Wednesday, May 26
9:00AM-10:30AM EDT
Read a press release about the event here
Watch the Event Recording
Evidence shows that women’s participation across peacekeeping missions can improve community engagement, challenge gendered norms, and contribute to effective operations. However, progress on women’s inclusion in peacekeeping, as mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 1325, has been slow and uneven. Across all missions, women make up fewer than five percent of military personnel, 11 percent of personnel in formed police units, and 28 percent of individual police officers.
At this event, GIWPS launched an important new report, “Gendered Impacts on Operational Effectiveness of UN Peace Operations,” supported by Global Affairs Canada’s Elsie Initiative, on the impact of gender on the effectiveness of peace operations. Leading policymakers, peacekeepers, and scholars discussed the difference women in uniform make and how to incorporate a gender lens in data collection and analysis, as well as share recommendations for advancing gender-responsive peacekeeping.
Opening remarks:
H.E. Jean-Pierre Lacroix
UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations
Ms. Gwyn Kutz
Director General for the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program, Global Affairs Canada
Highlights from the research:
Dr. Robert U. Nagel
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security
Panel discussion:
Major General Cheryl Pearce
Former Force Commander, United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP)
Ms. Sophie Stecher
Chief of the Comprehensive Approach Coordination Unit, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO)
Dr. Afaf Omer
Senior Gender Advisor, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
Moderated by:
Ambassador Melanne Verveer
Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security
Hosted by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security in partnership with Global Affairs Canada’s Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations.