Ministerial launch of the IDPS 2019-21 Peace Vision
The IDPS 2019-21 Peace Vision (French version) was successfully launched on 15 July 2019 during a side event at the High-level Political Forum in New York. The Peace Vision is a jointly developed framework that builds on existing international agendas including the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda, the Sustaining Peace Agenda, the Conflict Prevention Agenda and the United Nations/World Bank’s Pathways for Peace report.
Download the concept note for the ministerial launch in English and French.
Ms. Elissa Golberg, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy, Global Affairs Canada, opened the event on behalf of the Canadian government and in particular, the Canadian co-chair of the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (IDPS), Maryam Monsef, Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality. She noted that the Peace Vision is a blueprint for how the three constituencies of the IDPS will collaborate together into the future to drive positive change in countries experiencing conflict, fragility and violence.
H.E. Francis Kaikai, Minister of Planning and Economic Development in Sierra Leone and co-chair of the IDPS, led the event, supported by the following ministers:
- H.E. Deqa Yasin Hagi Yusuf, Minister of Women and Human Rights Development, Somalia (via pre-recorded video)
- H.E. Félix Moloua, Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation, Central African Republic
- H.E. Gisèle Pana, Minister for the Promotion of Women, Family and Child Protection, Central African Republic
- H.E. Priscilla Schwartz, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Sierra Leone
- H.E. Alpha Timbo, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Sierra Leone
- H.E. Nabeela Tunis, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Sierra Leone
Speeches
In his opening statement, H.E. Francis Kaikai called attention to the Peace Vision’s overarching goal of delivering increased, better-targeted and more effective country-owned peacebuilding and statebuilding that will amplify and sustain efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda with a focus on SDG 16. He highlighted the commitments in the Peace Vision, against which IDPS members will hold themselves accountable, and looked forward to the implementation of the jointly developed framework.
H.E. Deqa Yasin Hagi Yusuf, Minister of Women and Human Rights Development in Somalia spoke of efforts to revise Somalia’s constitution and electoral laws, thereby providing a unique opportunity to empower women to contribute to building sustainable peace and development. She said that by securing progressive constitutional gender equality provisions, it was possible to lay a critical foundation for the advancement of women’s rights throughout the statebuilding process, citing the example of the Somali Women’s Charter in her country. Watch her video message online.
Panel discussion
Mr. Jorge Moreira da Silva, Director of the Development Co-operation Directorate at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), spoke of the need for donors and multilateral institutions to create incentives for private sector investment in conflict-affected situations, referring to the Kampala Principles on Effective Private Sector Engagement in Development Cooperation. He added that the Peace Vision’s recognition of the private sector’s role in supporting peacebuilding presented a great opportunity to make progress in this area.
Mr. Theophilus Ekpon, Chair of the Executive Committee of the Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (CSPPS) called attention to the importance of an enabling policy environment to counter attempts to shrink civic space in conflict-affected situations. Other essential elements of an enabling environment include security for civil society actors working in conflict situations; sustained funding; and capacity building so that they can fulfil their crucial role of holding governments to account.
H.E. Félix Moloua, Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation, Central African Republic highlighted the role of partnership and sustained dialogue, both internally and with international partners, in his country’s ongoing path towards peace, economic stability, and national cohesion. He noted the importance of implementing the National Recovery and Peacebuilding Plan 2017-21 with partners in Central African Republic and the need to ensure inclusive growth to foster cohesion at national level.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Helder da Costa, General Secretary of the g7+ Secretariat, recalled that the outcome document from the 5th g7+ ministerial meeting held on 26-27 June 2019 committed g7+ members to implementing the Peace Vision. Citing the Lisbon Communique, he said: “As a constituency of the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (IDPS), we welcome the IDPS Peace Vision 2019-2021, and we commit to working with our partners to realise the objectives therein.”
What did we learn from the event?
- Build on the success of the VNRs. The success of bringing together the three IDPS constituencies as part of the Voluntary National Review (VNR) process on SDG 16 should be leveraged and built upon at country level.
- Continue to apply core principles. The principles of the New Deal and Stockholm Declaration are key to achieving SDG16+.
- Focus on inclusion. Inclusion is an essential component of SDG 16 delivery; a wide range of voices are needed in peacebuilding and statebuilding in order to achieve sustainable results, including women, youth, underrepresented groups and different warring and political factions.
- Incentivise the private sector. International financial institutions can be incentivised to apply a gender lens to their investments, including to support women’s empowerment, gender equality and female entrepreneurial activity in conflict-affected situations. Equally, the private sector must be supported and incentivised to abide by the 'Do No Harm' principle so that international standards are respected in conflict zones.
- Recognise the links. The achievement of peace, women’s empowerment and the role of a peace-promoting private sector are inextricably linked:
- When women are involved in peacebuilding processes, they are more effective and peace lasts longer;
- A peaceful and stable environment facilitates private sector investment, which is essential to achieve Agenda 2030;
- Equally, the private sector can be a game changer for gender equality and women’s economic empowerment by providing jobs and equal pay.
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Focus on reconciliation. Reconciliation in conflict-affected situations is essential to overcome the crisis of confidence between different groups.
What can we do as a community to advance the Peace Vision’s agenda?
- Provide political support to the IDPS platform and the Peace Vision.
- Engage in global advocacy on in-country efforts to advance the Peace Vision’s core themes, including to increase dedicated spending on improving gender equality in conflict-affected situations and conflict prevention.
- Engage in IDPS activities at country-level. Bring together government representatives, development partners and civil society for in-country dialogue to discuss and find solutions to priority challenges in g7+ countries.
- Operationalise the Peace Vision and hold ourselves accountable.
“Our experience in Somalia shows that advancing women’s empowerment is a critical ingredient for sustainable peace and development in fragile and conflict-affected contexts…we believe that with the right partnerships, Somalia can become an example of what women’s effective engagement in peacebuilding and statebuilding can look like, delivering important lessons and evidence for other contexts. The IDPS could be an important ally on this journey.”
H.E. Deqa Yasin Hagi Yusuf, Minister of Women and Human Rights Development, Somalia