The Global Coalition for Limitation of Armaments Discusses Promoting Gender Equality in the Field of Disarmament to Achieve SDGs

The Global Coalition for Limitation of Armaments (GCLA), in cooperation with Elizka Relief Foundation, the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP), Centre de recherche et d’Information pour le Desarmement et Securite (CRIDS), the Geneva Peacebuilding Initiative and Nonviolence International Southeast Asia (NVI), organized a side event on the sidelines of the 2022 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) entitled “Effectiveness of Promoting Gender Equality in the Field of Disarmament to Achieve SDGs”. The speakers participating in the event included Marc Finaud, head of Arms Proliferation at the GCSP; Dr. Becky Alexis-Martin, a senior advisor and head of Research at CRIDS; Mitzi Austero, programmer manager of Nonviolence International Southeast Asia; Marianna Lillo, member of Geneva Peacebuilding Initiative; and Nourhan Mustafa, coordinator of the GCLA. The event highlighted successful examples of women from different regions (Africa, Europe, Asia and the Arab region) in the fields of peacebuilding and conflict resolution. The speakers stressed that improving women’s participation in peace and security is one of the main goals of sustainable development, which is certainly closely linked to arms control and disarmament. Although participation in decision-making mechanisms in the field of disarmament, and arms control has increased in recent years, this field still lags significantly behind the participation of women when compared to other areas of diplomacy. At conclusion, the speakers discussed the vital role of civil society in teaming up with states to correctly interpret the texts of agreements and treaties according to the local context. Moreover, they recommended promoting gender equality and working to address gender perspectives in the field of arms control, by empowering women and allowing them to gain confidence so that they can effectively participate in arms control-related efforts. The speakers called on decision-making institutions to promote decisions to bridge existing gaps that discriminate against women. It is worth noting that this event is part of the GCLA globally expanded actions to promote awareness of the role of women and youth and the need to involve them in arms proliferation issues.