People meet every day, and since the Covid-19 pandemic, many conferences are held online. The big advantage of this is that you can look back on our interesting discussions on this page.
ALV WO=MEN June 2nd, 2022 - Paneldiscussion Feminist Leadership In Humanitarian Response: Can We Do It?
On May 13th the government of the Netherlands committed to develop a Feminist Foreign Policy. The Netherlands will follow in the footsteps of other frontrunners, such as Sweden, Canada, Mexico, France, Chile and Germany. But what does this new commitment mean for sectors such as humanitarian aid? How does feminist leadership and organizing in humanitarian response look like? And why would feminist leadership in humanitarian response actually matter?
01-04-2022 - Including structurally silenced women and WHRDs in Feminist Foreign Policy
Foreign policy has the potential to contribute to equality, justice, solidarity and peace. Feminist Foreign Policy, specifically, is "a political framework centred around the wellbeing of marginalised people”. This session provides an opportunity to further discuss the inclusion of structurally silenced and marginalised women in Feminist Foreign Policy. What are the opportunities and what are the essential implications? We brought together women human rights defenders (WHRDs) from diverse movements in South Asia, MENA region, East Africa and Latin America. The panelists talked about lived experience and discussed policy and programme implications for Feminist Foreign Policy.
This session was organized by the Our Voices Our Futures (OVOF) consortium consisting of CREA, Association for Progressive Communication (APC), IM-Defensoras, UHAI-EASHRI and WO=MEN Dutch Gender Platform.
CSW66: Women's Rights Caucus Expresses Concerns Over This Year’s CSW
On Friday 25th of March - the last day of negotiations during the CSW, the Women’s Rights Caucus (WRC) - a global coalition of over 200 feminist organizations, advocating for gender equality at the United Nations - organized a Press Conference to comment on the state of negotiations on the agreed conclusions. Particularly, the WRC wanted to express concern over the lack of commitment to climate justice during this year’s CSW. Feminist activists and CSO actors made powerful statements reflecting on critical issues, such as the central importance of the inclusion of "loss and damage” in the agreed conclusions. The WRC members also expressed concerns over the restriction of civic space during this CSW.
CSW66 18 march 2022: strengthening labour rights through cross-movement collaborations
In line with the CSW 66 review theme - women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work - this diverse panel provides a unique opportunity to address this issue from a government perspective, women’s rights movement perspective, labour rights movement perspective, and sex workers’ rights movement perspective, from both the Global North as well as the Global South.
ALV women November 2020 - Panel Discussion on climate change, conflict and gender
Panel discussion about climate change, conflict and gender. Climate change and the loss of biodiversity reinforce the context in which armed conflict can occur; crop failure, water scarcity and pollution weigh heavily on a society. The climate crisis and related armed conflicts exacerbate existing gender inequalities. Conversely, gender inequality, whereby women and men do not have equal access to food, water and natural resources, is also a root cause of armed conflict.
28 October 2021 - Side Event to UNSC Open Debate on WPS - Feminist support to women activists and movements, Making non-violent activism count politically
This WPS Side Event brought together influential local women activists from Sudan, Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Myanmar and Iraq with leading international stakeholders. The speakers examined how international actors (member states, mulilateral organisations, INGOs) can provide feminist support to women activists and movements in times of political upheaval, mass protest and armed violence. There was particular focus on bridging the gaps from women leading protests on the streets to influencing all stages in each and every peace and political process.
27 October 2021 - Side Event during the UNSC Open Debate on WPS - Defend Her! Women Human Rights Defenders' Recommendations For Diplomatic Missions
Women human rights defenders (WHRDs), peacebuilders, advocates for gender equality and other civil society leaders play a critical role in advancing peace, human rights and gender justice. Yet they are under attack for doing so. In this session WHRDs presented their key recommendations for diplomatic missions to better protect their critical work in a gender responsive and transformative manner. They highlighted the specific protection needs that WHRDs have on 3 key areas:
How can diplomatic missions support individual WHRDs’ physical, mental, and economic safety?
