WILPF Statement on Climate Security

WILPF Advocacy Documents

Date/month:

24 November 2008

Document type:

Statement

Body submitted to:

Food and Agriculture Organization, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

On Climate Security

WILPF Statement issued by the International Board
24 November 2008

WILPF recognizes climate change as one of the most urgent security challenges of our time. Predictions of future climate impacts vary from disruptive to catastrophic natural disasters, hunger, drought, widespread displacement, conflict, and suffering.

Narrow military notions of security can do nothing to alleviate these challenges. Bombs, guns, and landmines will not prevent or stop a tsunami, a hurricane, a flood, a virus, or a water shortage. Instead, the acquisition of arms and current global military expenditure of 1.3 trillion dollars per year diverts enormous financial, technical, and human resources from where they are needed.

Proven and clean energy technologies are ready to be implemented now in developing and developed countries. Stopping the use of non-renewable, polluting energy sources through investment in renewable resources and technologies will have a beneficial impact. Public transport, refitting homes, recycling, and buying locally-produced products will also help, but these measures must be accompanied by government-wide behavioural and policy changes.

Rich and poor countries do not emit the same amount of carbon and have different responsibilities to address climate change. The richest 28% burn 80% of fossil fuels, producing 80% of the greenhouse gas. Western countries generate 16 times more greenhouse gas per person than developing countries.

Women comprise the majority of the world’s poor, therefore climate change will impact women disproportionately. Due to present societal structures, women are not equally participating in decision-making on climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. Ironically, surveys show that women are more concerned than men about climate change, want more far-reaching changes and are more willing to alter their behaviour and lifestyle. Therefore, participation of women and a gender perspective must be included in the international climate change negotiation process and in developing climate policies at regional, national, and local levels.

WILPF urges that all national and global policies incorporate gender aspects of climate change, guided by the many global agreements on gender mainstreaming and human rights treaties such as the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This will require improved international environmental governance structures, cohesion between UN agencies, as well as tools such as gender-specific indicators to guide national reporting to the UN Framework convention on Climate Change.

Governments should be encouraged to mainstream gender perspectives into their national policies, action plans, and other measures on sustainable development and climate change. This can be done by carrying out systematic gender analysis, collecting and utilizing sex-disaggregated data, establishing gender-sensitive indicators and benchmarks, and developing practical tools to support increased attention to gender perspectives. Governments should invest in research on patterns of gender-specific use of resources and consumption; gender-specific effects on climate change; gender aspects of mitigation and adaptation; women’s capacity to cope with climate change; and gender-related vulnerability.

When preparing contributions to the post-2012 climate protection system, which must be established in order to succeed the commitments of the Kyoto Protocol, governments should request input from relevant international bodies. These should include the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the UN Division for the Advancement of Women, the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and women’s organisations and networks, as well as gender experts. Due to the disparate effects of climate change on men and women, preparation of future commitments and mechanisms should be based on and fully integrate gender analysis.

In this regard, the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation’s contribution as a technical UN agency is crucial, because of the excellent analysis and research of its Gender, Equity and Rural Employment division.

The world is in an ecological, carbon, and radiation debt. We already have internationally agreed commitments, which as a start, should be transformed into reality. Climate change means change; but business as usual is not an option, in fact, it’s suicidal.

Your donation isn’t just a financial transaction; it’s a step toward a more compassionate and equitable world. With your support, we’re poised to achieve lasting change that echoes through generations. Thank you!

Thank you!

Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region.

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.

WILPF Advocacy Documents