G7 partners in Sri Lanka commit to women empowerment

The year 2020 marked 20 years since the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on ‘Women, Peace and Security’ – a groundbreaking resolution that enshrined the essential role of women in securing and maintaining peace.

In Sri Lanka, women’s role in society altered significantly, as more women became heads of households during the three-decade long conflict and women’s role and inclusion in peacebuilding efforts became more vital than ever, as they worked against tremendous odds for sustainable development and peace in their communities. The ongoing COVID19 pandemic, however, has hindered these efforts and intensified inequalities, reversing the limited gains on gender equality and women’s empowerment in Sri Lanka and around the world.

To address these challenges particularly posed by COVID-19, for women, the G7+ Working Group on Women, Peace and Security was recently co-convened by the Women and Child Development, Preschool and Primary Education, School Infrastructure and Education Services State Ministry, Embassy of Japan in Sri Lanka and UN Women.

At the meeting, Women and Child Development, Preschool and Primary Education, School Infrastructure and Education Services State Ministry Secretary K.M.S.D. Jayasekara, in a prerecorded video statement said, “The state ministry is committed to formulate and execute programmes to enhance legal, institutional and human resource services to strengthen mechanisms for economic, social and educational empowerment of women by aligning national priorities – particularly the national policy framework Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour – in line with international standards of gender equality and women’s empowerment. In doing so, promoting the Women, Peace and Security agenda in Sri Lanka is a key priority.”

The G7+ Working Group was established to take forward the ‘Women, Peace and Security’ Agenda in the country, through the development and implementation of a national action plan to respond to the needs and priorities of women affected by conflict.

Reiterating their commitment, Embassy of Japan in Sri Lanka Minister and Deputy Head of Mission Kitamura Toshihiro highlighted, “Japan has been supporting peace and development in Sri Lanka for many years and become a partner country of Sri Lanka under the G7 initiatives on Women, Peace and Security in 2018, to contribute to the achievement of gender equality, women’s empowerment and to strengthen women’s rights in Sri Lanka. As the partner and lead country for Sri Lanka, Japan has granted US $ 6 million so far to advance the Women, Peace and Security agenda through UN agencies, in addition to the support provided by Japan International Technical Cooperation.”

The working group comprises representatives from G7 countries, Government of Sri Lanka, UN agencies and development actors. It acts as a knowledge-sharing platform for best practices on gender equality and the firstof-its-kind multilateral coordination effort with the Government of Sri Lanka to promote women’s empowerment in the country, particularly amidst the ongoing pandemic.