Kenya is once again asserting that women must be at the center of peace processes, not on the periphery, in the region of the Horn of Africa. And it did so clearly at the IGAD Ministerial Conference on Women, Peace, and Security.
Kenya is emphasizing that women must be actively engaged in mediation and peace processes, and that it is not sufficient that they be merely physically present. It welcomed IGAD’s establishment of a Women Mediators Advisory Board.
The establishment of the Women Mediators Advisory Board under IGAD is a positive step toward empowering women to be more actively engaged in peace processes. It is part of efforts to formalize women’s role in mediation and other processes.
It is part of efforts to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. It is a hard fact of life that it is women and girls who suffer most from conflict, and that peace processes must be accompanied by their presence. It is looking to the future that Kenya is pledging support to initiatives that will strengthen women’s leadership in peace processes.
It is pledging support to gender-sensitive mediation and to women peacebuilders and civil society organizations.
It is bringing regional leaders together to review progress and identify gaps that still must be filled. It is Kenya’s firm view that peace is only possible with the participation of women.
