IWPG Chairwoman met with high officials of Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire to enhance cooperation on peace
Addis Ababa, April 6, 2024 (FBC) – International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG), led by Chairwoman Hyun Sook Yoon, participated in the 68th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) that took place last month at the UN Headquarters in New York. There, IWPG met with high level government officials of Uganda and Côte d’Ivoire and discussed specific peace partnership points at the working-level.
IWPG Chairwoman Hyun Sook Yoon met with the Minister of Gender and Cultural Affairs of Uganda, Mutuuzo Peace Regis, to draw a 5-year roadmap and discuss specific logistics and plans. The Minister of Uganda promised to cooperate by actively incorporating IWPG’s peace projects into its national plans.
IWPG also held a workshop with the working-level officials of the Ministry of Women, Family, and Children of Côte d’Ivoire, including the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Minster, to establish a national action plan. With Côte d’Ivoire, IWPG also established a 5-year national road map and discussed specific cooperation avenues. Côte d’Ivoire also agreed to reflect IWPG’s peace initiatives in their national plans.
Furthermore, IWPG visited 88 UN Permanent Missions and met with 123 high-level officials including ministers, ambassadors, and third committee members. Through this, IWPG was able to promote its peace initiatives, including DPCW, the International Loving-Peace Art Competition, and Peace Lecturer Training Education (PLTE), it was stated.
IWPG also held a parallel event themed “Solidarity of Women: Mitigating Gender Inequality through Peace.” This event was an opportunity to contemplate the correlation between peace and gender equality and what important role female solidarity can play in achieving this, according to the Chairwoman. IWPG has been hosting an NGO Parallel Event at the UN CSW for three consecutive years, establishing it as a truly international women’s organization, the Chairwoman disclosed.
“IWPG considers the solidarity of women worldwide a crucial element to achieving gender equality and will continue to work to reach sustainable peace and security and expand the participation of women in peace processes.”
IWPG Secretary General Na Hyung Jun, the leader of this year’s delegation, said, “IWPG will continue to establish itself as an international organization for peace by acting upon its commitments with national government and NGOs.
CSW is a functional committee under the UN ECOSOC (Economic and Social Committee), gathering national governments and relevant international/non-governmental organizations and institutions every year to share policies on women empowerment and protection of women’s rights and find effective ways to implement gender equality measures.
The theme of this year’s 68th event was “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective.”