Economic Empowerment
Source: AWID
E-Learning/Online
Date: 2 May-12 June 2011
Location: Worldwide, Online
This short certificate course examines the various causes and manifestations of the impact of war and armed conflicts specifically on women. It will analyse the widespread and systematic violence against women as well as sexual and gender based violence, in war and conflicts situations. It aims to define and broaden the definition of wartime rape to include sexual slavery, forced impregnation, mass rape, chemical warfare impact, military sexual slavery, genocide, trafficking, physical torture, mutilation, etc. The course will critically study with a feminist lens the role of female combatants and how post conflict programmes of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration benefits or denies women. Deadline for applications: April 15, 2011.
Register
The deadline for applications is 15 April 2011. Please click here to find out how to apply.
It will study statistics and cases of sexual and gender based violence in order to establish the pattern of violations and the effectiveness of responses. It will critically contextualise the role and capacity of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions, UN agencies, international humanitarian agencies/organisations, and national groups (NGOs) in their advocacy, protection, prevention and response to these issues in conflict situations. Likewise the course will explore the failures and lessons of legal remedies in national and international courts in prosecuting sexualised crimes in armed conflict. It will also examine accountability, justice and reparation which recognise the legal obligation of the states to make such compensation. More importantly, we will analyse the effectiveness of the application of international instruments for the protection of female refugees and internally displaced women.
The gendered impact of war on women and men varies. It is recognised that there is a major shift of gender roles in situations of armed conflicts when most men go to war and women are left behind to fend the family and communities. But violence against women in armed conflict is one of the most heinous violations of human rights, in terms of its scale, the nature of the atrocities and the numbers of women affected i.e. (Rwanda, Congo, Darfur). Yet history has hardly recorded war crimes against women. One of the most painful reasons for this denial is that violations perpetrated against women are not considered important in the scheme of war. The world has come to speak of rape as an inevitable fact of war -- as part of the reality of the behaviour of the rebels groups or armed forces. But the origins of the systematic practice of rape i.e. (race, ethnic, class, religion etc.) why it is rampant in armed conflict situations, and its universal and at the same time violent nature needs to be examined.
This e-learning course will also look at why the international community only recently recognised one of the greatest challenges facing it today and that is recognising sexual violence in war and prosecuting these atrocities as an essential step in ending the cycle of violence in war situations despite UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. The recent UN Security Council Resolution 1888 has accepted the challenge by appointing a Special Representative to address sexual violence in armed conflict. The UN Security Council Resolution 1888 reiterated its deep concern that, despite its repeated condemnation of violence against women including all forms of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict, and despite its calls addressed to all parties to armed conflict for the cessation of such acts with immediate effect, such acts continue to occur, and in some situations have become systematic and/or widespread. The international community is still struggling with the effects and implications of war and armed conflicts on women, attempting to create mechanisms towards an achievable peace process that address justice, reconciliation and rehabilitation for the victim/survivors and accountability for perpetrators both by state and non state actors, while building the nation state from the ravaged of war.
It is the overall objective of this short certificate course on Women in War and Armed Conflicts to prepare activists, development workers, humanitarian and human rights officers and experts who plan to work or already working in conflict territories focusing on gender equality issues, either in relation to the situation and role of women affected by armed conflict or within the peace-keeping operations structure. The course also aims to equip those who want to become specialised in topics such as the impact of war on women, document the systematic violence on women, improved gender analysis and women's contributions to conflict resolution, DDR, and humanitarian assistance.
The e-learning course involves approximately 30 hours of reading, on-line working groups, short assignments, webinars with guest experts, and interaction among students and the instructor, and is offered over an six-week period. The course will integrate active and participatory learning approaches within activities and assignments, with an emphasis on reflective and collaborative learning. Participants will do the required reading, prepare interim and final project assignments, including case studies, and participate in group discussions. The maximum number of course participants is 25. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a Certificate of Participation. It is also possible to audit the course.
