Dale Hess Calendar - Dates for your diaries

Thursday 18 February – Thursday 3 March: Transition Film Festival. The Transitions Film Festival is visionary program dedicated to spotlighting the complex challenges, cutting-edge ideas, creative innovations and mega-trends that are redefining what it means to be human. We present positive, solutions-focused films and showcase cutting-edge ideas from around the world, along with the creative, academic, governmental, community and business leaders who are creating change locally. http://www.transitionsfilmfestival.com/melbourne-program-2016/

Thursday 18 February, 6.30 pm – 8 pm: Market Forces Campaign Launch. Market Forces believes that the banks, superannuation funds and governments that have custody of our money should use it to protect not damage our environment. We're planning to make this year massive. Massive campaigns, resulting in massive change. We have climate change commitments from banks that need to be turned into concrete action that moves finance out of fossil fuels. We want to turn divestment from coal, oil and gas from a steady stream to an unstoppable torrent. And of course, we have new dirty coal proposals here in Australia and overseas that need to be stopped in their tracks.  Venue: Treasury Room, Imperial Hotel, 2 Bourke St, Melbourne (corner Spring Street). Food provided, drinks at bar prices. Free entry but bookings are essential as places are limited. RSVP here. Market Forces is proud to be an affiliate project of Friends of the Earth Australia and a member of the BankTrack international network, connecting us with passionate campaigners, environmental issue experts and advocates of environmentally sustainable behaviour from the finance sector.  

Get the details and RSVP for our Melbourne campaign launch here. 

Saturday 20 February, 5.02 pm – 7 pm: Peace, Faith and Solving Conflict. Invited speakers: Prof. Gary Bouma, UNESCO and Rev.Victor Kazanjian, Global Director United Religions Initiative. Venue: Cultural Infusion Centre, 49 Vere Street, Collingwood College Theatre (entrance from Campbell Street). Sponsored by Cultural Infusion and United Religions Initiative. Free event. Refreshments provided. 

Bookings:https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/culture-talk-tickets-21240877035

Wednesday, 24 February, 7.30 pm – 9.30 pm: Syrian Conflict Information Evening. The Amnesty International Bayside Team are hosting an information evening on the current Syrian crisis. Presenting an impartial account of the current internal armed conflict in Syria, as well as information about the settlement process for refugees and asylum seekers. From 7.30 pm we will have three speakers, discussing the current Syrian crisis, intake of refugees and settlement services for refugees and asylum seekers here in Australia. Tim Redfern from Amnesty International Bayside, Alanna Attard from AMES and Panos Massouris from AMES will be speaking. Venue: The Sandy Beach Centre - 2 Sims Street Sandringham. Register here.

Saturday 5 March, 9 am – 11.30 am: Oases Breakfast Conversation: Listening to Indigenous Voices. Dr Robert Hoskin will share insights from his listening to his Kimberley friends relevant to relating with land and community. Together we will explore how listening means a change of heart, if not our change in approach to life and relationships, and discuss how  knowledge of the past might save us from endless repetition in the future. $30/$20 Concession. Main Hall, Habitat Centre for Spirituality, 2 Minona Street, Hawthorn. To book:http://www.oases.edu.au/breakfast/

Monday 11 April; Sunday and Monday, 24 April and 25 April; Sunday 1 May: Ecological Literacy. Ecological literacy was initially used byDavid W. Orr and physicist Fritjof Capra in the 1990s, to understand the Earth as a living system whose well-being was dependent on our thinking in terms of the interdependence of all living systems. In his Web of Life Capra writes of the emergence of a new paradigm challenging the old mechanistic and linear view of the universe and challenging notions of continuous growth and development and with it consumerism and commodification as the “normal”. Ecological literacy is about using this interdependent view of the world to help address the complex dilemmas around the destructive impact that humans have had on the world bringing us to what is often called the Anthropocene… And together we'll draw on the experiences and wisdom of all participants, and the 'natural world' around us. Cost $800. Further details: info@oases.edu.au.

Monday 25 April – Friday 29 April: Living the Peace Testimony with Greg Rolles. Explore the connections between war, militarism, climate change, colonisation of Indigenous peoples, racism – and your own urges to help bring peace. Silver Wattle Quaker Centre, 1063 Lake Road, Bungendore, NSW. Telephone:02 6238 0588

Friday 10 June – Monday 13 June: Indigenous Spirituality and Culture with Karen Kime. Journey into Aboriginal ways of teaching country, kinship and cross-cultural issues in work and community. The workshop will also include examples of other indigenous people. Silver Wattle Quaker Centre, 1063 Lake Road, Bungendore, NSW. Telephone:02 6238 0588

Monday 11 July; Sunday and Monday, 31 July and 1 August; Saturday 10 September: Recreating our Organisations. We live in a world of organisations, educational, familial, work…each with its own culture and processes and each creating its own set of experiences for those who interact with it. Whilst we cannot escape from the reality of organizations in our lives, we can learn to better understand, work with and change (for the better) the organizations in which we play a part…In this unit then our central question addresses the possibilities of recreating or re-imagining the way we organise that would create more soulful, meaningful, value based,  collaborative and generative organisations that are relevant for 21st century sustainable and socially just organisations. Cost $800. Further details: info@oases.edu.au.

