INVITATION TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA

What:             Third Africa Forum on Women Peace and Security (WPS), under the theme “Leveraging on WPS Monitoring to Enhance Women’s Participation and Leadership in Peace Processes in Africa”.      

                                When:            14-15 December 2022

Where:          AU Headquarters / Medium Conference Hall   Will be held in hybrid format  

Time:            9:00 am

Who:              The Forum is organized  by the Office of the AU Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, under the leadership of H.E Sahle-Work Zewde, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Objectives: The Forum aims to reflect on the current strategies of enhancing women participation in peace processes, how to strengthen and support women’s peace building networks, the role of young women and girls in peace and security, and to evaluate the delivery of existing WPS strategies, using the the Continental Results Framework.

Participants: The African women leaders, women peace builders, national and     regional focal points on women peace and security and other stakeholders in the implementation of the WPS Agenda in Africa.

Expected Outcomes:

• Strategies for advancing women’s inclusion and participation in peace processes identified.
• Strengthen networks and learning among the regional women peace and security forums.

• Inputs are made to the 3rd Africa status report on WPS developed through the CRF.

Background:

Over twenty-two years ago, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1325, linking women’s agency to peace and security by calling for increased women’s participation in conflict prevention, resolution, and post conflict reconstruction. However, despite the progress made with development of implementations frameworks, there are huge gaps between its provisions and what exists in reality.

In Africa, women represent a tiny segment of peace negotiators, peace envoys, mediators, and peacekeepers. Women movements and peace builders are facing myriad of challenges, which have been exacerbated by COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, new war in Europe, and a rise in unconstitutional change of governments in Africa among others. The continued absence of women in peace tables, requires a re-assessment of  the current strategies used to promote women’s participation with a view of formulating new approaches to further  enhance women’s access, ascension, and leadership to formal political and peace building processes. Also, addressing broad systematic gender inequalities calls not only for context appropriate policies but also for data to inform effectiveness and impact of the various strategic measure put in place.

In view of the foregoing, the Third Africa Forum on Women Peace and Security convened by the African Union Special Envoy on WPS, under the leadership of H.E Sahle-Work Zewde, President of Ethiopia, serves as a space to deliberate, share experience, and recommend practical actions for advancing women’s participation in peace process. The Forum will also offer an opportunity to assess the progress made by AU Member States and regional organizations in delivering existing commitments on WPS using the Continental Results Framework (CRF), tool developed by AU for monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the WPS agenda.

Journalists are invited to cover the opening & closing of the 3rd Africa Forum on Women Peace and Security on Wednesday 14^th and Thursday 15^th December 2022, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in-person or through the following link:   https://bit.ly/3OZ2CfR

For further information:

Ms.Catherine Gaku Njeru | Office of the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of AU Commission on Women, Peace and Security| Tel: +251-11-5517700 ext.2047-+251-11- 518 2047 | E-mail: wpsa@africa-union.org | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

For media inquiries;

Ms. Afrah Thabit | Information and Communication Directorate | African Union Commission Cell: +251912615121 | E-mail: Thabitma@africa-union.org | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission, E-mail: DIC@african-union.org  I Website: www.au.africa  I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

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