Jakarta – “Women do belong at the peace table and we are losing a bigger chance of peace if women are not provided equal opportunity to contribute”, stated Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic Indonesia, H.E. Retno Marsudi in her welcoming address at the introductory meeting with the six members of the Southeast Asian Network of Women Peace Negotiators and Mediators (SEANWPNM) Steering Committee through video teleconference on Wednesday, 23 December 2020.
The SEANWPNM as a network of women negotiators and mediators in Southeast Asia was initiated by Indonesia since 2019. It is a significant step in increasing the role of women in peace processes.
Minster Retno Marsudi expressed her hope that SEANWPNM could complement and reinforce existing Woman, Peace, and Security (WPS)-related mechanisms and initiatives in ASEAN and the region, as well as international advocacy for the WPS agenda through collaboration and partnership with similar mediation networks and other organizations both in the region and at the global level.
In addition, the existence of the SEANWPNM could engender new generation of women mediators from the region as it would strengthen the global movement to advance the WPS agenda.
The 6 members of the SEANWPNM Steering Committee are prominent women mediators in the region namely Shadia Marhaban from Indonesia, Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer from the Philippines, Dr. Emma Leslie from Cambodia, Lilianne Fan from Malaysia, Leonésia Tecla da Silva from Timor-Leste and Angkhana Neelapaijit from Thailand. They are members of the SEANWPNM in their personal capacity, and not representing their country nor institution.
During the introductory meeting, Shadia Marhaban spoke on behalf of the Steering Committee members and expressed the commitment of the SEANWPNM to increase the reach and visibility of women mediators and negotiators in Southeast Asia as a valuable mediation and peacebuilding resource pool for the global community to mobilize.
Moreover, Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized the importance of cultural approach and avoid finger pointing in striving for lasting peace while addressing the root causes of conflict.
The establishment of SEANWPNM has finally put Southeast Asia’s seal on women mediators’ network in the region and joins others, such as Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, Africa, the Commonwealth and Arab that already has a regional women mediator network of its own.
To date, women remain severely under-represented in mediation and negotiation of peace processes. Although many studies have identified that the role of women can increase the likelihood of sustained peace, but their representation in peace processes is often underrated. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, there were only 10% women negotiators in Afghan peace talks, 20% of negotiators in Libya’s political discussions, and almost none in the recent Yemen peace process.
The issue of Women, Peace and Security (WPS) is indeed very dear to Minister Retno’s heart, who is the Indonesia’s first female foreign minister. Minister Retno Marsudi has witnessed the plight of women as victims of the conflict while visiting Rohingya refugees at Cox’s Bazaar as well as Palestinian refugees in Amman. She realized that they refuse to only become the victims of conflicts and aspire to be the agents of peace.
During the launch of the Global Alliance of Regional Women Mediator Networks at the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in 2019, Minister Retno saw representatives from various Regional Women Mediator Networks, such as Africa, the Nordic countries, Mediterranean, and the Commonwealth, but there were none from Asia. It was at that time that Minister Retno expressed her wish that in 2020 Southeast Asia would establish its own regional network.
anang
