The Alliance for Gender Inclusion in the Peace Process (AGIPP) has pushed for an increase in women participating in the upcoming 21st Panglong Conference in a meeting with the chairman of the Myanmar Peace Commission, at the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC), in Rangoon on Friday [August 19].
Friday’s meeting with MPC’s chairman Dr. Tin Myo Win was to ensure that the MPC would commit to implement “at least 30 per cent participation by the women at different levels of political dialogues” since only 7% of women were invited to the [Panglong] Conference, as highlighted in the AGIPP’s recent analysis, according to a AGIPP press release.
“At the meeting, we requested to read the advice paper concerned with the conference’s policy. We also discussed the inclusion of women in the technical advisor team of the Myanmar Peace Commission and to invite women to comprise a third of attendees in the 21st Panglong Conference. However, we did not get exact answers from Dr. Tin Myo Win. We also asked to have the list of the women that the MPC will invite,” said Daw May Sabe Phyu, a steering committee member of AGIPP.
AGIPP also submitted an open letter to the MPC chairman, requesting that “any revision of the political dialogue framework must guarantee female participation in the peace process by supporting meaningful engagement; ensuring women’s rights are part of the discussion and that the process and policy outcomes are gender-inclusive – meaning gender equality issues are taken into account”, according to its press release.
The statement continued, urging the allowance of AGIPP representatives working “on Women, Peace and Security to attend the 21st Century Panglong Conference in order to put forward gender inclusive policy recommendations in each of the five key conference themes: politics, security, economics, social issues, land and resources”.
AGIPP’s steering committee member Daw May Sabe Phyu also said that the AGIPP has received a response from the MPC acknowledging AGIP’s proposals at the first meeting between the AGIPP and MPC’s chairman.
In 2014, AGIPP formed as a civil society alliance through national organizations and networks working for women’s rights, gender justice as well as peace and security processes. It has eight founding members, including the Gender and Development Institute (GDI), Gender Equality Network (GEN), Women’s League of Burma (WLB), Kachin State Women’s Network (KSWN) and Mon Women’s Network (MWN).
