Monthly Archives: June 2011

Official Launch of Make Every Woman Count

African womenTitle: Official Launch of Make Every Woman Count Website

Where: Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS University, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H OXG

When: 6:30-8:30pm, Tuesday 19 July 2011

RSVP to info@makeeverywomancount.org to confirm your attendance

SPEAKERS:

Chair: Professor Nadje Al-Ali – Chair of the SOAS Centre for Gender Studies
Sally Spear–Vice-chair of the Women’s Advisory Council of the UN
Roger Hallam– United Nations Association SE Region
Marie-Claire Faray– Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom
Rainatou Sow– Founder & Director of Make Every Woman Count

Speakers to be followed by a reception

Make Every Woman Count promotes the empowerment and rights of women and girls in Africa. MEWC is a project that aims to raise the awareness of the African Women’s Decade (AWD) by providing timely and accurate information, and resources related to African women and girls. The MEWC website aims to be a comprehensive resource to document the situation of women in Africa and highlight the African Women’s Decade. http://www.makeeverywomancount.org/.

United Nations Association-UK for over sixty years UNA-UK has been promoting internationalism and the ideals of the UN Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Today its aims can be expressed as “for a strong, credible and effective United Nations”. http://www.una.org.uk/.

The VoAW is a UK-WILPF campaign including African and British women. They campaign and lobby for the participation of African women in conflict prevention and nation building processes, for the protection of women’s human rights and the demilitarization of the continent. The campaign has been underway since 2008 and has inspired and empwered many women.

Download launch flyer

 

Women condemn attack on peaceful protesters in Iraq

UK WILPF has joined feminist activists around the world in support of this peacfully demonstrating for basic human rights in Iraq.

The statement reads

Women from Around the World Condemn Attack on Peaceful Protesters in Iraq for an End to Sexual Assault of Women Protesters

We, feminist activists from 12 countries, stand in support of our sisters and brothers peacefully demonstrating for basic rights in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square.

This morning, June 10, demonstrators were brutally targeted with sexual violence and beatings by men who were reportedly bussed in by the thousands to disrupt the weekly protest. Protesters suffered broken bones, knife wounds and beatings. Several women were severely beaten and violently groped; armed attackers attempted to forcibly strip off the women’s clothing. The activists, who work with the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, report that their attackers were organized and paid by government security forces who used the un-uniformed men to avoid accountability for the violence.

As feminists, we strongly condemn assaults against peaceful protesters and the specifically gender-based violence against women. As in so many of our countries, the use of sexual violence against Iraqi women is designed to terrorize, shame and silence those women who dare to exercise their fundamental rights as citizens and raise political demands in the public sphere.  We stand with our sisters who exercise their rights to political participation and dissent.

Today’s attacks represent a noted escalation of violence against protesters in Iraq as well as a crime and a fundamental violation of human rights. We call on the government to uphold its obligations to guarantee freedom of peaceful assembly and to respond to the demands of demonstrators.

See the full list of signatories

UNSCR 1325: The Participation Promise

As a member of GAPS we are happy to announce the launch of the newest publication “UNSCR 1325: The Participation Promise”. This short and concise guide provides a really handy overview of the issues surrounding women’s participation in peace and post-conflict reconciliation and provides recommendations for government action. It is a great tool for getting informed on key women, peace and security issues.

Read the participation promise

Statement on Jeju Island and the US Naval Base

In the village of Ganjeong on Jeju Island, off the coast of South Korea, local people are struggling to prevent the construction of a new US naval base. The base is intended to service US Navy Aegis destroyers that hold Raytheon’s missile “defence” systems. South Korean peace activists argue that the base will build-up offensive military systems in North East Asia, undermining security and prompting military responses from China and North Korea. Villagers also oppose the base because of the loss of farm land, where they have grown rice, garlic, tangerines, and more on the fertile land. The base will destroy the local environment, including coral reefs named by UNESCO as key environmental treasures. The Navy intends to pour concrete over the rocks and marine life to make wharfs for the Aegis destroyers.

At a village meeting in 2007, the vast majority of villagers voted to oppose the base. They have launched lawsuits against the construction; they have held protests and engaged in civil disobedience against the construction efforts; their encampments have been raided and protestors have been injured and arrested; and some have even engaged in hunger strikes. Yang Yoon-Mo was arrested on 6 April 2011 for locking himself under earth moving equipment intended to begin construction. He began a hunger strike that lasted for 60 days, until Bishop Kang U-il of Jeju Catholic Diocese convinced him to stop and go on struggling in solidarity with the other activists. Sung-Hee Choi, who was arrested on 19 May for holding a sign that read “Do not touch any stone or flower,” went on hunger strike untilYang was released from jail on 1 June. She will go on trial on 10 June.

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) expresses solidarity with the people of Ganjeong in their struggle to stop the construction of the naval base. Military bases are a visible structure of militarism and imperialism; they waste economic resources of the “home” country and destroy environmental, social, political, and financial resources of the “host” country; and they undermine the lives and livelihoods of local people. Violence against women and girls around military bases is a particularly aggravated problem that results from the interconnections of militarism, imperialism, racism, and sexism. Overseas bases also undermine more constructive forms international cooperation and engagement and perpetuate militarism and military spending.

