| Posted: April 10 2005,05:28 |
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PROGRESS: Has your organization seen
progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of
action and in your constituency during the first half of the Decade? |
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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ACTIONS: What actions have been
undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the first half of the Decade?
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Introduction
The Federation of African Women's Peace Networks is composed of African Women's national peace movements.
The
Federation of African Women's Peace Networks was formed by a group of
13 women's peace movements at the NGO forum of the fifth African
Regional Conference on Women in Dakar, Senegal, held 13-23 September
1994. The group met at the UNIFEM's African Women in crisis Program
(AFWIC) sponsored Peace Tent and resolved to constitute a provisional
Coordinating Committee for the Network, composed of the 13 women's
peace movements who drafted and signed the resolution. The Coordinating
Committee was charged to draft the constitution. The network members
met later in KIGALI in February 1997 at the Pan African conference on
peace, gender and development to review and adopt the
constitution. The Network members finally met in New York in
February 1998 at the start of the United Nations Commission on the
Status of Women (CSW) and officially launched the Federation of African
Women Peace Networks (FERFAP).
The main goal of the Federation
is to contribute to the coordination, rationalization and development
of activities aimed at the participation of women in efforts to
prevent, manage and resolve conflicts and consolidate peace in Africa.
Membership (See below in Partnerships and Networks)
Aims and Objectives
The aims and objectives of FERFAP are:
*
To create an institutional framework of women's peace movements to
participate in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts
and in the consolidation of peace in Africa.
* To co-ordinate
and rationalize the development of activities aimed at the
participation of women in the field of conflict prevention and
resolution .
* To act as a network for its members,
provide information for members, the general public, the governments of
African countries, national, regional and international private and
public organizations particularly as regards to the activities
and projects existing in the various sectors relating to the
prevention, management and resolution of conflicts and to peace in
Africa.
* To promote the protection and rights of refugees and
internally displaced persons in situations of conflicts and during
rehabilitation and reconstruction.
* To consult among its
members on the one hand and collaborate with national and international
NGO's, foundations, relevant United Nations Agencies, intergovernmental
agencies and civil society groups in the furtherance of peace in
African on the other hand.
* To promote the work of
Women's peace organizations in Africa by identifying and strengthening
peace initiatives and solidarity at local, national and international
levels .
* To cultivate and promote the principles of democracy
and good governance as a factor in the prevention of conflicts and
maintaining peace in Africa.
* To promote a culture of peace in
Africa through Education, Training, Research and Communication for the
purpose of preventing, managing and resolving conflicts
* To
participate in advocacy and encourage the equal participation of women
at local, national and regional level in the prevention, management and
resolution of conflicts and maintenance of peace in Africa.
* To
collaborate with local institutions, national and international NGO's
and governments on the promotion and support of universal disarmament,
adoption and implementation of international laws, conventions and
agreements by African Governments for the maintenance of peace in
Africa.
Activities To-Date
* The members have worked together since 1993 under the auspices of the African Women Crisis Programme (AFWIC) of UNIFEM.
* Members participated in the elaboration of the 1993 Kampala Plan of Action on Women and Peace in Africa.
*
They also actively participated in the Fourth World Conference on Women
in September 1995 and contributed to the strategic objectives of the
Beijing Platform for Action, calling for women's participation in
conflict resolution at the highest levels of decision making.
*
They have undertaken solidarity and peace missions to several troubled
countries including Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali,
Ethiopia and Eritrea. Support to Sudan, Somalia and a few others have
been done outside these countries for security reasons.
* FERFAP members were among the first to take, physically, a solidarity message to RWANDA in 1994, soon after the Genocide.
*
While visiting Rwanda and BURUNDI in 1995, they alerted African
governments, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), United Nations
and others of the impending conflict in Eastern Zaire (Democratic
Republic of Congo). Their calls were ignored and unfortunately what
they feared erupted and the conflict in Eastern DRC took place
*
In 1998, FERFAP members also met with OAU on the conflict between
Ethiopia and Eritrea and its impact on the lives of children and women
in both countries.
