This was originally published by International Peace Institute. A year after the High-Level Review of the implementation of the landmark Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, an IPI meeting took up the subject of National Action Plans (NAPs) and how they help turn policy into reality. Andrea Ó Súilleabháin, IPI Senior Policy […]
Evidence shows that women’s participation in peace and security processes is associated with more successful outcomes. International frameworks on this agenda—like UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325—have advanced accordingly, but the role of national initiatives is less understood. National action plans to implement UNSCR 1325 on women, peace, and security have tripled in the last […]
Executive Summary Since 2010, conflict and displacement around the globe have increased. Unlike traditional conflicts typified by inter-state military confrontations, today’s hybrid wars increasingly threaten civilians, and state-centric approaches to peacemaking frequently fall short. As new evidence links women’s participation in a variety of peace and security processes with greater likelihood of successful outcomes, international […]
This article was originally published by The Christian Science Monitor. As a young woman Irene Santiago came to New York City from The Philippines to study journalism at Columbia University. Today as a world-renowned expert on conflict negotiation and the crucial role women can play in that field she still draws on her reporter’s training. […]
Western donors, according to Belle Abaya of the Philippines, sometimes have the misconception that a peace agreement will automatically solve the underlying issues that cause conflict. In this clip from an interview in January 2011 in Washington, DC, Ms. Abaya suggests that a more lasting peace should be based on smaller instances of building trust, […]
In January 2011, Belle Abaya was interviewed about negotiations and mediation and she pointed out that peace negotiation teams tend to be mostly men. In cultures such as that of Ms. Abaya’s in the Philippines, this may be detrimental to the peace process as men there are taught to suppress their emotions and have a fear of […]
One of the main barriers in negotiations is building trust between the parties. Belle Abaya, a peacebuilder from the Philippines, was able to create a consensus of goals using a model of peacebuilding she developed.
In order to connect the people at the top of government to the people at the grassroots, Belle Abaya and her team in the Philippines created a model for reflective democracy and dialogue. This allowed the government to make more informed decisions. At the same time it helped knowledgeable people at the grassroots be heard.
There are too many issues at stake when it comes to peace for it to be left only to one group of people, Rufa Cagoco-Guiam says.
