UN Women in Kyrgyzstan celebrates an International Day for Peace
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On 13 September 2012 the Kyrgyzstan Country Office of UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women organized an Open Day for Peace in Aravan, Osh province. The event included a dialogue session between women activists and the Special Representative of UN Secretary-General in Central Asia, Miroslav Jenca. Issues of peace, stability and security were discussed. The Open Day for Peace is an opportunity for United Nations staff to listen to the voices of women and men, on peace and security and make suggestions on the work of the UN system. Ambassador Jenca met with civil society of Aravan Rayon, with the members of the interdepartmental working group on development of a National Action Plan for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, as well as the consultation with representatives of women organizations in Osh city. The event was attended by the Head of the Department of Ethnic and Religious Policy and Public Relations under the Office of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Madam Mira Karybayeva, the UN Resident Coordinator Alexander Avanessov and the Representative of UN Women in Kyrgyzstan, Dr. Sabine Machl.
Miroslav Jenca highlighted the progress in the reconciliation process in the south of the country and the significant input of women in restoration of trust and mutual understanding in local communities. He acknowledged a need for more efforts to sustain peace and stability in Kyrgyzstan and in the region.
During the meeting in Check-Abad village residents voiced their concerns and needs in this border region and discussed issues of religious education, concerns associated with obtaining passports, and the issues of early marriage.
“We will do our best to resolve these issues in cooperation with local authorities and the State Registration Service,” assured Mira Karybayeva.
«Home-based religious education seems to be popular and at the same time there is little information on it. Research on this issue was conducted by the Women’s Peace Network (WPN) of Kyrgyzstan and findings on the peculiarities of this form of religious education were presented by Jumagul Bolponova, a WPN leader in Aravan Rayon.
During the working meeting with the members of the working group under the Government of Kyrgyz Republic on elaboration of the plan of implementation of UN SC Resolution on security and participation of women in peace-building, Miroslav Jenca welcomed the decision of the Government on implementation of the resolution. He mentioned that it is important not only to develop the action plan, but also to define the mechanisms of its implementation and funding. State policy in gender equality area is of critical importance during the period of intensive reforms in the country, and special attention needs to be paid to the issues of political participation and women representation at all levels of state power and management. Miroslav Jenca expressed confidence in successful cooperation in this direction due to the Country office launching of UN Women in Kyrgyzstan.
The Open Day event was accompanied by a media tour for journalists from Bishkek and Osh. A visit was made to one of the schools in Kara-Suu Rayon, where a school radio network has been established with the support of UN Women for the sake of peace and reconciliation. Schoolchildren demonstrated their DJing skills and explained to the journalists regarding the importance of the initiative. «Every day we are on air and host various programs, oriented on peace building and mutual understanding between our peers - schoolchildren. Programs are aired in three languages!» Young radio journalists conducted interviews with the visitors and showed their interest in the visit of Miroslav Jenca.
Concluding the Open Day, representatives of women's organizations discussed with the Ambassador Jenca the priority task of increased political participation of women, especially on the eve of elections for local administrative structures. They handed a petition to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, calling for attention to facilitate creation of conditions for equal participation of women in political life and on provision of security for women and girls. The appeal also voiced the need to monitor implementation of national and international obligations regarding gender equality and funding for the implementation of gender policies.
Concluding the meeting, the Representative of UN Women in Kyrgyzstan, Dr. Sabine Machl affirmed that “It is very important to hear your voice today and hear the opinions of each of you. We will continue to work on the important issue of women's participation in peace processes and the protection of the rights of women and girls. The office of UN Women in Kyrgyzstan is always open for dialogue and collaboration.”
Miroslav Jenca highlighted the progress in the reconciliation process in the south of the country and the significant input of women in restoration of trust and mutual understanding in local communities. He acknowledged a need for more efforts to sustain peace and stability in Kyrgyzstan and in the region.
During the meeting in Check-Abad village residents voiced their concerns and needs in this border region and discussed issues of religious education, concerns associated with obtaining passports, and the issues of early marriage.
“We will do our best to resolve these issues in cooperation with local authorities and the State Registration Service,” assured Mira Karybayeva.
«Home-based religious education seems to be popular and at the same time there is little information on it. Research on this issue was conducted by the Women’s Peace Network (WPN) of Kyrgyzstan and findings on the peculiarities of this form of religious education were presented by Jumagul Bolponova, a WPN leader in Aravan Rayon.
During the working meeting with the members of the working group under the Government of Kyrgyz Republic on elaboration of the plan of implementation of UN SC Resolution on security and participation of women in peace-building, Miroslav Jenca welcomed the decision of the Government on implementation of the resolution. He mentioned that it is important not only to develop the action plan, but also to define the mechanisms of its implementation and funding. State policy in gender equality area is of critical importance during the period of intensive reforms in the country, and special attention needs to be paid to the issues of political participation and women representation at all levels of state power and management. Miroslav Jenca expressed confidence in successful cooperation in this direction due to the Country office launching of UN Women in Kyrgyzstan.
The Open Day event was accompanied by a media tour for journalists from Bishkek and Osh. A visit was made to one of the schools in Kara-Suu Rayon, where a school radio network has been established with the support of UN Women for the sake of peace and reconciliation. Schoolchildren demonstrated their DJing skills and explained to the journalists regarding the importance of the initiative. «Every day we are on air and host various programs, oriented on peace building and mutual understanding between our peers - schoolchildren. Programs are aired in three languages!» Young radio journalists conducted interviews with the visitors and showed their interest in the visit of Miroslav Jenca.
Concluding the Open Day, representatives of women's organizations discussed with the Ambassador Jenca the priority task of increased political participation of women, especially on the eve of elections for local administrative structures. They handed a petition to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, calling for attention to facilitate creation of conditions for equal participation of women in political life and on provision of security for women and girls. The appeal also voiced the need to monitor implementation of national and international obligations regarding gender equality and funding for the implementation of gender policies.
Concluding the meeting, the Representative of UN Women in Kyrgyzstan, Dr. Sabine Machl affirmed that “It is very important to hear your voice today and hear the opinions of each of you. We will continue to work on the important issue of women's participation in peace processes and the protection of the rights of women and girls. The office of UN Women in Kyrgyzstan is always open for dialogue and collaboration.”