Who's making policy?
What difference does it make?

An international conference on gender-inclusive decision
making for peace with justice

October 18-20, 2006
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice
San Diego, CA

Co-Convened by
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice (IPJ), and
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

Panel Partnerships:
Boston Consortium on Gender, Security and Human Rights,
Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF),
Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), and
Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP)

Apply to be a conference delegate (click here)
Brief Speaker Bios (click here)

International resolutions and agreements call for women to be at all policymaking tables.  This is an international working conference on the shaping of peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding policies when women are more engaged. Experts will present signs of influence on policy direction as women and men work jointly on peace and human security issues.  Challenges to women's inclusion in, and within, decision-making bodies in multiple spheres of power will be exposed.  Delegates and speakers will explore positive outcomes, as well as inherent roadblocks, in efforts to hold governments, political parties, peacekeepers, armed forces, corporations, religious institutions and civil society accountable for progress in incorporating women as essential partners and voices in peace negotiations, demobilization and disarmament, reconciliation, reconstruction and development, and creation of new constitutions.

Peacebuilding in the twenty-first century is a complex process.  It is essential to understand how gender-inclusive decision making in four key sectors can affect and influence peace processes.  Distinguished representatives from governments, corporations, peacekeeping and armed forces, and the religious sector who are charged with setting the priorities for conflict prevention, negotiations, or postconflict transitions and healing will update conference delegates.  We will look at progress in implementation of the international policy frameworks calling for equal participation of men and women in decision making in their respective sectors.* 

In addition panel presentations, a series of knowledge-building, working sessions will give delegates the opportunity to directly engage with and learn from one another and build cross-sector networks and alliances. Delegates will be able to gather and synthesize from the global reports on successes and challenges to gender equality in consultations and decision making on such topics as going to war, peace negotiations, peacekeeping, and postconflict activities including securing more equal roles in political, legislative, reconstruction, and constitutional framing bodies.

This will be the third Women PeaceMakers Conference at the IPJ, supported by funding from the Fred J. Hansen Foundation.  It builds on the 2004 "Promoting Women's Equal Participation in Peace & Security Processes: Operationalizing UN Security Council Resolution 1325"** and the 2005 "Global Women's Court of Accountability, Public Hearing on Gross Violations of Women's Human Rights in Conflict and the Power of International Instruments to Address Gender-based Crimes."***  With the 2006 IPJ Women PeaceMakers in residence and colleagues from the front lines of conflict transformation around the world, we trust this program will open wider the doors to cross-sector partnerships and deeper understanding of the importance of peace with justice that includes women and men working together. 

Conference fee is $120.00 and $60.00 for students. Distinguished speakers will be listed as they are confirmed and an agenda will be on line as of September 1.

 *Primary international policy frameworks include: Beijing Platform for Action (Paragraph 181), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Article 7), and UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
**http://peace.sandiego.edu/reports/ConferenceReports/1325.html ***http://peace.sandiego.edu/programs/GlobalWomensCourtPg.html

For more information or questions about the conference, please contact WPMconference@sandiego.edu.