Attending the first Global Women’s Forum for Peace and Humanitarian Actions

70 women lead-activists, opinion leaders, representatives of civil society convened in Vienna, Austria, in February 19-20, 2020, within the first Global Women’s Forum for Peace and Humanitarian Action, being also attended by the APE Interim Executive Director, Ludmila Nofit. The event was organized with the support of the Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) together with the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP).

This Forum represented a unique platform, bringing together local women activist from 17 different countries from Europe, Africa, Asia, South Caucasus, Middle East and Latin America, aimid to establish key priorities and identify support needed for their work in order to strengthen peace and to respond to humanitarian crises.

The event kicked of with a preparatory session, where the participants had the opportunity to make an exchange of experiences and good examples related to the process of Localization of *Women, Peace and Security agenda in our home countries implementing a national or local plan in this regard. We remind that the Government of the Republic of Moldova approved in March 2018 the National Action Plan on the implementation of Resolution 1325. During the session were also discussed major gaps and obstacles in order to fully implement such plans. In context, the most crucial challenges are: internal political and economic crises, limited financial resources, insignificant or absent participation of women negotiators and or mediators in conflict resolution processes, lack of financial-economic skills among women, limited engagement of central and local authorities etc.

These and other challenges are specific to the Republic of Moldova, including the fact that the Moldovan Government has difficulties in addressing security issues from the perspective of Women, Peace and Security agenda within the Transnistrian settlement process. Subsequently, an important role is played by civil society that have the opportunity to engage non-governmental organizations, as well as women activists from the Transnistrian region in gender issues activities carried out. An eloquent example is the participation of media representatives from all over the Republic of Moldova in a workshop dedicated to the implementation of Resolution 1325, organized by APE in partnership with GNWP.

An important topic of discussion on the Forum agenda was the urgent need for funds to carry out initiatives aimed at ensuring the participation of women at all levels in peace and humanitarian actions in their local communities. Therefore, representatives of international organizations such as the Austrian Development Agency, the European Union, representatives of countries such as Germany, Estonia, Norway, Canada, Slovenia, the Netherlands, together with the company Dell Technologies, have reiterated their commitment to further support women’s participation in activities aimed at ensuring peaceful and sustainable development.

The Forum culminated with the elaboration and adoption of a common Declaration, reflecting key gender priorities, as well as a series of recommendations for international and regional organizations (UN and its relevant specialized institutions, OSCE, EU etc.), central and local authorities, financial institutions, civil society, media and other relevant stakeholders. The Declaration is to be submitted to the UN Security Council, as well as to other high-level forum.

We remind that the Foreign Policy Association of Moldova in partnership with the non-governmental organization Gender Centru and the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders have implemented in the period 2018-2019, the regional project “Local, national and regional strategies to improve the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine” financially supported by the Austrian Development Agency.

 *UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security