The UAE and the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) have signed an agreement to support the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda.
The agreement signed by Lana Nusseibeh, ambassador of the UAE to the UN and Rosemary DiCarlo, under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs further aims to enhance the voices of women, youth, and persons with disabilities in UN-assisted peace processes.
Under the partnership, the UAE will contribute $800,000 in two years to help fund DPPA projects to increase women’s meaningful participation in peace and post-conflict processes, namely through decision-making and mediation roles in line with the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), which established the WPS agenda.
Women’s leadership in such processes increases the sustainability of peace agreements and enhances economic growth in the aftermath of conflict. The contribution will also be dedicated to providing support in mediation and peace and dialogue processes around the world.
Lana Nusseibeh Ambassador UAE UN
“Enhancing women’s full and meaningful participation in peace and security matters is vital for effective 21st-century peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and recovery. Building on the UAE’s longstanding commitment to the WPS agenda, our partnership with DPPA helps to ensure that peace processes will deliver long-term security and economic benefits by including and empowering women. Advancing the role of women as community and business leaders is a core pillar of the UAE’s vision for a UN Security Council seat in the 2022-2023 term.”
WPS is an important part of our work because we know from experience that when women are at the table, peace agreements are more likely to be held and the benefits of peace are enjoyed more broadly, Ms. DiCarlo added, “the support of the UAE is invaluable. Such contributions allow us to make a difference in peace and mediation efforts globally.”
Positioning women at the front of all peace and security efforts, including conflict prevention and resolution, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, is a longstanding foreign policy priority of the UAE.
In 2019, the UAE and UN Women launched the Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak WPS Initiative, which has trained over 300 women cadets from the Arab region, Asia, and Africa so far, and aims to increase women’s representation and their equal inclusion in the security sector.
