There is an urgent need for stronger implementation of policy instruments focused on accountability, monitoring, and evaluation for women, Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) chairperson Ermelita Valdeavilla said.
Valdeavilla, speaking at an international women’s conference held in Manila, also emphasized that “words should match with transformative actions and pleasurable impacts” by enhancing women’s capacity for peacebuilding and ensuring that resources are available to women peacebuilders.
The PCW chairperson highlighted the alarming statistics regarding women’s representation in peace negotiations: women constitute only 9.6% of negotiators, 13.7% of mediators, and 26.6% of signatories to peace agreements.
“Honorable delegates, marginal representation is not leadership,” Valdeavilla stressed.
“On incorporating women’s agenda in peace processes, in 2023, only 26% of peace agreements mention women’s agenda. If women are only marginally represented in negotiation and decision-making, this invisibility will persist,” she further explained.
“We appeal to you to make involvement and consultation with women a mandatory priority of peacebuilding, not as an opposition, but as an imperative,” she added.
Valdeavilla called on governments and delegates at the conference to prioritize climate action in “helping women recognize resilience and adaptation” empowering them to be “architects of their own response” in disaster recovery and climate change management.
“No equality without development and peace. And now, there will be no equality, development, and peace without climate security,” Valdeavilla concluded.
