi-Anderlini said that while conflict is natural, the use of violence is a choice. "And yet they've made it seem as if violence is inevitable, as if war is inevitable because it benefits the arms industry." US President Donald Trump's administration has rescinded Harvard University's ability to admit international students as part of its intensifying conflict with the Ivy League institution. The Trump administration says that thousands of current students are required to either transfer to different universities or leave the country. 'This means Harvard can no longer enrol foreign students and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status,' stated the US Department of Homeland Security in a statement. The agency made the announcement on Thursday, stating that Harvard has fostered an unsafe campus atmosphere by permitting "anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators" to attack Jewish students on its grounds. Furthermore, it alleged that Harvard has collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party, claiming that it hosted and provided training to members of a Chinese paramilitary organisation as recently as 2024. Harvard University has nearly 6,800 international students enrolled at its campus located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which represents over a quarter of its total student population. The majority of these students are pursuing graduate studies and hail from more than 100 different countries. Harvard called the action unlawful and said it's working to provide guidance to students. 'This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission,' the university said in a statement. The conflict between the Trump administration and Harvard, the oldest and most affluent university in the United States, has escalated since Harvard became the first institution to openly resist the White House's requests for changes at elite schools that have been labelled as brewing grounds of liberalism and antisemitism. The federal government has reduced federal grants to Harvard by $2.6 billion (€2.3 billion), forcing the university to self-finance a significant portion of its extensive research activities. Trump has expressed his desire to strip the university of its tax-exempt status. US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem says the decision to bar Harvard from hosting international students for the upcoming academic year stems from the school's inability to comply with a 16 April request demanding information on foreign students. The request from the Homeland Security department demanded the Ivy League university to provide data related to students who were involved in protests or dangerous activity on campus to be considered for deportation. Noem said Harvard can regain its ability to host foreign students if it produces the desired records on them within 72 hours. Her updated request demands all records, including audio or video footage of the students. Students in Harvard College Democrats said the Trump administration is playing with students' lives to push a radical agenda and to quiet dissent. 'Trump's attack on international students is text book authoritarianism — Harvard must continue to hold the line,' the group said in a statement. The administration drew condemnation from free speech groups, including the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which said Noem is demanding a 'surveillance state.' "This sweeping fishing expedition reaches protected expression and must be flatly rejected," the group said.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dayton professor to discuss NATO's impact on women, peace, security
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – A local professor will speak on the state of the United Nations Women, Peace and Security Agenda during the 2025 NATO Parliamentary Assembly Spring Session. Natalie Hudson, a professor of political science and law, was invited to speak on behalf of the Committee on Democracy and Security. Hudson is also the executive director of the University of Dayton Human Rights Center. This committee is made up of 60 legislators from member states and partner countries. Volunteers spruce up Dayton for upcoming NATO visit This committee meeting will be on Saturday, May 24. The panelist will talk about NATO's role in supporting policies following the Women, Peace and Security agenda. This agenda began in the year 2000 when the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 was adopted. 'The Women, Peace and Security agenda has a lot of relevance to how NATO functions internally as a military alliance and externally in the countries where it intervenes,' said Hudson. 'Even though the agenda originated at the United Nations, I think NATO stands to be a real leader in women, peace and security in the years ahead, especially given Europe's historical support for the work.' Hudson's panel will not be open to the public as it will take place in the NATO village area downtown. However, there will be 12 panels open to the public at the Roger Glass Center for the Arts. These panels are a part of the 'The Dayton Dialogue: Conversations about Peace and Security in the Balkans,' which was announced by U.S. Rep. Mike Turner and UD President Eric F. Spina back in March. LIST: Public invited to forums during NATO Assembly The 25th anniversary of The Women, Peace and Security Agenda will be this October. The agenda focuses on the protection needs and unique struggles both girls and women have in war-torn areas. Particularly, gender-based and sexual violence. The agenda also shines a light on the vital role women have in peace processes, from peacekeeping to peacebuilding. To learn more about The Women, Peace and Security Agenda, click here. To view the 2 NEWS NATO Parliamentary Summit hub for the latest information on this historic event, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
