UAE and GIWPS launch joint publication at the United Nations

Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the UN, and Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS), yesterday, launched a joint publication documenting their partnership in hosting the United Arab Emirates Panel Series on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), at the United Nations.

This publication served as the UAE's substantive contribution to the Global Study on the Implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) (Global Study). The recommendations developed in this series have informed the Global Study, and the WPS field, more broadly.

This publication follows on a financial contribution to commission research for the Global Study, when this process was initiated in September of 2014. The just-published Global Study was launched in partnership with the UAE yesterday at the United Nations.

Ambassadors from eleven Member States, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, the NATO Special Representative of the Secretary General on Women, Peace and Security, and representatives from UN Women and OCHA joined in celebrating the launch of this publication.

The launch also served to highlight progress from the 2015 High-Level Review on Women, Peace and Security, which produced a new resolution (2242) on women, peace and security, co-sponsored by the UAE. Guests debated best practices to carry forward the High-Level Review in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016.

The need to counter violent extremism in response to current extremist tactics was raised. Ambassador Nusseibeh remarked that, "When the modus operandi of extremist groups is the subjugation of women, we must ensure that the empowerment and leadership of women serves as a key strategic tool in our response."

She then underlined the importance of strengthening the UN Security Council's toolkit to deal with Da'esh. "The Council's traditional responses to terrorist groups like Da'esh won't work because these groups are employing non-traditional, technologically-advanced tactics to spread their ideology. We need new and innovative solutions to deal with these new methods of terror." Ambassador Nusseibeh then stressed the importance of integrating the WPS agenda into these efforts.

Ambassador Verveer reinforced the need to integrate WPS as a key priority across multiple settings. "We need to garnering momentum around advancing this agenda within all of these contexts – within our efforts to counter violent extremism, in our humanitarian efforts, and in others. This agenda is cross-cutting and must play a key role in how we approach and respond to conflict."

Ambassador Nusseibeh and Ambassador Verveer both underscored the need to continue advancing this agenda beyond the High-Level Review.