The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), meeting at the Quadrennial Congress in San José, Costa Rica in August 2011,
Recognizing that women have been playing a leading role in the Arab Spring uprisings, beginning in Tunisia and Egypt,
Recognizing that women in Egypt, following the downfall of Hosni Mubarak, are protesting that the country’s 10 member constitutional committee did not include a single woman when it set to proposing amendments to the constitution, and noting that Egyptian women are outraged that this same constitutional committee is limiting Egypt’s presidency to men,
Supporting the demand by Tunisian women to ensure the separation of church and state and their opposition to the potential introduction of the Sharia law proposed by some fundamentalist Islamist groups,
Sharing the concern expressed by Women throughout the Middle East that they will suffer backlashes following the uprisings similar to what happened in Iran following the downfall of the shah in 1979 and the imposition of a fundamentalist Islamic regime,
- Fully supports the continued involvement of Arab women in their peaceful struggle for freedom, democracy, and dignity during these uprisings;
- Condemns any efforts to set women back after the uprisings;
- Recalls the obligation on all parties to comply with UN Security Council resolution 1325 and ensure the full participation of women in all aspects of state building, including all aspects of political reforms, participation in decision making, drafting of the new constitutions, and the guarantee of human rights/women rights;
- Supports the demand of women for security and calls for the immediate cessation of military intervention and the embargo on the selling of weaponry and ordinance to the region; and
- Reasserts the obligation to ensure the presence and participation of women in peace processes and negotiations everywhere.