NEW YORK, JUNE 12– The Plan of Action for Women in Communities to Counter Hate Speech and Prevent Incitement to Violence that Could Lead to Atrocity Crimes was launched today at UN Headquarters in New York. The launch event was co-organized by Italy with the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect (OGPRP), led by Alice Wairimu Nderitu.
The Plan is the result of the joint work of a group of women community leaders from different countries and regions of the world, who met in Naples in July 2022 to discuss how to protect, support and empower women in atrocity prevention. The outcome of their joint work was the drafting of a set of recommendations that form the basis of the Action Plan launched today.
“Women and girls are among the most vulnerable targets of atrocity crimes, and yet, at the same time, they remain crucial actors in restoring the social fabric and cohesion,” Ambassador Maurizio Massari, Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN, stressed at the opening of the event.
“We must listen to the call for action, accountability, and participation that comes from communities, grassroots organizations, and women in civil society, and incorporate this call into our collective vision and interregional action. Women can act effectively at that level as natural peacemakers. That is why we need to make sure that their voices are heard and, even more so, that they count at the table where decisions are made,” Massari added.
Participation is one of the pillars of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and is a prerequisite for the full implementation of Resolution 1325. In this context, Italy reiterated its strong support for this landmark text and the implementation of the WPS agenda, commending the work of UN Women (with Italy holding the Vice-Presidency of the Board this year) to support the full and equal representation and participation of women at all levels of peace processes and security efforts.
“Peacebuilding, peacekeeping, and mediation are areas where women have proven to be particularly effective. We welcome the growing success of regional networks of women mediators and the growing interest in this model in all regions of the world,” the Ambassador highlighted.
Italy was among the initiators of the Mediterranean Women Mediators Network launched in October 2017, which over the years has led to the creation of a Global Alliance of regional networks of women mediators. This year, the torch of coordinating the Global Alliance has shifted from the Mediterranean to Africa, and Italy hopes to strengthen the links and synergies between these existing initiatives and other pilot projects such as the one launched today.
Today’s event took place on the eve of the second International Day for Countering Hate Speech. (@OnuItalia)
