Women's peace centre for Namibia

Women's peace centre for Namibia Namibia intends to establish a Women's Peace Centre which will focus on national, regional and international conflict resolution.

It will also focus on conflict management activities, including mediation and negotiations.

This was said by international relations minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at the Women, Peace and Security Focal Point Network meeting that took place this week in Windhoek.

The meeting took place under the theme, 'Women, Peace and Security (WPS): Towards Full Participation', with the sub-theme 'Mainstreaming the WPS Agenda in Regional Economic Communities'. Nandi-Ndaitwah said there should be institutions and structures in place to ensure the seamless implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in order to match the desired results of increased participation of women in peace processes.

Therefore, Namibia will be establishing the centre. She said the centre will further focus on capacity building by providing workshops and pre-deployment training for peacekeepers, while contributing to the maintenance of peace in general.

“In this regard we call on the international community and our developing partners to support the establishment of the centre,” said Nandi-Ndaitwah.

She further said that Namibia, as a member of SADC, will continue to ensure that women play a greater role in peacekeeping operations.

According to her Namibian police officers, correctional officers and military officers are currently deployed in three peacekeeping missions, among which Namibia has continued deploying qualified female officers.

These are the African Union/United Nations hybrid operation for Darfur, the United Nations mission in South Sudan and the United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei, Sudan.

In December last year Namibia achieved the Department of Peacekeeping Operation's target of 15% for women participating in peacekeeping missions.

On January 15 officers including three women were deployed to the UN-AU hybrid operation in Darfur.

“We encourage all police and troop-contributing member states to strive to achieve this minimum target.”

According to her the 2018 report to the UN secretary-general on Women, Peace and Security noted the increase in the number of women deployed as contingent commanders as well as the fact that several missions have female police and military peacekeeper networks and military and police gender advisors.

“Despite this, the representation of women among military troops and police officers remains unacceptably low at 4% and 10% respectively.”

Nandi-Ndaitwah said the report also issued a stern warning that these numbers are at risk of further decreasing in the coming years through the imminent downsizing of several peacekeeping missions.

She said that while recognising the important roles women play in peace-making, peacekeeping and peace building, mechanisms should be broadened and measures thought of to prevent conflicts and war by completely disarming and silencing guns.



ELLANIE SMIT