| Posted: May 04 2005,14:20 |
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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? |
BFWG
adopted a Resolution on 1325 at its AGM in 2003: ‘BFWG urges HM
Government, the European Union and the United Nations to give proper
weight to the contributions women and women’s organisations can make to
critical issues of world peace and security’.
Reports on 1325
have appeared in the bi-monthly NEWS and on the website, and a Day
Conference was planned for February 2005 - ‘PEACE; CONFLICT,
COMMUNICATION AND ...’. The Conference was cancelled
due to lack of support. A minimum of 30 and a
maximum of 50 people were needed to make the Conference
viable.
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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BFWG
is a small organisation with Local Associations throughout the UK.
Many members are elderly/retired, and are reluctant to
travel, other than to the AGM and an annual Seminar at the House of
Commons. 6 events between 5.2.05 and 5.3.05 probably
affected the numbers registering for the Peace Conference, and Peace
events are not a priority either nationall or locally. In the
May issue of NEWS, members of BFWG have been asked to give their
reasons for not coming to the Peace Conference.
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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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Workshops
at AGMs in 2003 and 2004 0n 1325 have taken place, letters have gone to
MPs, and the Ministers for Women (Patricia Hewitt and Jacqui Smith).
Members of BFWG’s International Network have been circulated
twice by the Network Co-ordinator, Griselda Kenyon who has been
President of the International Federation of University Women
(IFUW) since August 2004. Individual members of BFWG have
brought 1325 to the attention of their Local and Regional Associations
in Manchester and Liverpool. The Canadian High Commission in
London invited members of women’s organisations, including BFWG,
to see the film ‘Peace by Peace. Women on the Front Lines’
in June 2004, filmed in Afghanistan, Argentina,
Bosnia-Herzogovina, Burundi and the US. BFWG members
attended the IFUW Triennial Conference in Perth, Australia in
August 2004, and ran and participated in relevant workshops in
support of 1325. A Resolution and Plan of Action to
fully implement 1325 by analysing policy decisions affecting women’s
participation and by promoting training at all levels, was agreed at
the Conference.
I am not aware of any BFWG event to mark
the International Day of Peace on 21st September or International
Women’s Day on March 8th. I attended a local event to mark
the occasion in Redditch, Worcestershire, addressed by Jacqui Smith,
Deputy Minister for Women.
BFWG member Nancy Catchpole has passed on information from her contact with the UK Women’s Link with Afghan women.
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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? |
BFWG
was founded in 1907 and is part of IFUW which works to improve the
lives of women and girls, and fosters, local, national and
international friendship. IFUW is in Consultative Status
with UNIFEM, the UN Development Fund for Women. BFWG is
represented on the Women’s National Commission (WNC) and is a member of
Six-O. BFWG is also represented on the National Council
of Women (NCW).
I (Lorna Archer) have been a member of BFWG for
13 years. More recently I have discovered the
‘Network for Peace’ and ‘Control Arms’. I have
joined the Women’s International League for Peace and
Freedom (WILPF), the National Assembly of Women (NAW) and the ministry
for peace. BFWG forwarded to me information about a
meeting of the ministry for peace at the House of Commons in December
2004. I attended and met the Principal of the Hope
Flowers School in Bethlehem where Arab and Israeli children have been
educated together, and members of ‘The Peace Foundation Network’ and
the ‘Centre for Non-Violent Communication’.
I took part as
an individual in the European Social Forum(ESF) in London last
October, which put me in touch with the ‘World March of Women’ and
‘Women in Black’. Through BFWG, I was invited to the ‘
Soroptomists’ International’ AGM in October 2004 where I met
Hilary Jeune, of the ‘United Network of Young Peacebuilders’ (UNOY),
and guest speaker Elizabeth Rehn who co- wrote ‘ WOMEN, WAR and
PEACE’.
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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)? |
There
are no plans for BFWG to put on another Peace Conference. BFWG’s
AGM in July may include a workshop and/or another Resolution.
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Postal address of organization
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4, Mandeville Courtyard, 142, Battersea Park Road, London SW11 4NB, UK
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E-mail address of organization
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bfwg@bfwg.demon.co.uk
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Website address of organization
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www.bfwg.org.uk
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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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Education for a Culture of Peace
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Highest priority country of action (or international)
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BFWG is part of IFUW, an international organisation with members in more than 70 countries.
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Second priority country of action (or international)
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