10th Annual Policy Forum Calls for More Women in Peace Processes

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Inclusive Security's 10th Annual Policy Forum on January 21, 2009 brought together more than 450 professionals with interest in peace and security issues at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Washington, DC. Attendees included representatives of the United States government, other governments, non-government organizations, private contractors, and academia.

Inclusive Security launched its much-awaited new curriculum–Inclusive Security: A Curriculum for Women Waging Peace–which Inclusive Security will use to customize training programs in the coming years. Interested organizations and individuals are encouraged to contact Tobie Whitman, at tobie_whitman@huntalternatives.org or 202.403.2015 to explore training options.

Program highlights:

• Swanee Hunt introduced the new Curriculum and explained that with the recognition of the long-term need for work to improve the role of women in peace processes, The Initiative for Inclusive Security was renaming itself The Institute for Inclusive Security. 
• Ashima Kaul, consultant, Women Building Peace Constituencies in Kashmir, opened the event. Kaul welcomed the attendees and shared stories of how women in Kashmir crossed conflict lines to begin peace negotiations. 
• Stephen Lewis, co-director, AIDS-Free World and former UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, impressed the crowd with forceful remarks on the importance on women in peace processes and ten practical suggestions for improving their participation. In a memorable moment, he called for the United States to "refuse to fund or support any UN-sponsored peace negotiations that do not have women as leading participants at the table." Among other remarks, he suggested that the reputation–and effectiveness–of the United Nations might be restored by the proposed creation of a new international agency for women.
• Ambassador Hunt; Kenneth Wollack, president of the National Democratic Institute; and Lorne Craner, president of the International Republican Institute held a ten-minute on-stage conversation emphasizing the low numbers of women in elected office around the world and the general reluctance of women to see activity in political parties as a path to power and influence. 
• Several members of the Club of Madrid made remarks by recorded video clips.
• M. Nathaniel Barnes, ambassador, The Embassy of Liberia in the United States; Ambassador Prudence Bushnell, chief executive officer, Sage Associates; Rangina Hamidi, president, Kandahar Treasure; and Marine Colonel (Reserve) Gloria Mercado, senior consultant to the National Security Adviser of the Philippines, discussed the need for women to go beyond building knowledge to develop the skills necessary to advocate strongly on their own behalf. Hamidi described how despite her extensive experience, she is often not considered a resource to those working for peace in Afghanistan.
• Lina Zedriga Waru Abuku, gender, peace, and security expert with Advocates for Public International Law Uganda, closed the event with remarks highlighting the need for women in displaced persons camps to participate in decisionmaking that has direct and immediate effects on their safety and security. Her mantra, ‘Nothing about us without us,’ will not soon be forgotten.

The next annual Inclusive Security Policy Forum will be held in January 2010, on a date to be determined. To receive more information as it becomes available, please contact Michelle Page at michelle_page@huntalternatives.org.