Creating a “think-tank” on “Women, peace, security, and development”

On 07 September 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco organized an international conference on: “Women, peace, security and development”.

This conference falls within of the framework of the celebration of 15 years of the resolution 1325(2000), and the six successive resolutions of the United Nations Security Council on “Women, Peace and Security”.

The conference resulted in the official announcement of the creation of a “regional think tank to support and promote the role of women in peace, security and development”, says Mrs. Mbarka Bouaida, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. “I wish this regional centre of reflection could be here in Rabat, with a regional but also international outreach. A centre which will help to make the necessary analysis on this subject”, she said.

Based on the fact that only 3% of women in the world are involved in the negotiations and agreements on conflict resolution and the consolidation of peace, the participants work on how to give some solution to change the gap. The more so as the results of a global study of UN Women (2015) indicate that the presence of women in negotiations of peace promotes the sustainability of peace agreements (35% of the agreements negotiated by women subsist 15 years).

Three themes were discussed:

-The role of women in the process of mediation and prevention of conflict;

-The radicalization and the de-radicalization of women;

-15 years after the adoption of the UNSC 1325 resolution: Lessons learned and best practices in preventing and responding to sexual violence in conflicts”

Stakeholders in the first panel Mrs. Lelia Rhiwi, representative, UN Women Multi-Country Office for the Maghreb, has pointed out that the inclusion of women in peace processes is an added value. Citing the example of Burundi where the women involved in the mediation have resolved more than 3,000 conflicts.

The second panel has called for the creation of spaces for dialogue to find solutions against radicalization, sensitization by education of children to prevent young people, the fight against all forms of discrimination, main trigger to radicalization. The case of the creation of the network of jihadists mothers whose mission is to save other young people from radicalism has been cited by Mrs. Aïcha Haddou, Director of Research and Training Center in Interfaith Relations of “Rabita Mohammadia des Oulemas”.

The last panel insisted on the fact that States must continue their efforts for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) and the six successive resolutions of the United Nations Security Council on “women, peace, security and development.”

The exchanges of the work of this conference will be forwarded to the United Nations as a contribution of Morocco to resolution 1325.