Course outline
Week 1. Introduction to the Causes and Consequences of War and Armed Conflicts
Week 2. Impact of the Dynamics of War and Armed conflict Specifically on Women
Week 3. Rape, Sexual Slavery and other Forms of Sexual and Gender Based Violence in War
Week 4. Female Combatants: Women in Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration
Week 5. International Instruments for the Protection of Female Refugees and Internally Displaced Women
Week 6. Psychosocial Intervention and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Armed Conflicts
About the instructor
Indai Sajor is an internationally known activist and educator in the field of women's human rights and conflict prevention and response. She has over twenty years of experience working in countries in situations of war and armed conflicts in Asia and Africa. She was the Programme Manager of Gender Equality project of UNDP Afghanistan and before that as Senior Advisor for UNDP Sudan managing a sexual and gender based violence project (SGBV) in Darfur. Likewise she was senior human rights officer with the UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. In 2003-4 she was awarded the Rockefeller Fellow on Human Security and Gender at the City University of New York. She served as co-convener of the well recognised Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery, an international law landmark initiative that recognized sexual slavery as a crime against humanity. The Tribunal outcome influenced the statutory construction of the International Criminal Court in integrating sexual violence and sexual slavery as war crimes. She is a Visiting Professor at the UN University for Peace in the IPS Masters Programme teaching Gender and Peacebuilding. She has made formative contributions to numerous international feminist networks, in their work connecting women around United Nations world conferences on Human Rights (Vienna 1993), Population (Cairo 1994), Social Development (Copenhagen 1995), Women (Beijing 1995) and the ICC (Rome 1998). Her numerous publications include Documenting Women's Human Rights Violations in Armed Conflict (2005) and Common Grounds: Violence Against Women in War and Armed Conflicts (1998). Ms. Sajor has been a trainer and course instructor for HREA since 2005.
Who should apply
The course is intended for humanitarian and human rights officers, human rights staff of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), NGOs, UN officers intergovernmental and government agencies, women's advocates and feminists, university students of international law, international relations, politics and other areas practitioners who want to learn about women's human rights, and challenges to women's human rights issues. The course is also intended for staff members of UN specialised agencies who want to learn more about women's issues in armed conflict and war context. Participants should have at least basic knowledge on human rights. Participants should have a good written command of English and have high competence and comfort with computer and Internet use. The number of participants is limited to 25 per course. HREA aims to ensure equal gender and geographical distribution across the selected participants. It is also possible to audit the course.
Costs
The course tuition fee is US$ 435. Tuition for auditors is US$ 165. Unfortunately, there are no scholarships available for this course.
Applications
The deadline for applications is 15 April 2011. However, applications are considered on a first-come-first-served basis.
For further information, please visit HREA
Source: UMass Lowell
Date: 10th-12th April 2011
Location: USA, Massachusetts
Renowned women leaders from around the world will come to UMass Lowell next week for a first-of-its kind summit on advancing social change that will include a special honor for a leader of South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement.
The International Women Leaders’ Summit on Security through Economic and Social Development will bring together delegations from Africa, Colombia, Egypt, Israel and Northern Ireland to discuss their common goal: creating lasting peace and security in their home nations.
The summit – set for Sunday, April 10 through Tuesday, April 12 at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center – will feature a variety of events, including opportunities for the international delegations to share their experiences and best practices, as well as programs where the public can learn more about the challenges the women leaders face in their home nations. Plans also include the launch of a global network of women leaders that will establish international bridges to promote peace and security through supporting economic and social development, as well as foster partnerships with women leaders in Massachusetts.
“At a time when the most vexing challenges threaten world security, it is fitting to bring together other voices that hold up ‘half the sky’ to contribute the wisdom, intellect, insight, experience, diversity, creativity and capacity to address solutions to global security through social and economic development. The women participating in this summit bring perspectives unique in their knowledge, comprehensive in their scope and practical in their execution,” said UMass Senior Vice President Marcellette Williams, who developed the initial idea for the summit with UMass Lowell’s 2010 Greeley Scholar for Peace, Prof. Gavriel Solomon of Israel’s University of Haifa.