* FERFAP members with the support of Unifem
availed the peace torch at both the DAKAR (1994) African preparation
meeting for Beijing and in Beijing (1995). They championed the call for
peace through the peace torch, which has traveled to some troubled
spots in Africa . The torch was moved to Eastern Europe at the height
of conflict in that region.
* FERFAP members have contributed to training and other forms of capacity building towards peace.
*
The members have contributed to local, national and international peace
fora. FERFAP members collected signatures for peace for the HAGUE Peace
Appeal and participated in the global effort.
* FERFAP is also
founding member of the "UBUNTU WORLD FORUM OF CIVIL SOCIETY" based in
BARCELONA which is now campaigning for a profound reform of
international organizations and institutions targeting world equity for
the populations of all country members.
* The members
participated also in the ZANZIBAR African Peace conference, and
contributed to the ZANZIBAR Peace declaration in 1999.
* In
1999, FERFAP was among the sponsors of the all Africa Conference on
Positive African traditional practices for conflict resolution and
reconciliation in ADDIS ABBEBA.
* FERFAP members
who have experienced conflicts in their respective countries proved
their worth as champions of peace in their own localities. Most of them
became afterwards members of Parliament; ministers and even Ambassadors.
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ADVICE: What advice would you like to
give to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to promote a
culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the Decade? |
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PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
The following are full members of the Federation :
* SOS Femmes en Détresse (Algeria);
* The Roots of Peace Organization (Angola);
* Réseau Femmes Africaines et Droits Humains; REFAD (Burkina Faso);
* Femmes pour la paix- REMESHA AMAHORO(BURUBNDI);
* Collectifs des Associations et ONG's Féminines du Burundi, CAFOB (Burundi);
* Réseau des Femmes Burundaises Pour la Paix et la Non Violence (Burundi);
* Union des femmes pour la paix (Tchad);
* Comité National des Femmes pour la paix (Congo);
* The Liberian Women Peace Initiative (Liberia);
* Mouvement National des Femmes pour la sauvegarde de la Paix et de L'Unité Nationale (Mali) ;
* Mulheres Mocambicanas Pela Paz (Mozambique);
* Forum des femmes Rwandaises Parlementaires (Rwanda);
* L'association des Volontaires de la Paix (Rwanda);
* PRO-FEMMES/TWESE HAMWE (Rwanda);
* Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (Sierra Leone);
* IIDA Women's Development Organization (Somalia);
* Dulmar for Women for Development,
* Advocacy and Peace (Somaliland);
* Women for Peace (South Africa);
* Ahfad University for Women (Sudan);
* Sudanese Women's Voice for Peace (Sudan);
* Zusa Senanga (Zambia).
FERFAP
hopes to enlist additional members from African countries working for
the prevention of conflicts and for the promotion of a culture of peace
in Africa.
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence in the second half of the Decade (2005-2010)? |
With its full functioning secretariat, FERFAP will focus on the following actions for the three forthcoming years:
*
establish sub regional offices (peace tents) as peace resource centres
in peace making, peace building, peace training and in women's economic
empowerment;
* Organize peace missions in countries under
conflict, in transition towards democracy , in post conflict or under
special circumstances for experiences sharing;
* Network with local, regional, international women's and UN related organizations;
* Conduct research and gather documentation on best practices on women, peace and development;
*
Organize lobby and advocacy for the implementation of the Kampala,
Dakar, Kigali, Zanzibar and AU summit declarations as well as Beijing
platform of action and the UN resolution 1325;
* Elaborate strategies for positioning women in decision making;
*
Put in place or maximize benefit from the already existing training
institutions for women like the AWLI (African Women Leadership
Institute) based in UGANDA;
* Encourage and support solidarity networking between women leaders at national, regional and international level;
* Link up with national organizations for capacity building at the community level;
* Get connected to economic, regional organizations like ECOWAS, SADEC, IGAD, COMESA etc.
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Postal address of organization
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BP 2758
Kigali, Rwanda
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E-mail address of organization
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mabobori@yahoo.com
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Website address of organization
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Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Equality of women
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Second priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Highest priority country of action (or international)
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International - Africa
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Second priority country of action (or international)
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