PRESS RELEASE - Regional Exchange to Improve Gender-Responsive Peacebuilding 07 -09 June 2016 Dakar-Senegal

UN Women and the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office will bring together over 30 representatives from governments, international and civil society organisations of nine West and Central African countries working on women’s participation in peacebuilding, for a learning and strategy workshop to be held from 07-09 June 2016, in Dakar. This workshop on the theme of Gender-responsive Peacebuilding in West and Central Africa, aims to provide a South-South exchange and mutual learning experience to improve gender-sensitive planning, programming, monitoring and evaluation on peacebuilding in the region.

The peacebuilding agenda is particularly significant for the West and Central Africa region which has seen civil conflicts and unrests in a number of countries, and which is also recovering from the effects of the recent Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Women, men, girls and boys are affected by these crises in different ways, requiring tailored interventions and responses in the recovery process. The inclusion of a gender perspective in peacebuilding initiatives is key to foster human development and sustainable peace.

UN Women and PBSO are committed to enhance peacebuilding initiatives from a gender perspective. This requires that peacebuilding initiatives take gender specific diverse security threats, inclusive participation in decision making and comprehensive protection of possible vulnerable groups, into consideration, in order to work effectively. The active inclusion of women, especially those less visible in peacebuilding programmes and projects is not only a chance to create a more just society but also an influencing factor for the sustainability of peacebuilding processes themselves. Sustainable livelihoods, economic growth and human development depend also on the empowerment of women after conflict.

Despite the existence of several national implementation frameworks such as national action plans on Security Council Resolution 1325, the Secretary-General’s Seven Point Action Plan on Gender-Responsive Peacebuilding, poverty reduction strategies, and peacebuilding priority plans, peacebuilding initiatives often remain exclusive and isolated. The link between the different policies and frameworks needs to be strengthened, as does the coordination between the different actors working on gender issues and peacebuilding at the national and regional level, in order to improve programming, financing, monitoring and evaluation of gender responsive peacebuilding.

This workshop is expected to provide an opportunity for governmental representatives, International actors and civil society to share their knowledge and experience. This workshop will foster a South-South dialogue to include a gender dimension into the peacebuilding programming cycle, with a focus on operationalizing the UN Secretary-General’s Seven-Point Action Plan on Gender-Responsive Peacebuilding. Participants will identify commonalities, differences and concerns, such as cross-border issues, and will further explore strategies for improving the technical skills for gender-responsive peacebuilding programming.

For additional information, please consult:

• UN Women: unwomen.org ; http://africa.unwomen.org/en
• UN PBSO: https://www.un.org/en/peacebuilding/pbso/

Or contact :

• UN WOMEN: Aminata Camara, Administration Assistant: 

PBSO : Tammy Smith, Officer in Charge at the Peacebuilding Fund, Senior Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist, Peacebuilding Support Office