NAN-H-82
Peace
By Temitope Ponle
Abuja, Dec. 16, 2016 (NAN) The United Nations, ECOWAS and Civil Society Organisations have called for enhanced role for rural women in peace building and sub-regional development.
Representatives of the organisations made the call at the Open Day for Gender, Women, Peace and Security in Abuja on Friday.
The meeting, organised by the UN, served as a platform for local women leaders to speak directly with senior UN leaders at the country level and share their experiences, concerns and priorities.
This forms contributions to national and regional efforts to resolve conflicts and enhance security.
The UN Special Representative of the Secratary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Mr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, said that there was more awareness in women’s participation in governance in the sub-region.
Chambas said that UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2242 on Women, Peace and Security, and 2240 on Youth Development, addressed the need for the inclusion of women.
He said inclusion of women in peace building “is a central consideration for strategies devised to counter terrorism and prevent violent extremism.
“Terrorism has become a prominent threat to peace, stability, security and development in West Africa and the Sahel region.
“Yet, women play important roles in countering terrorism. Women working on the ground can be effective in countering recruitment among their families and peers.
“They are well placed to detect and correct early signs of radicalisation and extremism at home.”
He, however, added that it was important for women in the rural areas to be included in the promotion of peace and security.
“We are still essentially agricultural and rural communities.
“A significant part of our women population livein the rural areas; we must always remember the role they can play and give them the platforms which will encourage and motivate them,” he said.
He commended ECOWAS for the inclusion of the UNSCR 1325 (2000) on Women, Youth, Peace and Security in its action plan.
The UN representative further added that more needed to be done by member states to implement gender parity laws.
He urged member states to create and implement their national plans in line with the resolution to ensure increased involvement of women in security and peace maintenance in the region.
He said Benin, Cape Verde and Mauritania were yet to adopt national plans of the UNSCR 1325, since the region’s adoption of the resolution in 2010.
President of the ECOWAS Commission, Marcel de Souza described women as catalysts for peace and called for the meeting to profer recommendations that would ensure enhanced inclusion of women in peace building.
De Souza said that it was pertinent for leaders to mobilise populations in the sub-region for peace.
“Our sub-region needs peace, we need to provide solutions for youth unemployment to counter terrorism,” he said.
Hadja Aissata Issoufou, First Lady of Niger Republic, said peace building, security and development were important to address insecurity in the sub region.
She also called on the need for member countries to eliminate “all that is prejudicial to women and girls empowerment and inclusion”. (NAN)
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Edited by Yusuf Zango