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How to #MoveTheMoney from War to Peace: Reflections on Women, Peace and Security Financing Workshop and Side Event

15 July 2016

Is it possible to #MoveTheMoney from a political economy of war to a political economy of peace and gender justice? Are there technical mechanisms that exist that can be more effectively leveraged?

This was the focus of a two-day workshop with about 40 people that WILPFs Women, Peace and Security programme, PeaceWomen, held on 7-8 July 2016 that brought together civil society experts from development and security sectors to develop concrete strategies for gender equality and peace. It was also the focus of a 11 July side event with about 25 people, which reported back from the workshop to member states, UN entities, and international civil society attending the High Level Political Forum.

Movethemoney1

At the side event on Monday, speakers reported back on the workshop to share an overview of mapping of financial flows, opportunities for good practice on Women, Peace and Security financing, and recommendations on the way forward.

Nahla Valji, Deputy Peace and Security Chief of UN Women, introduced the event by reminding participants that the problem is not a lack of money for gender equality and peace, but a lack of effective priorities for action. The international community spends “pennies on peace and pennies on conflict prevention” while spending more than $1.7 trillion on war. She pointed out strengthening financing for conflict prevention and peace based on gender equality was one of the main messages that came out of the 2015 Global Study on the implementation of UNSCR 1325.

Isabelle Geuskens, Executive Director of the Women Peacemakers Programme, shared how militarism as a way of thought constrains financial flows for gender equality and peace, with particular implications for women human rights defenders and peace activists. She shared research on new financial regulations aimed at counter-terrorism, which result in shrinking space for women’s organisations to operate through increased obstacles to operations, and with increasing safety and sustainability risks for their important work.

Broadening horizons

Movethemoney2Speakers then shared good practice opportunities for strengthening financing of Women, Peace and Security issues in a variety of different ways.

Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, the International Coordinator of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders, shared innovative work on financing UNSCR 1325 National Action Plans. According to Cabrera-Balleza, National Action Plans remain “the most concrete expressions of government commitments to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.” However, of the 60-odd NAPs, only 12 have dedicated budgets. Cabrera-Balleza called for states to finance their NAPs, including by integrating NAP commitments into Local Development Plans to build community engagement and buy-in for strengthened accountability in otherwise often gender-blind and peace-blind contexts.

Emilia Reyes, Coordinator at Equidad de Género, shared how gender budgeting can be used to strengthen prevention efforts through investing in policies for women’s human rights and peace. According to Reyes, the issue is “not about money or putting a percentage from one place to the other, but about well-spent money that is more effective.” She argued powerfully that member states do not need to find new money, but instead need to shift their planning methodologies to address the different experiences of the populations they target through a gender aware lens.

Good practices to fill the gap

While gender budgeting has historically been applied within socio-economic contexts, the defense and military sector has not been a priority for this tool. This is, in part, due to gendered assumptions about what count as “women’s issues.” However, it is also due to the secrecy and lack of transparency that can surround military budgets due to claims of “national security,” which increase opportunities for corruption and misuse of resources.

Uruguayan Parliamentarian Daisy Tourne shared innovative initiatives in the Uruguay context by parliamentarians that addresses (1995) Beijing Declaration’s call for innovative financing including by reducing military spending and redirecting to gender equitable social development. She shared how after the dictatorship in Uruguay, parliamentarians have been able to introduce laws that promote transparency, anti-corruption, and democratic participation around military budgets, and to empower civilians to become involved in political decisions and programmatic work. This can be seen as good practice that other member states may learn from.

Abigail Ruane, Director of WILPFs Women, Peace and Security programme, wrapped up the session by calling for strengthened collaboration to #MoveTheMoney from a political economy of war to apolitical economy of peace and gender justice.

Now more than ever, it is clear the international community must #movethemoney from economies of war to economies of peace. We call on member states to:

1) finance the gender equality and peace goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);

2) finance National Action Plans on UNSCR 1325;

3) strengthen Gender Budgeting;

4) strengthen accountability on defense and military budgeting; and

5) strengthen funding of the feminist movement, including by CSO inclusive funds like the Global Acceleration Instrument.

Join us! Demand that your government #MoveTheMoney.

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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.

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