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IWPG participates in 66th committee on CSW

News Desk || risingbd.com

Published: 21:24, 7 April 2022  
IWPG participates in 66th committee on CSW

The International Women's Peace Group (IWPG), an NGO in special consultative status with UN Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC), participated in the 66th Committee on the Status of Women (CSW) and suggested that peace education and action are important.

This year’s CSW was held online from March 14th to 25th under the theme of “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.” Starting with the Parallel Event on the 16th, IWPG co-hosted a side event with the Ministry of Women, Family and Children of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire on the 17th. A ‘Virtual Forum’ was also held for two weeks to exchange with women from all over the world.

At the parallel event held on the 16th, under the theme of “Presenting active peaceful actions and roles of women who contribute to overcoming environmental and disaster risks and strengthening women’s capabilities.” Various proposals were made under three key themes: ▲ efforts to overcome environmental and disaster problems; ▲ role for the empowerment of women to achieve the 4th goal of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, which is peace education, and ▲women's cooperation for sustainable peace.

IWPG strategic initiatives according to themes include environmental campaigns in various fields, women's peace education for women's empowerment, conferences to spread a culture of peace, and scholarship programs through international drawing contests for children and youth.

The side event was hosted jointly with the Ministry of Women, Family and Children of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire at 1:30 pm (EST) on the 17th. The event opened a heated discussion with the participation of 200 women from all walks of life, including ministers and UN ambassadors from various countries, under the theme of “Strengthening the voices, leadership and decision-making of women’s groups: peace education for women’s empowerment.”

Eight people including, Nasseneba Toure, Minister of Women, Family and Children of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire; Chairwoman Hyun Sook Yoon of IWPG; Dr. Ergogie Tesfaye, Minister of Women and Social Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; Claudine Aoun Roukoz, President of the National Commission for Lebanese Women; Dr. Salma Al Nims, Secretary General of the Jordan National Commission for Women: JNCW; Judge Louise Otis, International Judge in Canada; Christina Turczyn, member of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs/Member in the United States, and Ms. Keiso Matashane-Marite, Gender Affairs Officer of the Social Development Policy Division of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) gave addresses with various suggestions for directions in the era of peace and cooperation.

The meeting shared experiences of progress and challenges in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) on strengthening the voice, leadership and decision-making of women's groups through national strategic action plans. In addition, in depth discussions were held on the areas that require efforts, such as strengthening the role of women in resolving conflicts and building peace.

Chairwoman Hyun Sook Yoon of IWPG said, “Like the fourth goal of the UN SDGs, the IWPG is working to help all women establish the right values through peace education. Peace education is desperately needed to nurture young people.”

Minister Nasseneba Toure, emphasized communication, saying, "We call for the synergy of action that privileges dialogue in order to consolidate peace and protect future generations from the scourge of war."

"Let's keep in mind that women and children make up over 80% of climate refugees," said Judge Louis Otis, “We need to humbly redefine the way we live and what solidarity and sharing mean.”

“Our mission is to promote social and economic transformational development in a comprehensive way, in particular to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls,” said Ms. Keiso Matashane-Marite, Gender Affairs Officer.

After the addresses, various opinions were exchanged through a comprehensive discussion in which the speakers, proposers, and attendees participated.

On the other hand, the IWPG virtual booth was operated until the 25th to communicate with 3.9 billion women around the world. It is recorded that during the event period, there were interactions with 1,200 women from 93 countries. Governments, representatives of international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participate in the annual CSW to share cases for improving the status of women and to seek effective policy implementation methods.

Sony/Nasim