Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
The United Nations (UN) has called on state governments in Nigeria to key into the global body’s Action Plan for promoting peace and security for women and, by extension, the universal community.
Programme Specialist, UN Women, Mr Peter Mancha, stated this in Abuja at a one-day consultative engagement organised for women and mediators in Plateau and Kaduna states by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS).
Mancha said the action plan emanated from the United Nations Resolution 1325, which increased the participation of women in peace and security. He said the objectives of the plan included prevention of conflict and all forms of violence against women and girls, and institution of coping mechanisms and systems for averting and mitigating disasters.
He added that though Nigeria had domesticated the plan, it was necessary for state governments to ensure its implementation.
Mancha stated, “The state action plan is not just a document; there are frameworks and structures to enhance implementation of women, peace and security agenda.
“Fifteen states had domesticated the action plan, including Plateau and Kaduna states.
“UN Women is working to ensure that we support some states, currently we are supporting six states on this agenda. Plateau and Kaduna are part of the states.
“One of the objectives is, how do we ensure that the legislators take ownership in terms of supporting this agenda so that it is not left for only the executive.
“This is so that they can be formulating laws that are gender sensitive and gender responsive. Of course, we have the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act domesticated in almost all the 36 states.”
Director-General, NILDS, Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, said without the assistance of the legislature, implementation of SAP and VAPP Act could not be realised. Sulaiman expressed the institution’s appreciation to the UN Women and development partners for facilitating the development of the agenda to end violence against women.
On her part, Plateau State Commissioner of Women Affairs, Mrs Rebecca Sambo, said the state was the first to gazette the VAPP law.
Sambo stated, “The government has approved the implementation of the gender commission. With the law, women should stand up and ensure that their voices are heard with regard to peace and security.”
