PICC, MANILA – There are numerous take-aways that can be applied in the localization of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda based on the experiences of those who have been at the forefront of its implementation.

This was the major consensus of participants to a side event held here on Tuesday, October 29, on the second day of the International Conference on Women, Peace and Security (ICWPS).

The Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) United Nations (UN) Women spearheaded the gathering as part of their collective efforts to amplify the voices of local women leaders and advance the global WPS agenda.

The journey on localizing NAPWPS

OPAPRU’s Program Development Officer for Women, Peace and Security, Gender and Development René Gandeza Jr., shared the learnings of the agency in developing the Philippines’ National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAPWPS) 2023-2033.

“First one is in terms of dynamics. One of the things that we’ve realized is how everything is interconnected – both the problems and the solutions,” Grandeza said.

On the issue of cyber security, for instance, he noted that this has been a key factor in “that connects to other important issues” in the implementation of the WPS Agenda.

“For instance, technology-facilitated gender-based violence online. We’ve seen how women in the front lines are particularly targeted by disinformation, including the rise of deep fakes that we’re seeing all across the world,” he explained.

Another important lesson, Gandeza said, is how the NAPWPS has been crucial in the crafting of the sub-national BARMM Regional Action Plan on WPS (BARMM RAPWPS), and how in return, the BARMM RAPWPS informed the NAPWPS development.

“The next one is in terms of stakeholders. Predominantly, NAPWPS across the world are implemented by governments. But what we’ve learned over the past two days in this Conference is the importance of civil society organizations,” he emphasized.

According to Gandeza, such consultations must take into consideration the “language used, in particular, language that’s defined by the gender binary, and its impact,” which are key factors that must be taken into consideration in formulating these action plans.

“So in the early stages of developing the NAP, we’ve already consulted on how we can move forward to have a MEAL plan, where we made sure civil society organizations and all the stakeholders are included,” Gandeza said.

He noted that the NAPWPS is a 10-year plan, and as such, “it is important for us to future proof it, to make sure that it remains relevant in the next 10 years.”

Gandeza emphasized that there has been a significant increase in women’s participation in the peace process since the NAP’s implementation, as evidenced by their greater involvement in the technical aspects of peacebuilding efforts.

This development has resulted “in their concerns and welfare being integrated into Peace agenda and outcome documents, and seen its impact in other related documents.”

“We are making sure that the Women, Peace and Security agenda is integrated into all gender development-related mechanisms,” he said.

GNWP on strategic localization

“Localization is actually the translation of global commitments into local policies, because there are so many policies that are adopted [at] the international level,” said GNWP’s Senior Program Director Dr. Jasmin Nario-Galace.

“Localization is a bottom-up strategy to ensure gender responsive and conflict-sensitive policy making and policy implementation,” she explained, as she shared the GNWP’s strategies on how they have helped in effectively localizing the NAPWPS.

“We make sure that we involve local leaders, religious leaders, traditional leaders, women leaders, other members of civil society organizations, media, the academe, we are all in one space of talking about the resolution or the law. And then we do gender analysis, conflict analysis and after that, we do a visioning of peace,” Galace said.

According to Galace, the GNWP has supported the crafting of 70 local action plans of different countries, which are specifically designed to address threats to peace and security and gender equality in communities.

“You know, at the end of every localization, after heated debates between women and men, you know, there’s an openness,” she bared.

“Localization brings diversity holders together, and this helps in creating social cohesion. You know, it provides a space for dialogue and, consequently, understanding and empathy,” Galace concluded.

Turning a crisis into opportunities

In the meantime, Shahnaz Sumi, Director of the Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha (BNPS), shared the challenges they have faced in the localization of their country’s NAPWPS.

“[In] the last two months, we are in a critical situation…the change of the Government of Bangladesh. And now, the situation is different,” Sumi bared.

The NAPWPS implementation process is now ongoing, she said, as “we are waiting for the executive order from the government level to endorse the Women, Peace and Security network.”

“We don’t know what is the future of this NAPWPS. But the localization process will continue, all the support from UN Women and GNWP will be continued,” Sumi added

“Our experience is turning crises into possibilities,” underscored BNPS’ Deputy Director Nasrin Begum.

“Crisis is everywhere. But we try every time…try to turning this crisis into a possibility for advancing WPS. This is our same understanding, all of the network members, women members are already empowered,” she said.

Women empowerment

“The processes that we have looked at [as well as the] experiences may be different because of our specific context. But if we look at our experiences, there are also commonalities and I think we should build on this conversation so that our experiences would enhance each other’s approaches,” said OPAPRU’s Executive Director Susana Guadalupe H. Marcaida in her closing remarks on behalf of Peace Presidential Adviser Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr.

“What’s important should be the perspective that our work should be both transformative and empowering,” she added.

With the theme, “Forging Collaboration and Convergence for Advancing Women, Peace and Security,” the ICWPS is the first ministerial-level conference hosted by the Philippines.

It aims to highlight the power of inter-regional networks in exchanging experiences, best practices and challenges that will bring together women peacemakers globally.

This conference was organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, Department of Budget and Management, Philippine Commission on Women, the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy, the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation and UN Women, with the support of the Office of Senator Loren Legarda.