WILPF International calls upon members in all of its National Sections to contact the Korean Defence Attaché assigned to Washington, DC at defenattache[at]yahoo.com, the South Korean Embassy in Washington at +1.202.939.5600, and/or the South Korean and US embassy in one’s own country to call for the immediate cessation of construction of this base.

WILPF International also encourages its members to follow developments on the island through the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space blog and the Save Prof Yang and Sung Hee-Choi of Jeju Island Facebook page and to support the trip of Global Network board member MacGregor Eddy to Jeju Island to bring international messages of solidarity to the people of Gangjeong village. MacGregor Eddy (who is also a WILPF member) from Salinas, California has been a leader in the international effort to build support for the people on Jeju Island. Please consider making a donation to the Global Network to help fund her trip.

Download a PDF version of the statement

 

“Strengthening Women’s Voices in Government” Consultation Response

The Government Equalities Office (GEO) is currently consulting around women’s engagement and the systems and structures to replace the Women’s National Commission (WNC). The consultation seeks views on the best ways and methods for the GEO to engage with and listen to women.

The WILPF response aims to demonstrate that a comprehensive and integrated approach is essential to engage with women and women’s organisations across the UK. We stress that the functions of the WNC cannot be replaced with an online platform and that the GEO must support the women’s sector with funding and training opportunities. We ask the GEO to ensure that it is at the forefront of effective gender mainstreaming across government and that it reflects international commitments and priorities.

Individuals can respond to the consultation through an online survey; our response is strengthened by your voice and you can add any additional information or comments. You can use the WILPF response as a template to complete questions 1-14 of the online questionnaire.

Find the questionnaire here.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/StrengtheningWomensVoicesConsultation

Download a PDF version of the WILPF response

Download a word version of the WILPF response

You can find more information about the consultation here

http://www.equalities.gov.uk/what_we_do/womens_engagement.aspx

We are grateful for the support and resources of the Women’s Resource Centre in formulating our response.

 

Dakar appeal against the land grab

WILPF has signed a collective appeal against land grabbing released during the World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal, in February 2011.

The appeal calls for an immediate stop to land grabbing and the restitution of the lands that have been taken away from local communities. Land grabbing threatens the right to food of rural populations, condemns them to suffer unemployment and rural exodus, exacerbates poverty and conflicts and contributes to the loss of agricultural knowledge and skills and cultural identities.

The Dakar Appeal, together with the names of organisations endorsing it, will be presented during the mobilizations against the G20 Agriculture Ministers’ meeting in Paris on 22-23 June.

The appeal is also open to signatures from individuals add your voice!

 

Statement on UK military involvement in Libya

UK WILPF is concerned with the equal participation of African women in peace and security processes as well as issues of human rights on the continent.

Our Voices of African Women campaign group is extremely troubled by the worsening situation in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. In particular we are concerned with NATO’s excessive military aggression and the UK government’s actions, which are fuelling a civil war in the North African country.

We deplore the UK government’s use of excessive military aggression namely through the government’s announcement that it will imminently make four Apache helicopters available to the NATO mission in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Further, the sending of military advisors to Libyan rebel forces – The Transitional National Council (TNC) – is fuelling a civil war. http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/ApachesGetReadyToHelpProtectLibyanCivilians.htm.

NATO’s escalating air strikes in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including the targeting of Muammar Gaddafi’s compounds and the death of his son, further demonstrate NATO’s agenda of ‘regime change’.

We would like to remind the UK Government and NATO that United Nation’s Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973 do not authorise regime change, the removal of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi from power or the injuring or killing of Colonel Gaddafi. UNSCR 1973 in particular refers to the implementation of the protection of civilians, no fly zone, arms embargo, ban of flights and the freezing of assets. http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N11/268/39/PDF/N1126839.pdf.

We would also like to remind the UK Government and other members of NATO of their commitment to international law, the Security Council, state sovereignty, diplomacy and peace. Agreed UN Security Council Resolutions with different objectives cannot be manipulated to effect regime change.

The Voices of African Women campaign group particularly urges the UK Government and NATO to recognise African regional bodies and their diplomatic efforts in securing a ceasefire. An Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union on the State of Peace and Security in Africa was convened on 25 May 2011 and the African Union High-Level Ad Hoc Committee on Libya convened on 26 May 2011. They issued a five point roadmap to peace in Libya which is available at

A reinvestment in diplomatic efforts between the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the TNC, the African Union and NATO could secure a ceasefire of hostilities. We urge all parties to abide by the mandate provided by UNSC resolutions 1970 and 1973. The protection of civilians is of paramount importance and the killing of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is unacceptable especially if NATO and the TNC do not recognise diplomatic efforts that have been made by the African Union and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya for a ceasefire.

Download PDF version of this statement