“As a rule, conflict prevention efforts should always pay enough attention to bringing women to the negotiation table, and not just for the picture,” IDLO’s Director-General Irene Khan emphasized during the Security Jam ‘Beyond conventional security challenges’ brainstorming event.
During her intervention, Ms. Khan underlined the necessity to actively involve women in national and international conflict prevention, mediation and resolution programmes.
More than 45 VIPs joined over 2,500 participants from 131 countries - including representatives of governments, international organizations, civil society and academia – for the four day Security Jam, the only online conference on global security challenges.
According to the organisers, think-tank Friends of Europe, ‘it is increasingly clear that present top-down decision-making mechanisms of national, regional and global leaders are failing to yield durable peace. Governments need more input from all elements of society – civil society organisations, business, academia, international organisations and think tanks.’
The think-tank drew ten recommendations from the contributions and discussions, which took place during the conference, and compiled a summary report.
A common thread prominent across the online debates, according to Friends of Europe, was ‘the necessity of forging stronger cooperation between state and non-state actors, (and) for governments to work closer with civil society and the private sector.’
Echoing Ms. Khan’s contribution, recommendation five focuses on strengthening women’s roles in conflict prevention and resolution: ‘enabling women to play a key role at every level adds new perspectives and promotes women’s role as actors of change. Their inclusion in international leadership and in spearheading grassroots community initiatives is key to ensuring lasting peace and stability.’
Read more from the 2016 Security Jam report.
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