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Meet Our WILPF Delegation!

20 October 2015

We are excited to welcome our Delegation in honour of the 15th Anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325! WILPF has helped to bring six women from various nations to participate in an integral discussion throughout the week on the implementation of UNSCR 1325. From Nigeria to Cameroon, and from Colombia to Lebanon, these extraordinary women have made significant strides toward helping to implement the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.

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Introducing the October 2015 WILPF delegation!

Joy Ada Onyesoh is the President of WILPF Nigeria. She holds a variety of degrees and is currently pursuing a Doctoral in Transformative Studies and Bachelor of Laws Degree. Joy’s ten years of working experience with women from diverse cultural and philosophical backgrounds makes her a crucial asset to the Women, Peace and Security discourse.

Annie Matundu Mbambi is a Gender and Development Consultant and holds a double Masters degree in Public Financial and Economic Planning from the State University of Antwerp, Belgium. Her 20 years of experience as an activist for women’s rights make her the perfect choice for her current role as the Chair of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF DRC).

Rasha Mahmoud is the legal consultant for WILPF Lebanon, a PhD student in Paris. Rasha Mahmoud currently works as a legal consultant who provides expert, and professional legal advice on a contractual basis (ITEC-CDR directly accountable to the Council of Ministers) with a focus on Human Rights.

Katherine Ronderos is the director of WILPF Colombia and works in project development for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and 1820 at local level with women victims of the armed conflict in three regions of Colombia. Previously, Katherine worked for the UN Special Rapporteur on VAW, Ms Rashida Manjoo and London-based women’s organisations, and has experience in advocacy and lobby to multilateral organisations such as the EU and UN.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo is a teacher, human rights defender, and a gender expert who has been active in civil society for the past 19 years. Her expertise is in the area of human rights, gender and peacebuilding.  She holds multiple degrees from international institutions and has been the President of WILPF Cameroon since 2014.

Manuela Mesa is the Vice President of WILPF Spain. She has worked for more than two decades within a development NGOs and on peace and conflict institutes linked to the pacifist Spanish movement. Her professional experiences include activities related to development education and research for peace and conflicts.

WILPF is honoured to welcome these extraordinary women to New York for a week of workshops, forums and dialogue focused on mobilising commitments into action to leverage local change and unite a global network of international peacemakers!

Be sure to check back later for a wrap-up of our delegation!

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Matt Mahmoudi

Matt Mahmoudi (he/him) is a lecturer, researcher, and organizer. He’s been leading the “Ban the Scan” campaign, Amnesty International’s research and advocacy efforts on banning facial recognition technologies and exposing their uses against racialized communities, from New York City to the occupied Palestinian territories.

Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.

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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.

A woman in a blue, black, and white dress smiles radiantly in front of a leafy green background.

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.