WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

http://apwaps.net/2014/08/02/about-apwaps/

Asia-Pacific Women's Alliance for Peace & Security

The Asia-Pacific Women’s Alliance for Peace and Security : A space for collaboration and conversations across Asia and the Pacific to bring about the kind of peace and security that matters to women.

Women’s rights continue to be violated in conflict. Gender inequality continues to breed violence. Gender-based violence is too often perpetuated with impunity. Women’s roles in building peace remain largely unrecognised.   Women in conflict areas are often invisible and their voices go unheard.

Although there are international instruments intended to promote women’s peace and security, as well as national legislation in some countries, this policy architecture is not making a significant difference to women, particularly in conflict-affected communities.

Greater action and accountability is needed for the meaningful implementation of existing instruments, together with new commitments to bring about the kind of peace and security that matters to women.

Recognising the need to work more effectively and combine efforts to bring about the kind of security that matters to women, a group of feminist organisations, women human rights defenders, women peacebuilders and others from across Asia and the Pacific.

The Alliance aims to facilitate collaboration and conversations to work for a women, peace and security (WPS) agenda that places local women at the center. This is an agenda that prioritises the concerns of women most directly impacted by conflict, respects women’s agency, upholds women’s human rights, stresses accountability, challenges discriminatory norms and practices – and will be achieved through a transformational shift in power relations between men and women.

The Alliance has set an immediate goal of utilising WPS-related policy process in 2014-15, including Beijing +20, the High Level Review of UNSCR 1325, post-2015 SDG process, among others. We will do this through advocacy, capacity building, knowledge building and networking.

This Alliance aims to link up existing actions, connect organisations, deepen conversations and expand access to information on the women, peace and security agenda. It is a regional initiative to respond to the specific concerns of women in Asia-Pacific region, as well as to generate political will and accountability at the regional and sub-regional levels.