From the St. Francis of Assisi JPIC Committee
(Mike, Marion, Maureen & Charlie) December, 2017
Women at the Heart of Peace (Part 1)
Women play a key role in conflict prevention and resolution, as well as in building and sustaining an inclusive, lasting and fair peace.
Women’s crucial contribution to building peace is acknowledged in Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted in 2000, which recognizes, for the first time, specific crimes committed against women during armed conflicts. It highlights the importance of their meaningful, full, and equal participation at all levels of peace processes.
However, 17 years later, women’s expertise is still underestimated, women’s organizations are consistently underfunded, and they remain, by and large, excluded from formal peace processes.
- Out of the 504 peace agreements signed since Resolution 1325 was adopted, only 138, or 27%, mention women.
- Of the major peace negotiations that took place between 1992 and 2011, only 2% of chief mediators, 4% of signatories and 9% of negotiators were women.
- Only 2% of international funding dedicated to peace and security is allocated to equality between women and men or the empowerment of women.
A question for Secular Franciscans to consider:
How can we use the above information when we converse with others?
(Excerpts from Development & Peace Fall 2017 Campaign material)