The Inter-Ministerial Committee for Women’s Empowerment convenes partners for the annual Programme Board meeting of Jordan’s National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security
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Inter-Ministerial Committee on Women’s Empowerment held the annual Programme Board meeting on the implementation of Jordan’s National Action Plan (JONAP) on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security at the presence of the Chairperson of the Committee, His Excellency Eng. Musa Al-Maayta, Minister of Parliamentary and Political Affairs, and His Excellency Dr. Wissam Rabadi, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation. This meeting brings together members of the 1325 National Coalition, including security sector agencies and civil society organizations, as well as representatives of the pooled fund mechanisms for the JONAP implementation supported by the Governments of Canada, Finland, Norway, Spain, United Kingdom, in order to discuss progresses achieved and lessons learned since the adoption of the JONAP by the Government in 2017.
In his welcoming remarks, H.E. Eng. Mousa Maaytah, the Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Women Empowerment, stressed the role of the Inter-Ministerial Committee in providing political and strategic support to achieve the goals of the Jordanian National Action Plan on UNSCr 1325 Women, Security and Peace, in partnership with the National Commission for Women’s Affairs And in coordination with official institutions, all under the joint efforts made in formulating a communication strategy on 1325, which confirms the commitment of the Jordanian government.
Al-Maaytah indicated during the annual Program Board’s meeting 2020 to implement the JONAP today, Wednesday, that this plan, which the government approved in 2017, aims to integrate a gender-sensitive approach to women's participation in the growing number of peace and security issues to achieve long-term peace and stability, pointing out that Jordan is a safe and stable country and can face exceptional circumstances, where success was demonstrated in facing the COVID-19 pandemic under the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II and the efforts of the government and security and military institutions praising the important role and multiplied efforts that the woman performed during the pandemic due to the multiplicity of her responsibilities and her presence in the frontlines through her work in the military, security, medical, and other sectors.
The Minister reaffirmed that peace and security are among the most important rights that all women and men alike should enjoy, and that progress and prosperity is only achieved in safe societies, which calls for additional efforts to achieve equal representation of women in all areas of peace and security.
Al-Maaytah stressed the necessity of raising societal awareness by enhancing the presence of women in all sectors, and enhancing the importance of the role of women in efforts to build societal peace and preventing violence, which is the effort made by the government under the guidance of His Majesty King Abdullah II in the field of empowering women economically, politically and socially as Jordan reached high levels in that compared to other societies, calling for concerted state efforts with all sides of civil society and non-governmental organizations to promote the building of partnerships that are based on local humanitarian work advocacy and facilitate joint action to enable women to access justice, resources and opportunities by enabling them to participate economically and enhancing their role in decision-making, which has evolved in Jordan in recent years, where women have held a number of important positions as head of the Legislative Bureau and the Investment Fund and other positions in important ministries and institutions.
Al-Maaytah added that women's issues are not limited to women only, but are issues that concern the entire society, and Jordan has made distinct steps towards strengthening the role of women in peace-building and in the humanitarian response by building the capabilities of qualified cadres to take into account the gender dimension and dealing with women's needs in this field In line with the Jordanian National Action Plan for the years 2018-2021, which confirms the important role of women in combating violence, combating extremism and terrorism and eliminating all forms of violence to reach stable and secure societies in the region, stressing Jordan’s historic role under its Hashemite leadership In preventing and confronting violence, especially towards women in all countries of the world and the Middle East in particular, where Jordan had a prominent role in receiving refugees from neighboring countries that have suffered from wars, which is a matter stemming from Jordan’s leadership and people’s conviction of the importance of peace and cooperation to solve many forms of unrest in neighboring countries .
This year is also marking the twentieth anniversary since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which will provide an opportunity to highlight the Government of Jordan’s pioneering efforts, advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda through the holistic implementation of the JONAP.
H.E. Donica Pottie, Ambassador of Canada to Jordan on behalf of donor consortium said: “Jordan’s commitment to Women, Peace and Security agenda is admirable, and we hope it will continue beyond 2021. For Canada’s own experience, whole-of-government action was the single most important factor of success for implementing 1325 NAPs. The IMC provides a horizontally and vertically-integrated structure that can help streamline the Government of Jordan’s efforts in advancing women empowerment and gender-sensitive planning, for Women Peace and Security agenda and beyond.”
