09 September 2013 - Representatives of over 40 women's groups participated on 5-6 September 2013 in Bissau in the formal creation, with UN support, of the Guinea-Bissau chapter of the ECOWAS Women Peace and Security Network, REMPSECAO-GB [Portuguese acronym].

REMPSECAO-GB aims to "coordinate and optimize women's functions and initiatives in the prevention of conflict, the maintenance of peace and security, post-conflict reconstruction and the promotion of human rights, particularly those of women and other vulnerable groups, so as to guarantee lasting peace in Guinea-Bissau", according to the statutes of the organisation, approved at its constituent assembly on Friday.

Another of its main objectives, as expressed in its statutes, is to "promote a strategic partnership for gender equity, empowerment and equal opportunities between the sexes in the area of peace and security in the country". It also aims to "facilitate close cooperation with ECOWAS, the African Union, the United Nations and other actors involved in the field of peace and security".

Over 70 persons had attended the opening ceremony of the assembly on Thursday. They included representatives of the diplomatic corps, the Government, UN agencies and the UN Integrated Peace-Building Support Mission, UNIOGBIS, which, through its Political Affairs Section and Gender Unit, has been providing the network with financial and technical support.

UN pledges continued support.

Speaking on behalf of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau, Martinho Chachiua, head of UNIOGBIS' Political Affairs Section, stressed that the UN was "determined to continue supporting national efforts to consolidate peace and develop the country, especially through the implementation of public policies promoting gender equality and, consequently, the respect of human rights, within the framework of the international commitments made by Guinea-Bissau".

He noted that the creation of the network was a necessary response to the increasing concern about the impact of armed conflict on women and children worldwide. It also sends a strong signal that people can overcome cultural, social and religious barriers and work together to concretize the objectives of gender equality as recommended by various international human rights instruments, he said.

These include Resolution 1325 of the UN Security Council which, Chachiua recalled, is aimed at "protecting the human rights of women and girls during armed conflicts, fighting impunity for gender-based crimes, promoting gender equality in peacekeeping operations and increasing the participation of women in activities and processes geared towards peace.

Enhancing women's involvement in conflict prevention - ECOWAS

REMPSECAO [known in English as NWOPSECO] was created in 2009 at the initiative of ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, by women's organisations active in the areas of peace, development and security, ECOWAS' Kelly Lopes said at the event's opening ceremony.

She stressed that the holding of the constituent assembly should contribute to strengthening the commitment made by the network to do everything to promote a strategic partnership with a view to enhancing "women's autonomy, equity and equal opportunities between the sexes and their involvement in conflict prevention, mediation and management, as well as the need to increase their role in decision-making bodies".

These are some of the objectives enshrined in Resolutions 1325 and 1820 of the UN Security Council, whose implementation is one of the commitments made by the NWOPSECO", noted Lopes.

She urged all ECOWAS states, and Guinea-Bissau in particular, to provide increased support for capacity building in order to guarantee a significant participation by women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building.

A working instrument for peace and security - Government

For Guinea-Bissau's Government, the formal establishment of the network presents a double advantage, the Minister of Women's Affairs, the Family and Social Solidarity, Gabriela Fernandes, said at the opening ceremony, over which she presided.

It constitutes "an opportunity to formalize a working instrument for maintaining peace and security in the country", she explained, as well as "a space in which women of different sensitivities come together around the common goals of building and preserving peace in West Africa".

Minister Fernandes stressed that women's participation in all efforts to promote peace and security, an increased role for women in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention, management and resolution, and an inclusion of a gender perspective in all public and private institutions must constitute absolute priorities for all political, social and economic actors.