Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali on Tuesday said women must be at the centre of Bangladesh’s work to prevent conflict, build peace, and respond to emergencies.
“Our National Action Plan will demonstrate our continued leadership and commitment put this principle into action,” he told delegates at the closing session of a symposium held in the city. Pursuing joint efforts to enhance gender equality to build inclusive and sustainable peace, the government of Bangladesh and UN Women held a National Symposium on Monday-Tuesday to further the development of a National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). The NAP will be a blueprint for the country’s efforts to ensure women’s meaningful participation in the prevention of conflict and violent extremism, and the protection and advancement of women’s rights to promote resilience during crises, said the UN Women.
The NAP, which will include time-bound goals for the advancement of women’s participation and rights, with indicators to measure success, is being developed by a working group of eight government ministries and divisions led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Globally, 73 countries have adopted national action plans on women, peace and security.
“Today, Bangladesh is taking an important step, by identifying national priorities to ensure that the objectives of Security Council resolution 1325 and subsequent Women, Peace and Security resolutions are translated into results,” said Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