The Jordanian National Commission for Women and UN Women are providing coordination and technical assistance to the Government in the JONAP implementation, with significant results reached by all partners towards the achievement of the JONAP’s four strategic goals.
Dr. Salma Nims, Secretary-General of the Jordanian National Commission for Women, presented key achievements under the JONAP in 2019, emphasizing the importance of political will and government’s support to implement the plan, in addition to the strategic partnership with UN Women, and the contribution of the joint pooled fund through which the plan is implemented. Dr. Nims also indicated that the implementation of the JONAP and its four pillars contributes to the advancement of Jordan’s international commitments towards gender equality and provides an opportunity for women to empower women as a key driver in building and making peace in the society
Security Sector agencies have championed the promotion of gender-responsiveness and meaningful participation of women in the security sector and peace operations, while taking concrete action to increase the number of women in the sector at all levels of the hierarchy, including international peace and security operations.
Brigadier General Mutasem Abu Shatal, Planning Director, Public Security Directorate affirmed: “The Public Security Directorate committed to the implementing the Jordanian national action plan UNSCR 1325 on women, security and peace, where it worked with the Jordanian National Commission for Women, and in partnership with UN Women to implement strategic goals to achieve a better response to gender needs and active participation for women in the security and military sector and in peace operations. Efforts were focused on building the capabilities of the women police in PSD, and various ranks of public security, in addition to other ranks of male officers, and their empowerment in various fields based on a training needs assessment in order to improve the institutional capacity of the female officers to provide efficient outcomes in all fields and increasing their participation in peacekeeping operations.”
Brigadier General, Basam Al Faleh, Planning and Organization Director, Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) added:” JAF senior leadership has a firm belief in implementing the identified strategic goals of Jordan’s National Action Plan through cooperation not only with relevant Jordanian Governmental entities but also UN-Women, NATO and fellow partner countries which are all critical factors for succeeding in empowering women and achieve gender equality.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has vividly demonstrated the value of JONAP and the extent of stakeholder ownership and collaboration, including increased collaboration to provide gender-responsive protection and prevention services during the COVID-19 outbreak. Civil society organizations played a critical role in community mobilization at the community level.
On the role of civil society, Ms. Samar Muhareb, CEO of Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD), affirmed: “The vital importance of 1325 was proven during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provided a framework upon which the emergency response could be based, guaranteed the role of women to support their communities, ensured the work completed responded to the needs of women, and provided the mechanism for cooperation with the government."
Najah Al-Eweidat, Head of AlKiram Association in Mafraq, representative from the Jordanian National Forum (JONAF), said: “The JONAP enlightened the road for 61 associations, of which 11 are women-led under the ARDD coalition initiative. The Coalition aims to respond to humanitarian and development crises by serving the needs of the most vulnerable refugees and citizens effectively. During the COVID-19, AlKiram Association in partnership with the local governorate, distributed public safety kits and 1325 food parcels to families that are most in need."
Maram Maghalseh, Head of Women’s Empowerment & Supporting Association, on behalf of JONAP Coalition added: “Civil society organizations had an important role in drafting the Jordanian National Action Plan as well as in mobilizing support for national efforts under the women's security and peace agenda; they contributed to the formulation of the main advocacy messages along with decision-makers and paved way forward for sustained action and the implementation of the plan."
The meeting concluded with the endorsement of the JONAP Annual Work Plan 2020. The overall goal of the JONAP is to contribute to Jordan’s stability and security by improving operational security responses, as well as by ensuring that the framework through which Jordan approaches peace and security issues recognizes the specific needs of women and their human rights.
“Jordan’s exemplary leadership on the women, peace and security agenda is recognized globally. Through the JONAP and the strong partnerships with the international community, 2020 and beyond promises more opportunities to demonstrate women’s key roles in ensuring continued peace and security and an inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 crisis”, said Mr. Ziad Sheikh, UN Women Jordan in his closing remarks.
Available in Arabic here.