THE THIRD ISTANBUL SUMMIT 2016 "RECONSIDERING GENDER EQUALITY AND PEACEFUL SOCIETIES”

16/06/2016
FINAL DECLARATION

The third Istanbul Summit was held in Bangkok, Thailand o­n 7-8 May, 2016, bringing together civil society organizations (CSOs) and international organizations with 300 participants, including 12 MPs, from 33 countries. The Summit was organized by the Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF), a CSO with General Consultative Status at the UN ECOSOC. Main partners of the Summit are the African Union, Thailand Achievement Institute (TAI), and Mahidol University National Institute for Child and Family Development. In addition, 44 supporter organizations from 33 different countries joined the Summit.
The Summit highlighted the importance to reconsider gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of sustainable development and in particular, the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies.In this respect, the Summit;

Notes that ‘sustaining peace’ as outlined in April 2016 identical Security Council and General Assembly resolutions as well as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development constitute valuable frameworks for reconsidering gender equality in the promotion of peaceful societies;

Recognizes that the Women, Peace and Security Agenda has made significant normative advances, and that the implementation of these norms needs a more multi-dimensional, inclusive, and integrative approach;

Recognizes that, while gender identity can be a uniting factor, there are also significant differences and tensions among women rooted in their unique experiences and contexts. Therefore, the Summit urges that these differences and tensions should not be seen as a threat, but as opportunities to constructively respond to our common challenges;

Emphasizes that economic, social, and political empowerment and active participation of women in key leadership and decision-making roles in public and private sectors, as well as eliminating all forms of discrimination and violence against women are critical for more equitable, just, inclusive and thus peaceful societies;

Expresses concern about the shrinking of spaces for civil society participation, in particular, the participation of women’s associations;

Calls for a more effective partnership and collaboration between national governments, local authorities, civil society, private sector and international agencies in order to ensure equality in economic opportunities, health, education, and political representation;

Recalls that our world is facing interconnected and complex economic, social, political and environmental challenges that require less state-centric, more people-oriented, and less securitized approaches;

Recognizes the key role of women in preventing the outbreak, escalation, continuation, and recurrence of conflict. Therefore it calls for creating opportunities for women to identify factors that drive peace and conflict, and to contribute to designing and implementing policies for sustainable peace and development;

Reaffirms the need for greater participation of women in all phases of peace mediation and negotiation processes, and calls o­n women to take initiatives to influence these processes;

Expresses concern about the sexist language and representation regarding women in the media, and calls for specific measures to promote a more balanced and empowering narrative.

Going forward, the Summit recommends that:

1.Governments, parliamentarians and civil society organizations raise awareness among their constituencies about the ‘sustaining peace’ framework and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and their importance for more effective implementation of gender equality and women empowerment across the peace and security, development, and human rights agendas.

2.The United Nations and other stakeholders, including civil society organizations ensure that women’s perspectives are systematically integrated in the analysis, design, and implementation of processes and decisions aimed at more peaceful and inclusive societies, including early warning and early prevention.

3.This declaration be brought to the attention of the organizers of the forthcoming 2016 international summits/conferences, including the London Summit o­n Corruption, the Istanbul World Humanitarian Summit, and the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting o­n Refugees and Migrants.

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