Jordan-US Women Dialogue on Women, Peace and Security held

AMMAN  — The Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) has held a symposium titled “Jordan-US Women Dialogue on Women, Peace and Security”. 

The event was held in cooperation with Georgetown University and with the participation of the Minister of Social Development, Chair of Inter-Ministerial Committee on Women’s Empowerment (IMC) Wafaa Bani Mustafa and Melanne Verveer, former US Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues and current Executive Director of the Georgetown University Center for Women Peace and Security. 

The symposium served as a platform to introduce the Jordanian National Action Plan (JONAP) for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in Jordan to a group of representatives of Georgetown University during their visit to Jordan.

In her opening statement, Bani Mustafa stressed that, despite Jordan’s limited resources, the country had dealt positively with all the crises in the Arab region, both through its participation in conflict resolution and in peace processes and through its support for refugees. 

Jordan is the second Arab country to introduce an action plan to implement Resolution 1325. Bani Mustafa attributed this to the belief of the country’s leadership and people in the role of women in promoting development in general and security, peace and protection in particular. 

JONAP presents a significant step on national and international levels, as it represents an umbrella that brings together the government, the security and military sectors, civil society organisations and other national institutions to coordinate efforts to support the role of women in achieving security and peace. 

JNCW Secretary-General Maha Ali pointed out the importance of the visit of Verveer and her accompanying delegation to Jordan, which reflects Jordan and the US’ strong relations. 

Verveer said that the issues on the ground cannot be addressed without an inclusive approach. She added that she applauds Jordan for the encouraging reforms it has enacted in the security sector and its efforts to implement Resolution 1325 more broadly. She also thanked the JNCW for continuing to recognise women’s agency and advance their meaningful participation in peace and security efforts.

UN Women Representative to Jordan Nicolas Burniat commended the first phase of JONAP stating that it is an ambitious and comprehensive plan that looks forward to addressing several key issues in a coordinated manner to enhance the role of Jordanian women in peace and security.

The plan strengthens the role played by women’s civil society organisations in social cohesion, prevention of violent extremism, combating violence against women and increasing the availability of services, the statement said.

A panel titled “The Role of the 1325 Plan for Women, Peace and Security in Empowering Women in the Security and the Military Sectors and Jordan’s Efforts to Host Syrian Refugees” was also held with wide participation of stakeholders.