{"id":14849,"date":"2018-06-12T17:10:04","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T21:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.riverdalemediation.com\/?p=14849"},"modified":"2018-06-13T10:56:31","modified_gmt":"2018-06-13T14:56:31","slug":"sustainable-peace-mediation-and-the-status-of-women-and-girls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.riverdalemediation.com\/news-resources\/blog\/sustainable-peace-mediation-and-the-status-of-women-and-girls\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable Peace, Mediation, and the Status of Women and Girls"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By: Mina Vaish and Archana Medhekar<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In March of 2018, the Canadian delegation consisting of Archana Medhekar, Tricia Morris and I joined eighteen other international mediators for the Mediators Beyond Borders\u2019 international (MBBI) delegation to the 62nd<\/sup> session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York (CSW62).\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The session was the largest ever Commission held in its 70-history, with over 3,500 delegates from 250 nations attending.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0No doubt, the record delegate numbers this year were amplified by the recent and unprecedented women\u2019s social movements in the US and around the world.<\/p>\n

I have had the privilege of acting as Co-chair of the international \u201cWomen in Mediation\u201d cohort of the UN Working Group MBBI and delegation for three years now.\u00a0 \u00a0My role in this capacity is to support, promote and advocate for mediation principles at the United Nations.\u00a0 In particular, the \u201cWomen in Mediation\u201d cohort focuses on the inclusion of women mediators in high level negotiations, national parity conversations, and in mediation process design.\u00a0\u00a0 The question of why our mediation cohort is spending so much time on the Status of Women and Girls is a valid one.\u00a0 \u00a0After all, Canada is considered a leading nation in gender parity as demonstrated at the UN this March.\u00a0 There are two specific reasons:\u00a0 Firstly, gender parity is a leading catalyst to sustainable <\/em>peace and security, including that of Canada\u2019s.\u00a0 Secondly, where mediation principles of collaborative conflict resolution intersect with conscious process design that promotes equality and inclusion (not only gender, but also race, culture or otherwise) true empowerment and the self-determination of participants is achievable.\u00a0 Canadian mediators play a vital role in modeling such principles to national and international regimes.<\/p>\n

The concept that gender equity is a leading indicator to peace and security is recognized in the 2000 Security Council UN resolution 1325, which specifically reaffirms \u201c..the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and stressing the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, and the need to increase their role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution\u201d .\u00a0\u00a0 Eighteen years later, progress reports relating to this this landmark resolution indicate little progress has been made in most countries on achieving equal participation for peace and security.<\/p>\n

\"\"Resolution 1325 is supported by the overarching Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG 2030).\u00a0\u00a0 By 2030, the United Nations members, including Canada, resolve to achieve 17 goals collectively. \u00a0\u00a0The \u201cWomen in Mediation\u201d cohort links Goal 5 of gender equality to Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (SDG: www.unwomen.org\/en\/digital-library\/multimedia\/2017\/7\/infographic-spotlight-on-sdg-5<\/a>), (SDG: https:\/\/sustainabledevelopment.un.org\/topics\/information-integrated-decision-making-and-participation<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The MBBI delegation was pleased to participate with Canada\u2019s events and to witness Canada\u2019s commitment to Status of Women initiatives at CSW62.\u00a0 The presence of our federal Canadian delegation to CSW62, headed by Minister Monsef and Minister Freeland re-affirmed the Trudeau government\u2019s commitment to gender parity, the prevention and elimination of gender-based violence, and women\u2019s inclusion in peace processes ((https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/status-women\/news\/2018\/03\/government-of-canada-champions-gender-equality-at-the-united-nations-commission-on-the-status-of-women.html<\/a>).<\/p>\n

CSW consistently allocates generous time at UN sessions to international gender-based violence and intimate partner violence issues.\u00a0 This year was no exception.\u00a0 Intimate partner violence (IPV) is pervasive across the globe:\u00a0 According to UN Women, 30% of women worldwide experience violence as part of their intimate relationships.\u00a0 A new international index presented at CSW62 by the International Peace Institute (IPI) and created by Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) indicates a nation\u2019s intimate partner violence rates as one of the major 17 indicators that affect a country\u2019s ranking of women, peace and security.\u00a0 The GIWPS ranks Canada 7th<\/sup> of 153 nations (98% of the world\u2019s population) for women, peace and security, with IPV ranking of \u201cuniformly well\u201d, and lifetime IPV rates of 6.4% (excellent ranking).\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Comparatively, Iceland and Norway have higher rates of IPV, with 22.4 and 27% respectively.\u00a0 According to GIWPS, domestic and intimate partner violence \u201c\u2026has multiple harmful repercussions for women\u2019s well-being, as well as major direct and indirect economic costs\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The authors additional stated \u201ctoo many governments are failing to ensure security for women at the family, community and societal levels\u201d.\u00a0 In addition, war and conflict increase rates of intimate partner violence, especially on women and girls.\u00a0 Hence, our roles as mediators and peacebuilders may have indirect roles on reducing IPV rates.<\/p>\n

The annual Commission on the Status of Women often illuminates the gap between developed nations and developing nations on sustainable peace, gender and human rights, and use of mediation for building and sustaining peace.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0While some may say gender parity is a goal, it should also be considered a mechanism for sustainable peace.<\/p>\n

Mina Vaish<\/strong>
\nRoster Mediator- mediate393<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Mina Vaish and Archana Medhekar   In March of 2018, the Canadian delegation consisting of Archana Medhekar, Tricia Morris and I joined eighteen other international mediators for the Mediators Beyond Borders\u2019 international (MBBI) delegation to the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York (CSW62).\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The session was the largest ever Commission held in …
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