Georgian government commits to increasing women’s representation in peace negotiations
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Women’s meaningful participation in negotiating peace and conflict resolution is one of the most fundamental components of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.
Indeed, between 1990 and 2017, women still only comprised 2 per cent of mediators, 5 per cent of witnesses and signatories and 8 per cent of negotiators. The Report of the Secretary-General on women and peace and security, issued on 9 October 2018, reconfirms the representation of women in peace and security efforts as one of the essential measurements of commitments related to WPS.
Ten years on since the launch of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) on the conflict in Georgia, women are still generally underrepresented around the negotiating table. The Government of Georgia, in its National Action Plan for Implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security (2018-2020), has committed to increase the number of women negotiators.
In support of the Government of Georgia’s commitments, the third and final stage of the Training of Trainers in Mediation and Negotiation Skills, provided by the Folke Bernadotte Academy of Sweden in cooperation with UN Women Georgia, took place in Stockholm, Sweden from 13 to 15 November 2018. The previous two trainings were conducted in Tbilisi and Borjomi, respectively.
Fifteen participants from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality and the State Security Service deepened their knowledge of UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and the follow-up resolutions on WPS by improving their skills and negotiation techniques.
The training participants benefited from the experience of two members of the Nordic Women Mediation Network: Ambassador Ingrid Tersman and Ambassador Birgitta Holst Alani. The ambassadors shared with the participants their insights of the negotiation processes and discussed different forms of inclusion for women’s civil society organizations in peace processes.
UN Women and the Folke Bernadotte Academy plan to continue in their cooperation, originally facilitated by a former Swedish Ambassador to Georgia, H.E. Martina Quick. The planned activities will support the implementation of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (2018-2020) as well as contribute to Georgia’s nationalized Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goals 16 and 17.