Mª Teresa Fernández de la Vega closes the conference “Women, Peace and Security: Addressing Armed Conflicts from a Gender Perspective”.

Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Yesterday, the Higher Center for National Defense Studies (CESEDEN) hosted the event “Women, Peace, and Security: Addressing Armed Conflicts from a Gender Perspective.” The gathering brought together distinguished experts and human rights advocates to explore the vital role of women in managing and resolving conflicts, as well as the urgent need to protect the rights of women and girls in areas affected by armed conflict. The event was grounded in the principles of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which underscores the importance of women’s involvement in peace processes.

 

The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, inaugurated the event which included two panel discussions. The first, titled “Women in Armed Conflicts: Realities and Challenges,” included Khadija Amin, journalist and president of Hope of Freedom (Afghanistan), and Lina Ekomo, advisor for Women for Peace (Central African Republic). The second panel, “A Gender Perspective: A Key Path to Building Peace,” welcomed Viktoriia Honcharuk, paramedic with “Hospitalliers” (Ukraine), Sister Lucía Caram (Argentina), and Juan Carlos Cruz Chellew from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (Chile). Throughout these sessions, panelists shared strategies for incorporating gender perspectives in sustainable peacebuilding and discussed the importance of international collaboration in child protection through initiatives like the Global Safe Schools Initiative and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on children in armed conflict.

 

Mª Teresa Fernández de la Vega, president of Women for Africa, closed the event, emphasizing the need to continue advancing public policies focused on empowering African women. She highlighted how the leadership and resilience of women across the continent are critical to Africa’s growth and development. “I’m always reminded of something Gertrude Mongella, Tanzanian ambassador and first president of the Pan-African Parliament, once told me: ‘African women are survivors, and every day they help the African continent survive,’” shared Fernández de la Vega, who has collaborated with African leaders for over a decade on projects in political leadership, peace, and security.