On January 28 and 29, GIWPS’ Managing Director Jeni Klugman participated in a major meeting in Addis Ababa hosted by the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense, in preparation for the United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial (UNPKM) in March. The event, which had over 220 participants from some 65 countries, was designed to identify key messages to take forward to the UNPKM about Women, Peace and Security.
At the conference, Dr. Klugman presented on the morning of January 28 about our WPS Index and gender data to influence decision-making, just prior to an address by the new Ethiopian president, Sahle-Work Zewde.
In 2015, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2242, which noted the substantial link between women’s meaningful involvement in peace operations and the achievement of long-term, sustainable peace. The resolution set targets to double the current rate of women’s participation of 3.7 percent of military peacekeepers and 9.5 percent of police peacekeepers by 2020. Women, Peace and Security is one of the eight action areas of the Action for Peace Keeping (A4P) Agenda. Women are only 3.8 percent of formed contingents, and the target now for 2019 in 5.25 percent.