justice in conflict affected countries
13 March 2007
On behalf of the Governments of the Republic of South Africa and Sweden, as
Co-Chairs of the "partners for gender justice in conflict-affected countries",
the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development would like to invite you
to a High-Level meeting to be held at the Cape Town International Convention
Centre, South Africa on 22 to 23 March 2007.
Security Council resolution 1 325 (2000) underlines the need to ensure that
women are participants in conflict resolution and peace-building processes and
to mainstream gender equality in these areas. To contribute to the efforts to
accelerate implementation of the objectives of Security Council resolution 1
325, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the
International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC) organised a conference on
gender justice in post-conflict situations, with the theme "Peace needs women
and women need justice", from 15 to 17 September 2004 in New York City.
The 2004 conference was followed by a high-level meeting, building
partnerships for promoting gender justice in post-conflict societies, organised
by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, in co-operation with UNIFEM and
ILAC, from 25 to 26 August 2005 in Stockholm. The 2005 meeting focused on the
recommendations that emerged from the 2004 conference, and looked particularly
at how gender justice requirements, within the context of rule of law and
post-conflict peace-building, could be best addressed and operationalised in
such settings.
The partners for gender justice were created to forge a more co-ordinated
and integrated system of collaboration to assist national stakeholders in
achieving gender justice in conflict affected countries. At the 2005
High-Level, it was agreed that Sweden and South Africa will act as the first
co-chairs of this initiative with support from UNIFEM and ILAC.
The key goal of the partners is to contribute to the understanding of how
the international community best can respect and support local ownership of any
plan of action to promote gender justice reforms in conflict affected
countries. Thus far several international meetings, including the meeting in
Liberia in October 2005 have taken place in an attempt to encourage
discussions, processes and events that prioritise upholding the rule of law and
the principles of gender equality.
The purpose of the upcoming regional High-Level Gender Justice meeting in
Cape Town in March is for ministers and High-Level government representatives
from some African countries to meet and to share experiences and thoughts on
how we best can identify gaps, challenges and opportunities to further promote
gender justice and the participation of women within our justice systems. An
important aspect to intensify the implementation of gender justice is to
co-operate and exchange experiences on a regional and international level.
Enquiries:
Ms H Mekwa
Tel: 012 357 8622/012 315 1607
Fax: 086 501 9872/086 501 9795
E-mail: hmekwa@justice.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
13 March 2007
Source: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (http://www.doj.gov.za)
