Women and youth call on governments to accelerate the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda

12 oct 2019

Women and youth call on governments to accelerate the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda

Tenth Edition of the Regional Open Day on United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 (2000) and subsequent on Gender, Women, Youth, Peace and Security

Women and youth call on governments to accelerate the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda

The 2019 edition of the Regional Open Day on Gender, Women, Youth, Peace and Security, in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent Security Council Resolutions, took place on 08 October 2019, in Banjul (Gambia). Her Excellency, the Vice-President of the Republic of The Gambia, Isatou Touray, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, co-chaired the event which gathered 175 women and young leaders representing civil society organizations, including representatives from rural areas, regional organizations, several United Nations agencies from West Africa and the Sahel, as well as international partners.

The objective of the 2019 edition of Open Day was to exchange views on experiences, concerns and priorities, as well as to assess the implementation of Resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent Resolutions on women, youth, peace and security, and define perspectives for the region.

On behalf of President Adama Barrow, Vice-President Isatou Touray, stated that “the high-level of participation at the Regional Open Day clearly demonstrates our collective determination to address the challenges towards achieving gender equality, peace and security and women and girls’ empowerment in West Africa and the Sahel.”

Echoing Vice-President Isatou Touray’s statement, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-general for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, underlined the need for all the actors to redouble their efforts to ensure that women and youth in West Africa and the Sahel play prominent roles: “ I urge all of us to invest in gender equality, women and youth empowerment not only as ends in themselves, but as critical means of achieving our overarching aim of preventing and ending conflict and building peace and prosperity in the region.”

During the discussions, participants recalled the key advances that had been made over the last 19 years in terms of the representation of women in leadership positions and their role in conflict prevention throughout the region. Out of 16 countries in West Africa and the Sahel, 14 have adopted National Action Plans for the implementation of UNSCR 1325.

They called on governments to accelerate the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda in preparation for the 20th anniversary of Resolution 1325 and the AU goal of “silencing guns” by 2020.

Participants included H.E Fatou Kinteh, Minister of Women, Children and Social Welfare; HE Minata Samate-Cessouma, African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs; Dr. Siga Fatima Jagne, ECOWAS Commissioner, Social Affairs and Gender; as well as several Ministers and Parliamentarians from The Gambia and West Africa. The Chief of Defense Staff of The Gambian Armed Forces, Lt. General Masanneh N. Kinteh, was also in attendance.

Organized since 2010 by UNOWAS, in partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the G5 Sahel and the Mano River Union (UFM), the Regional Open Days are a platform of discussion where women and youth leaders can interact with senior officials from United Nations and regional organizations on their experiences, concerns and priorities in the implementation of the UNSC Resolutions 1325 (2000) and subsequent resolutions on Gender, Women, Youth, Peace and Security.