The Secretary General of Club de Madrid, Carlos Westendorp, was one of the speakers in the panel “Leveraging international and local support for moving forward a women’s agenda towards a just and sustainable Palestinian-Israeli peace”. In his speech he highlighted the importance for women to be networking and in contact with decision makers at all levels at the same time. “When I was in Bosnia-Herzegovina I missed a Resolution like the 1325 to integrate women in all the processes”, said Westendorp.
Our new Director of Programs, Matthew Hodes also moderated a panel on “Asymmetry and accountability: What can the international community do to support a just and sustainable peace in Israel-Palestine that works for women?”. Since its inception, the International Women’s Commission (IWC) has vigorously appealed to the international community to act as a proactive third party capable of providing mediation, arbitration and accountability for violations of international law and international humanitarian law. The international community, as the IWC argues, is also critical for addressing asymmetries of power reflected in Israeli and Palestinian leadership as well as in all spheres of Palestinian life in the occupied territories. Therefore, the aim of the panel was to tackle the difficult question of how the international community can play a more active role in supporting accountability and the mitigation of asymmetries of power towards a just and sustainable Palestinian-Israeli peace.
Althought our Member Mary Robinson was far from Madrid, she didn’t want to miss the opportunity to launch a video message on “United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 & Women’s Leadership for Peace in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict” as one of the Keynote Addresses of the meeting.