For many of the nearly two-dozen delegates, some of whom rarely travel outside their home countries, the summit will provide their only opportunity to meet in person.
“The summit will create a unique space for women leaders from many nations to learn from each other’s experiences in advancing social and economic well-being, the foundation of any viable, peaceful world. Each woman is a story of courage and the summit will allow a community to be born to unite their collective wisdom,” said Prof. Paula Rayman, director of UMass Lowell’s Middle East Center for Peace, Development and Culture and chairwoman of the committee presenting the summit. “Our hope for the summit is to then share this knowledge with others here and abroad and thus move all of us closer to a better future.”
During the summit, UMass Lowell will present an honorary doctoral degree to Barbara Hogan, who has served the people of South Africa for nearly 35 years, first in the anti-apartheid movement with the African National Congress – which saw her arrested, tortured and imprisoned for her activism – and later in the new South African government. Hogan was a member of parliament for more than a decade before holding senior government positions, including minister of public enterprise, until November 2010. She was named to the TIME 100, the annual list of the most influential people in the world, in 2009. The ceremony will be held on Monday, April 11 at 6 p.m. The event is open to the public, but advance registration is required; contact Victoria Denoon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
“We are honored to recognize Barbara Hogan with an honorary doctorate of humane letters for her more than three decades of activism to bring peace and equality to all citizens of South Africa,” said UMass Lowell Executive Vice Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney, who will speak at the summit.
The other public event during the summit features Leymah Gbowee of Liberia, this year’s UMass Lowell Greeley Scholar for Peace, whose heroic work is the subject of the noted film “Pray the Devil Back to Hell.” The documentary will be screened on Sunday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. and will feature a discussion with Gbowee and the filmmaker, renowned Liberian journalist Janet Johnson-Bryant, who is pursuing a graduate degree at UMass Lowell. Admission to this event is free and reservations are not required. The screening will be held at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell.
Summit participants are also scheduled to include:
· Mona Makram-Ebeid of Egypt, founding member of the Arab Organization for Human Rights and the Egyptian Council for Foreign Relations, and a former member of parliament in the People’s Assembly of Egypt.
· Amani Kandil of Egypt, a member of the United Nations Sub-commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and executive director of the Arab Network for NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in Cairo.
· Gila Svirsky of Israel, founding member of the Coalition of Women for Peace, a group of eight Israeli and Palestinian organizations.
· Robi Damelin and Seham S.A. Ikhlayel, both of Israel, and members of The Parents’ Circle, a group of bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families supporting reconciliation and peace. Damelin’s son was killed while serving in the Israeli army. Ikhlayel’s brother was killed by an Israeli soldier and her mother imprisoned for political activities. The women travel together to share their message of peace.
· Monica McWilliams of Ireland, chairwoman of the National Irish Human Rights Coalition.
· Margaret Ward of Northern Ireland, director of the Women’s Resource and Development Agency and a founding member of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition.
· Rosa Jiménez Ahumada of Colombia, director of the Center for Internal Displacement at the University of Cartagena and coordinator of the Bolívar chapter of the Caribbean Citizens’ Reconciliation Commission.
· Marta Ines Romero of Colombia, the Latin American and the Caribbean coordinator for Pax Christi International, a Catholic organization for peace.
In addition to the international participants, Massachusetts women leaders will participate in the summit, including: Linda Sou, director of the Lowell Community Health Center’s Teen Coalition and president of the board of the Angkor Dance Troupe; Josefina Vazquez, executive director of the Boston Women’s Fund, which supports community-based groups run by women working to create racial, economic and social justice; Jessica Andors, deputy director of Lawrence Community Works, a $2.5 million community development corporation with more than 3,000 members and more than $30 million invested in affordable housing.
The summit concludes on Monday, April 11 when the delegations will sign the Lowell Declaration, a document that brings together the lessons they have learned and their visions for future efforts. A public, international web site will be launched to sustain interaction and expand the educational outreach to the larger global audience.
