[Brussels, 03 May 2012] On 24 April 2012, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women Michelle Bachelet issued a statement touching upon women’s engagement in conflict resolution, transitional justice and highlighting emerging patterns in recent post-conflict elections.
In 2011, UN Women supported mediation training for over 200 women leaders from West Africa, the Balkans as well as Central and South East Asia, some which have yielded results. However, women’s informal engagements does not always influence in formal conflict resolution or political dialogue unfortunately. Michelle Bachelet stated that for example governmental women leaders as well as leaders from civil society in Libya claim that their contributions to the struggle for democratization has been under-recognized and that they are not playing the meaningful role they aspire to in building a new democratic Libya.
Michelle Bachelet stated that “in political transformations, the already-organized political interest groups are the most successful at seizing power. Women’s groups tend to be underfunded and are often poorly positioned to seize opportunities to influence politics […] In conflict resolution, women’s participation and gender expertise provide a firm foundation for women’s post conflict participation.”
To read her full speech, please click here.
