IPCR partners stakeholders to organize dialogue on women, peace, security

By Ochiaka Ugwu

The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has partnered with its relevant stakeholders such as Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and social Development, Norwegian Embassy and UN Women to organize dialogue on Women, Peace and Security.
In a press statement released yesterday in Abuja by the Institute and signed by its Head of Media, Mr. Musa Mato noted that Director General of IPCR, Dr. Bakut T. Bakut while declaring the event open said that the programme focused on how women can meaningfully enhance their role in conflict prevention and resolution in Nigeria with a reference to North East, the Middle Belt and the Delta region.
According to the statement, “Dr. Bakut said that though conflict affects everybody negatively, but has a disproportionate impact on women in particular due to their peculiar vulnerability status and the general disrespect by combatants to uphold extant convention”.
He lamented that women are often victims of violations and discrimination in conflict situations.
His words, “The quest for peace in both conflict and post-conflict situations have also recorded a huge gender gap as women are often excluded from decision-making processes due to age-long socio-cultural discriminative norms.”
Dr. Bakut explained that to reverse the limitation in women’s inclusion in peace processes Nigeria and other member countries of the United Nations accented to the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 which calls for the inclusion of women in peace building.
“It was adopted in the year 2000 and also consolidated with the development of National Action Plan to domesticate the document”.
He added that the IPCR has played critical roles in the development of the National Action Plans and is still contributing to the implementation of the framework to strengthen gender role in peace processes.
Also speaking during the event, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Dame Pauline Tallen, represented by the Acting Director, Women and Gender Affairs, Oladipo Funke, noted that conflict brings with it terrible human rights consequences for all involved, children, women and men.
She noted that the impact of conflict on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of women, in particular is often devastating.