MAWPS Initiative and Structure

The Case for Inclusion

Efforts to enhance women’s meaningful participation in peace processes, peacekeeping, and post-conflict reconstruction are rooted in several principles. We support an approach based on the inalienable human rights that women possess, and on the need to change power dynamics and secure broad gender equality in political, socioeconomic, and security terms. At the same time, clear empirical evidence from UN Women and other institutions has shown what participants in peace and reconstruction processes have long known: peace agreements that involve a critical mass of empowered women and women’s organizations are more easily negotiated and far more likely to build peaceful, just, stable, and prosperous post-conflict societies than those that do not. The same research shows that women have made up only 1 in 13 participants in peace processes over the past 25 years, and that most peace agreements pay insufficient attention to gender-related issues and challenges.

The advantages of women’s engagement are many. In addition to expanding the talent pool available to contribute to these processes, women often bring to the table unique and essential ground truth, longer-term perspectives, and a focus on socioeconomic root causes of conflicts. They know that the cost of returning to conflict is tragic in human and resource terms and poses a global security threat. Countries faced with instability due in part to marginalizing women are more likely to traffic in drugs, people, and weapons; send off large numbers of refugees across borders and oceans; incubate and transmit pandemic diseases; harbor criminal networks and terrorists; and require foreign military engagement and humanitarian assistance. 

Many outstanding civil society and international organizations are committed to advancing women’s engagement in the peace and security sector. They have helped change norms, regulations, and attitudes of senior leaders throughout the United Nations and other international institutions, NGOs, and national governments that support peace processes and peacekeeping missions. In addition to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and its successors, many national governments have adopted National Action Plans and legislation to promote this agenda. For example, in October 2017, the US Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 was signed into law, requiring the US government to adopt a national policy in support of women’s empowerment and engagement. Civil society has also conducted research on best practices and has provided “tool kits,” technical support and advice, and training modules for governments designing NAPs and others implementing engendered programs. 

Bringing Men Into The Fight

It is understandable and appropriate that these groups, as well as participants at conferences on gender and conflict, have largely consisted of women advocates, activists, academics, and political leaders. While individual men have expressed supportive views, and some organizations have been formed in related areas (e.g., UN Women’s “He for She” to gain high-profile male supporters for gender equality), the collective voice of men has been largely absent in the peace and security space. A recent report from Our Secure Future in October 2017, entitled “Not the Usual Suspects: Engaging Male Champions of Women, Peace and Security,” notes,

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While men still dominate leadership roles within national and international security structures, they have remained on the sidelines of the Women, Peace and Security movement.

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This absence reinforces the impression that these are “women’s issues” or somehow of lesser importance than “hard” security issues, when in fact they are vitally important and impact all of us. Harmful versions of masculinity are also a source of conflict, driving men’s violence against women and impeding women’s full access to rights and opportunities. MAWPS will engage male and female leaders to speak out against such views of manhood and in favor of equitable and nonviolent attitudes and behaviors.

What We Are Doing?

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Mobilizing Male Allies for Women, Peace and Security (MAWPS) is building a network that raises the collective voices of men and women for the WPS agenda. We have discussed the initiative and received encouragement from more than 100 existing institutions, including UN Women, Alliance for Peacebuilding, Dartmouth University’s Dickey Center for International Understanding, Georgetown Center for Women, Peace and Security, Institute for Inclusive Security, InterAction, International Youth Federation, Norwegian Refugee Council, Promundo, Stevenson Group, Women’s Foreign Policy Network, Women’s Refugee Commission, and World Learning.

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