Welcome to Our Secure Future’s monthly Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Digest, “the done for you” newsletter on WPS. Every month we curate the latest articles and reports on intersectional, cross-cutting issues focused on women’s rights, and international peace and security matters. Here's what we found in the month of January.
Climate Change
“Cultivating a more enabling environment: Strengthening women’s resilience in climate-vulnerable and conflict-affected communities” (Women for Women International)
“A new report by Women for Women International elevates the perspectives and experiences of women survivors of war and conflict, highlighting the effects of extreme weather, environmental degradation, poverty, violence and conflict on their lives.”
“Foresight Africa 2024: A feminist approach to the climate crisis” (The Brookings Institute)
“Africa didn’t create the climate crisis, but we’re on its frontlines, and our women and girls are most affected... My hope rests with the determination I see in women of all ages. They are climate activists, tree-nurturers, landscape-restoration champions, clean-energy entrepreneurs, advocates, academics, teachers, mothers, and daughters.”
Technology
“To Protect Democracy in the Deepfake Era, We Need to Bring in the Voice of Those Defending it at the Frontlines” (Council on Foreign Relations)
“Artificial intelligence is increasingly used to alter and generate content online. As development of AI continues, societies and policymakers need to ensure that it incorporates fundamental human rights.”
“Weapon or Tool?: How the Tech Community Can Shape Robust Standards and Norms for AI, Gender, and Peacebuilding” (Global Network on Extremism and Technology)
“This Insight will explore how AI can both worsen and eliminate gendered violence and how technology companies can adopt AI standards and norms that integrate gendered perspectives to prevent and reduce violent conflict and build sustainable peace.”
“AI Governance in the Age of Uncertainty: International Law as a Starting Point” (Just Security)
“Like other digital technologies, AI knows no geographical boundaries: it affects the lives of human beings and the fabric of societies around the globe in fundamental ways... This means that States and other relevant actors – including private companies, civil society, and academia – need to work together. International law provides them with a tried and tested common language from which AI governance can be developed at a global scale.”
Atrocity Prevention
“Gender and the Genocide Convention” (New Lines Institute)
“Host Emily Prey sits down with Beth Van Schaack, the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, and Wai Wai Nu, the Founder of the Women Peace Network in Myanmar, to reflect on the 75th anniversary of the Genocide Convention, the ongoing Rohingya genocide, and what actions can be taken to better support survivors.”
“The U.S. needs to recommit to conflict prevention” (Brookings)
“What we should learn from the Israel-Gaza crisis and why the Global Fragility Act still matters.”
“Conflicts to Watch in 2024: Implications for Women, Peace and Security” (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security)
“In alignment with the WPS framework, this list identifies conflicts likely to create significant risks and opportunities for women and WPS aims this year: Afghanistan, Colombia, Haiti, Iran, Israel and Palestine, Kosovo and the wider Balkans, Mali, Myanmar, South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen. These insights are drawn from the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security’s (GIWPS) WPS Conflict Tracker, which will launch publicly in March 2024.”
Gender alert: The gendered impact of the crisis in Gaza (UN Women)
“Since 7 October 2023, more than 24,620 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip, 70 per cent of whom were women or children. More than 1.9 million people — 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza — have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza — roughly 2.2 million people — are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse.”
General WPS
What You Should Know About the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (Our Secure Future)
“Originally published in 2018, this policy brief includes 2023 updates on the United States WPS Act and serves as a guide on the history, implementation, and funding of the act.”
“Women This Week: Global Health Gap Hindering Global Economy Growth” (Council on Foreign Relations, Women and Foreign Policy Program)
“The World Economic Forum and the McKinsey Health Institute have jointly published research which suggests that the global economy could grow by at least $1 trillion annually with concerted efforts to improve women’s health.”
“Q&A: Guatemalan Indigenous Women Leaders Critical in the Fight for Democracy” (Vital Voices)
“In Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024 marked a critical milestone in the movement for democratic change, with the scheduled swearing in of President-elect, Bernardo Arévalo... One of Vital Voices’ network women, Alida Vicente, an activist and indigenous authority figure in Palin, Escuintla, Guatemala is at the forefront of the nationwide effort to support the democratic transition of power. She recounts the importance of indigenous leaders and women on the frontlines as they fight for democracy in Guatemala.”
“Women, Peace and Security: An Opportunity to Further the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance” (Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA)
“In July 2023, Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA sponsored a learning exchange on WPS as part of the Sasakawa Emerging Experts Delegation (SEED) program. The purpose of this program is to promote exchange between policy experts on a particular topic to improve understanding and collaboration between the United States and Japan... The United States and Japan can strengthen bilateral engagement and enhance security cooperation to achieve mutual security goals by working together on WPS implementation in the defense and security sector.”
Notable Events
January 31, 2024: “Rebuilding After Atrocities: Accountability and Reconstruction in Sinjar and Beyond” (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security) “Join Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nadia Murad, US government representatives, and experts in mass atrocities and accountability for a discussion on the status of Sinjar today and how we can improve on accountability and reconstruction in Sinjar and beyond. Nadia’s Initiative will also launch their report, Rebuilding Amid the Ruins at the event.”
January 31, 2024: “Frontline Civilian Response in Sudan: Saving Lives and the Importance of the Localization Agenda" (U.S. Institute of Peace)
“Join USIP for remarks from USAID Administrator Samantha Power followed by a conversation with frontline Sudanese responders and analysts. The discussion will explore the experiences of Sudanese civilian-led emergency response rooms, the imperative to activate USAID’s localization agenda, and the priorities and needs of Sudanese civilians in the year ahead.”
February 6, 2024: “Safeguarding Democracy: Technology and Election Security” (Women's Foreign Policy Group)
“Join the Women's Foreign Policy Group and Microsoft on February 6th, 2024, at the Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center for "Safeguarding Democracy: Technology and Election Security," co-organized by WFPG and Microsoft’s Democracy Forward initiative, in partnership with National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI).”