Govts told to increase women's participation in peace processes

Veeramalla Anjaiah , The Jakarta Post , Baku | Fri, 06/13/2008 10:04 AM | World

An international women's conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday urged governments to increase the participation of women in all areas of decision making and peace-building processes.

The two-day conference, titled "The Role of Women in Cross-Cultural Dialogue", ended with the adoption of the Baku Declaration, which called for women to play more active roles in strengthening intercultural dialogue, and recognizes families as the foundation of society.

"(We) call on all governments to increase participation of women in all spheres of decision-making and peace-building processes, with a special emphasis on conflict resolution," the declaration said.

"(We) agree to promote the role of women in mass media, aiming at valorizing their image as well as their achievements in ensuring intercultural dialogue."

The conference, which was attended by around 350 participants from every continent -- including several first ladies -- discussed concerns over the frequency of cases of intolerance and xenophobia in the name of racial, ethnic, religious and gender differences.

"(We) call on all governments and civil society actors to spare no efforts in promoting sustainable dialogue, tolerance, justice and peaceful co-existence," the Baku Declaration says.

Participants also emphasized the importance of women's education and women's contribution to reshaping the collective imagination and to overcoming stereotypes and prejudices.

"(We) stress the importance of providing women every educational opportunity, as a guarantee of a sustainable future for all generations," it said.

The declaration also called on governments to ensure cultural and spiritual values and beliefs were not exploited for political purposes.

The Baku Declaration was praised by several participants.

"It's positive. Women are in the best position to actively participate in cross-cultural dialogue. I hope there will be a follow-up to the Baku Declaration," a participant from Jakarta, Laura Schuurmans, told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the conference.

Laura, who presented a paper on "Religious Tolerance & Global Harmony in the Twenty-First Century" at the forum, also lashed out at proponents of the "clash of civilizations" between the West and the Muslim World.

"There is no such clash of civilizations, but merely lack of understanding between the two worlds caused by cultural and religious differences which have been ignored over an extended period," Laura said.

The idea of civilizations was exploited by political leaders and radical groups and was portrayed as a religious war, Laura added.

"The Baku Declaration is okay, but they should have included human rights issues," a participant from Ireland, Margreet Wewerinke, said.

The conference announced the establishment of the Baku Forum, which aims to develop intercultural dialogue into a continuous process, and has committed to do so in the framework of the next Baku forum, due to be held in 2010.

The conference explored the challenges of globalization, issues of cultural identification and religious tolerance, as well as a universal system of human values.

"The conference was a success. Azerbaijan, which has a centuries-old history of tolerance, is the right place to organize this kind of meeting," Laura said.

The forum was organized by Azerbaijani first lady Mehriban Aliyeva in her capacity as the president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, in cooperation with UNESCO and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO).

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