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by Marijke Kremin

On 24 October 2018, the Friedrich-Ebert- Stiftung, the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP), and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), working in partnership within the Prevention Up Front (PuF) Alliance, convened a side event to the annual UN Security Council (UNSC) Open Debate on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS).

The event brought together a diverse group of gender experts from across the globe to discuss women’s roles in conflict and atrocity prevention. The panel of experienced practitioners discussed the benefits of and best practices for integrating and including women peacebuilders in prevention work. Their interventions reflected their own personal experiences in incorporating and increasing the meaningful participation of women in peace processes, to establish sustainable peace and build resilient societies.

The need for gender-responsive mechanisms at all levels, especially when addressing root causes of conflict and creating space for communication, both through networks as well as official channels, were also stressed. A forthcoming policy brief from the event, to be released in 2019, will generate concrete action points ahead of the UN Commission on the Status of Women meetings in March 2019.

In an effort to build the capacities of civil society representatives to better operationalize the Responsibility to Protect in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, the ICRtoP conducted trainings in Beirut, Lebanon in December 2018 on atrocity prevention and RtoP. The trainings were conducted in partnership with the Permanent Peace Movement (PPM) and took place on the margins of the assembly of the regional configuration of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (MENA-PPAC).

The trainings aimed to encourage CSOs to further incorporate atrocity prevention lenses into their programming, strengthen regional networks and establish information-sharing channels among actors at all levels, by building the capacity of practitioners already working on conflict prevention and other linked development, human rights, and peace and security agendas.

Marijke Kremin is a Program Associate at the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect at the WFM- IGP office in New York