Source: Prayer for Peace in Congo
Date: March, 31st 2011
Location: United Kingdom, London
House of Parliament event
The DR Congo lecture hosted at the Houses of Parliament with the following topic:
The Renaissance of the post- conflict women in DRC
We warmly invite you to take part in this Lecture on Thursday 31 March 2011 from 3pm to 5pm,
at the House of Commons.
Main Speaker: Archbishop of Canterbury International Development Secretary
Reverend Rachel Carnegie, David Pain Associate Director Christian Aid
Invited not confirm: RT H Harriet Harman MP Shadow Deputy Secretary, RT Hon Douglas
Alexander MP Shadow foreign Affair, and RT H David Lammy MP
Registration:
Patron by The Right Reverend Lord Michael Scott-Joynt Bishop of Winchester and Lord David Alton of Liverpool
Please note: An email confirmation will be sent to validate your attendance
Source: AllAfrica
Date: March, 28th 2011
Location: Ehtiopia, Addis-Abeba
The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) will hold an open session on "Women and Children in Armed Conflicts" on Monday, 28 March 2011 at the Headquarters of the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The event, which has been institutionalized in 2010, will provide an opportunity to the survivors of sexual violence and representatives of grassroots rehabilitation projects to address the PSC. Speakers will also include relevant departments of the AU Commission, the Panel of the Wise and Mrs Margot Wallstrom, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General against sexual violence.
For the record, the 2010 briefing of the PSC on "Women and Children in Armed Conflicts", held in the framework of the Year of Peace and Security in Africa, provided a general overview of the scope of the issue. It coincided with the celebration of the 10th Year Anniversary of UN Resolution 1325, the thematic reflection of the Panel of the Wise on "Women and Children in Armed Conflicts" and the launch of the African Women Decade.
Journalists are invited to attend throughout, in the balcony, the open session with the exception of the interactive discussions and the adoption of the communiqué. A press conference is scheduled to take place at the end of the PSC meeting. The panel will include the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Lamamra Ramtane, the Chair of the PSC for March (Nigeria), the Panel of the Wise and Mrs Margot Wallstrom, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General against sexual violence
Date: 23 March 2011
Location: United Kingdom, London
Associate Parliamentary Group on Women, Peace and Security
in association with
Gender Action for Peace and Security UK
cordially invite you to a panel debate and launch of the new book
Women Peace and Security: Translating Policy into Practice
Edited by Funmi Olonisakin, Karen Barnes, and Eka Ikpe
23 March 2011 ● 18.00
Committee Room 7, House of Commons
Chair: Madeline Moon MP, Vice Chair, APG on Women, Peace and Security
The discussion will focus on the implementation of the UN’s commitments on women, peace and security. The book itself brings together findings from eight conflict-affected countries and four regional organisations to explore how gender issues have been addressed in conflict-affected contexts and integrated into peacebuilding and peacekeeping missions.
SPEAKERS
Karen Barnes – Gender Project Coordinator, OECD and co-author of the book
Lesley Abdala – GAPS member and contributor to the book
Lindsey Hilsum – Channel 4 News
Please RSVP to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to confirm your attendance.
No Women, No Peace is a campaign by Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS UK), a network of 14 human rights and development organisations working to support women in conflict and post-conflict situations. The No Women, No Peace campaign highlights the fact that women are an immense untapped resource for peace building and their contributions are vital for security and building stable societies.
Guest should enter the Palace of Westminster at the Cromwell Green (St Stephen’s Gate) entrance. Once you have passed through the security check point the visitor assistance will give directs to Committee Room 7 which is located on the Main Committee Corridor. Stair free access is available, please advise when you RSVP if this is required. Guests should arrive 15 minutes early to pass through the security check.
Events
This section provides details about current events that are being held worldwide. The events advertized are not limited to international organizations, but local NGOs and everything in between. The topics usually deal with cross-cutting issues, and range from Women, Peace and Security; Political Participation, Economic Empowerment, Violence Against Women to HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Rights.
Please hit the date button in the orange banner to list the most current events. The country listed in the title, is where the event is taking place.