Representatives from four of the five Nordic countries were present at Friday's launch at the Nobel Peace Centre. Following a public session with opening remarks from the government officials, a closed high-level seminar took place in order to discuss the role of women mediators and negotiators and their role in peacebuilding processes.
While important gains have been made in the implementation of UN
Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR
1325), formal peace and mediation processes have lagged behind in
effectively engaging and meaningfully involving women, whether as
parties to a conflict or as members of the teams facilitating and
leading peace processes. The UN Security Council has on a number of
occasions expressed concern at the persistent obstacles to women’s full
involvement in the prevention and resolution of conflicts. Special
attention has been drawn to the constant under-representation of women
in formal peace processes.
The objective of the Nordic Women Mediators' Network is to redress this situation by:
- Increasing the number of Nordic women that are actively involved in international peace mediation efforts.
- Connecting to and promoting networks of women mediators in the south, both at country level and in regional organisations.
- Looking
to be a pilot for similar initiatives in other regions or at the
international level, through close coordination with the UN.