Women must be at the table to resolve
the Korean conflict
Coalition of women peace movement
leaders demands to be at Vancouver Ministerial Meeting
For Immediate Release - January
8, 2018
Vancouver, B.C. -- A coalition of distinguished women representing feminist peace
movements from across the globe is pushing to be included in the Foreign
Ministers Meeting on Security and Stability in the Korean Peninsula being
jointly hosted by Canada and the United States in Vancouver on January 16, 2018.
The coalition has delivered a letter signed
by 216 civil society organizations from 47 countries to the Foreign Ministers
invited to attend the Vancouver meetings.
The
delegation of 16 women experts from
organizations across Asia, Europe and North America will travel next week
to Vancouver to urge the Foreign
Ministers gathered to pursue a comprehensive and lasting resolution to the
longstanding conflict. Given the recent breakthrough on inter-Korean dialogue, the delegates will
encourage government officials to support the peace process in Korea, not
derail it.
ÒResearch shows that womenÕs
inclusion in peace processes not only yields actual peace agreements,
but also more durable ones,Ó said Christine Ahn, International
Coordinator of Women Cross DMZ, a global movement of women mobilizing to end
the Korean War. ÒA peaceful and diplomatic solution to the Korean conflict is the
only acceptable path forward. It is possible, but it requires all the best
thinking, expertise and perspectives. This must include the women and civil
society movements that have been left out of these discussions to date.Ó
A major study
spanning three decades of 40 peace processes, shows that of 182 signed peace
accords, an agreement was reached in all but one case when womenÕs groups
influenced the peace process.
ÒMany of the
women in our delegation have been to North Korea; most of the Ministers meeting
in Vancouver have not. North Koreans are not invited to attend, so it is
essential to include in the talks those who have been on the ground in North
Korea, who have seen the cost to ordinary people, and who bring a human element
to a very human reality,Ó said Lee Moon Sook, Vice-chairperson
of the Reconciliation and Reunification Committee, National
Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK).
ÒSanctions are often characterized as a peaceful alternative
to military action, but they are in fact incredibly damaging to the people of
the country who feel the suffering directly in their daily lives,Ó said Ewa Eriksson Fortier, who was previously Head of Country
Delegation in Pyongyang, DPRK for the International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies, and has since returned for several country visits.
ÒJust last November, we welcomed the
Canadian governmentÕs announcement of CanadaÕs National Action Plan on Women,
Peace and Security, a key element in CanadaÕs Feminist International Assistance
Policy. This is a crucial
test of whether or not that Plan is more than a piece of paper,Ó said Patti
Talbot, Chair, Global Partnerships, The United Church of Canada. ÒWe are encouraged by CanadaÕs
leadership in co-convening these talks. We now look to our government to make
good on their word about our countryÕs feminist foreign policy.Ó
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The group is asking for the
opportunity to present to and meet with the foreign ministers as part of the
formal talks on January 16.
Available for media comment:
CHRISTINE AHN
Women Cross DMZ
International Coordinator
United
States
310-482-9333
LEE
MOON SOOK
National
Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK)
Vice-chairperson
of the Reconciliation and Reunification Committee
Republic of
Korea
82-10-2355-3550
PATTI TALBOT
The United Church of Canada
Chair, Global Partnerships
Canada
1-416-268-6514
nancy@mchargcommunications.com
604 760 4366
Resources:
Letter to
Foreign Ministers
Mary OÕReilly,
Andrea Ō Sůilleabh‡in, and Thania Paffenholz.
(2015), ÒReimagining
Peacemaking: WomenÕs Roles in
Peace Processes,Ó New York. International Peace
Institute.
Bios of all
delegates (with photos)