In the margins of the UN General Assembly, the Minister for Human Rights and the UN Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon co-chaired a roundtable event with Afghanistan and Norway to discuss how to increase the participation of women in peace building and conflict resolution, how to connect formal peace processes to women tirelessly working to build peace on the ground.
Research shows that peace agreements that result from negotiations involving women are 35 percent more likely to last for at least fifteen years. The meeting looked at how the international community could promote, support and champion the role of women in decision making and conflict resolution to help ensure lasting and sustainable peace.
Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for Human Rights and the UN said:
When women are denied a seat at the table, when the hopes, fears, needs and interests of half of the population are not represented evidence shows that an enduring peace and stability impossible.
Today’s meeting is about how we can not only prevent, but ensure that women are empowered and encouraged to help broker peace, because we know that when women are part of the picture, peace agreements are much more likely to last.
The UK is a world leader on women, peace and security. Since November 2016, all UK troops on overseas missions have received training on women, peace and security and preventing sexual violence and UK personnel have trained over 10,000 African peacekeepers on sexual violence. In Afghanistan, UK personnel have mentored the trainers of future female leaders at the Afghanistan National Army Officer Academy, which has seen over 100 female cadets now pass out.
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