How can diplomatic missions strengthen women’s rights organizations’ operational space and their resilience?
How can diplomatic missions enhance the understanding of, familiarization with, and support for a diversity of women’s voices within the mission?
More information about the session and speakers here.
7 July 2021 - Generation Equality Forum Paris – Reflections & Opportunities for Gender Equality and SRHR Advocates
WO=MEN Dutch Gender Platform and Share-net Netherlands, in collaboration with Rutgers and CHOICE for Youth & Sexuality organised a virtual debriefing meeting on the Generation Equality Forum (GEF) Paris. This event was moderated by Yvonne Bogaarts (Manager Advocacy, Rutgers) and Nadia van der Linde (Programme Manager International Processes, WO=MEN) and provided a space for civil society in the Netherlands and representations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to share reflections and discuss strategic opportunities for advocacy following the Generation Equality Forum in Paris (30 June - 2 July 2021).
The Generation Equality Forum (GEF) is a global process initiated by UN Women to celebrate progress since the Beijing Conference on Women in 1995 and to keep gender equality and women’s rights on the international political agenda. Due to the pandemic, the GEF took place mainly virtually. Over the past year, six thematic multi-stakeholder action coalitions (AC), a global Compact on Women, Peace & Security and Humanitarian Action (WPS-HA) and a Youth Task Force were launched to develop priority actions and foster new commitments to further the Beijing agenda. Each AC was led by a multi-stakeholder group consisting of governments, foundations, civil society actors, private sector and UN organisations and came with a set of concrete and ambitious actions (the Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality). UN Women announced that the GEF raised 40 billion dollars.
In the past term, the Gender More Parties Initiative (Gender MPI) has campaigned in the House of Representatives for gender equality and women's rights, worldwide and in the Netherlands. What have been the greatest successes of the Gender MPI, what has unfortunately not been successful? What are the ambitions for a new term of office? We will discuss this with co-chairs Kirsten van den Hul (PvdA) and Zohair El Yassini (VVD). We will also discuss the political representation of women and the international equality agenda for the coming years with the Gender MPI and (candidate) MPs.
The Dutch government and civil society present the fourth National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, in short the NAP 1325-IV. Together we fight for a world in which equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in decision-making processes for peace and security is self-evident, where sustainable peace and development opportunities are achievable for everyone and conflict-related violence against women, men, girls and boys stops.
Learning from 20 years of collective trial and error
This webinar explores in an open and constructive manner how full and concrete implementation of the WPS agenda can be realized. After 20 years of promoting and talking about WPS, it is time for an honest reflection. What can we all learn from 20 years collective failing and trying again to meaningfully engage women in peace and security processes? What are proven impactful ways and measures of governments, civil society and multilateral organizations that do realize real change? How can we ensure that technique and politics are the two reinforcing sides of the same coin?
As part of the Generation Equality Forum, and in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, a virtual high-level event held on 27 October, announced Board and Catalytic Members of the new Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action. In July 2020, the Generation Equality Forum announced the development of a Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action, as one of the outcomes of the Forum, aimed at fostering implementation of existing commitments on women, peace and security and humanitarian action. Watch the video recording of the event on 27 October 2020 below.
The UN Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the Context of Forced Migration
A panel discussion and study presentation on the UN Resolution 1325 and its application on the participation and rights of refugee women in the EU. The VIDC has been working on the UN Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, as well as on diaspora engagement over many years. They took the 20th anniversary of the UNSCR 1325 as an occasion to draw attention to the connection between these two policy areas: the WPS Agenda and forced migration to Europe. For the VIDC, Barbara Kühhas, expert in gender, peace and development, and Marie-Luise Möller, lawyer specialized in asylum and immigration law, conducted a study analysing the gaps in the implementation of the WPS agenda in Austria with regards to the rights and living conditions of refugee and asylum-seeking women.
