Palestinian Consultation - November 2009
In November 2009, Inclusive Security traveled to Ramallah to continue its ongoing work positioning women experts to join negotiating teams to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To demonstrate that a significant number of women experts are available to participate at a technical level in the negotiations, Inclusive Security is developing a roster of Palestinian women who are recognized experts on issues likely to be addressed in the negotiations. The roster will be completed later this spring. (A parallel
effort to promote Israeli women technical experts is also underway.)
For this consultation, Inclusive Security partnered with the well-known civil society organization
MIFTAH: the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy to consult with 20 of the Palestinian women listed on our roster.
Women Waging Peace Network member
Alma Viviana Peréz Goméz of Colombia traveled to Ramallah to share her own experiences mobilizing women around the peace process in Colombia.
Inclusive Security presented models from other conflict areas where women worked with mediators and envoys to ensure their voices were heard. Participants then drew on these examples to draft negotiations formats that they thought would effectively allow for women’s input. They were especially interested in the Guatemala model of civil society consultative groups providing input and feedback as discussions advanced. (More detail on the activities of Guatemalan civil society in peace negotiations may be found in
Strategies for Policymakers: "Bringing Women into Peace Negotiations".)
Attendees discussed the possibility for negotiations in the region and how women could increase their participation. Participants also discussed the ways in which women are disproportionately affected by core issues being discussed by Israelis and Palestinians, including water rights, security reform, and access to land. They created recommendations for domestic and international policymakers to address these concerns. The consultation ended with all the participants agreeing to make women’s participation in peace negotiations a greater priority in their work.
Inclusive Security returns to Ramallah in March 2010 to build on this consultation and to further develop an advocacy plan in partnership with women listed on the roster.
In addition to training, Inclusive Security also conducted numerous meetings to advocate for increased participation by women in the region’s peace and political processes. Organizations met with included:
For more information about Inclusive Security’s work in the Middle East, please contact Rebecca Miller or Allison Shean.