FIRST REFUGEES FROM SYRIAN CONFLICT HAVE ARRIVED IN VICTORIA. THEY ARE IRAQIS.

On possessing the truth .... when the truth does not belong to us ... but we can belong to the truth

I have been a subscriber to Interrupting the Silence for quite a long while.  If I don't get a sermon on a Sunday, it doesn't matter.  I just need Michael K Marsh's thoughtful words to reflect on.  I hope readers of this post appreciate this blog post and subscribe to Michael's blog too.  As you can gather from reading this beautiful post, he does not skim the surface but thoughtfully points out the implications we might otherwise miss. ----- The Editor of Advocacy

The Truth Does Not Belong to Us – A Sermon on John 18:33-37 by Michael K. Marsh “Are you the King of the Jews?” (From John 18:33-37, the gospel for Christ the King Sunday) It’s a simple question and Pilate wants a simple answer, a simple truth. Yes or no. You either are or you aren’t. Which is it? That’s the kind of question I always tried to ask when I was practicing law. Yes or no. This or that. I wanted a clear question and a clear answer. I wanted to eliminate all wiggle room. I wanted to possess the truth. If I could do that then I could establish some power, control, and security, and I had a better chance of creating the outcome my client and I wanted. Even if you've never questioned a witness or tried a lawsuit I’ll bet there have been times in your life when you too wanted a clear answer and a simple truth. I’ll bet there have been times when you tried to categorize your life, relationships, other people, and the world into this or that, yes or no. You took your experience, what you knew, what you had been told, what you believed or wanted to believe, and marked off the boundaries of what was true. You wanted to possess the truth. I understand that. I want to possess the truth. Pilate wants to possess the truth. I think we all do things to try and possess the truth. We want to possess the truth and know that within the borders of our truth we have given ourselves some power over our lives, some stability and security, some predictability and control. It’s often our first response to the circumstances of daily life. There is, however, a dark and dangerous side to claiming possession of the truth. When we claim to be the sole custodians of truth we put ourselves in the position of having to defend, guard, and protect that truth. We promote and impose our truth on others. Lines are drawn and walls are built. Conversations are reduced to a monologue of rhetoric, and relationships give way to either isolation or domination. And pretty soon violence arises in the words we speak and the actions we take. Sometimes it is a violence that injures or kills another human being but it always wounds the human soul, theirs and ours. At some level settling for a simple truth and claiming possession of that truth is at the heart of conflict and violence. Let me give you some examples of what that looks like. It looks like bombings and attacks in Mali, Nigeria, Paris, Beirut, and that’s just in the last ten days. It looks like thirty-one governors and the House of Representatives declaring Syrian refugees unwelcome in the United States; It looks like Israelis and Palestinians killing each other. It looks like seventeen presidential candidates each claiming to know more and better than the other. It looks like racism and the murder of nine black men and women in Charleston, South Carolina. It looks like Mr. Mukker, a 53 year old Sikh man on his way to the grocery store hearing shouts of “Terrorist!” “Bin Laden!” “Go back to your country!” and then being beaten because he wore a turban and had a beard. It looks like broken hearts in marriages, families, and friendships. In each of those situations someone or some group is claiming to be the sole possessor of the truth. If I learned anything from my time practicing law it was that my clients and I had, at most, only a piece of the truth. We did not possess the whole truth. The more witnesses I questioned and the more cases I tried, the more I began to realize that the truth was never as simple as I wanted it to be or as I tried to make it. That’s not just about practicing law. It’s also about practicing life, practicing faith, practicing relationships. Like it or not, it’s a reality we face every day. I wonder if that’s why Jesus does not give Pilate a straight answer. Maybe that’s his way of telling us that truth is never as simple as we want it to be, never as absolute as we often assert it to be, and never as exclusive as we sometimes claim it is. He knows that truth is more than a fact, an answer, or an experience, and that it cannot be possessed. Rather, it is a life to be lived. The truth to which Jesus testifies is the God who is beyond the circumstances of this world and yet always present in the circumstances of this world. Jesus came into the world to tell us about that truth, to show us what it looks like in a human life, and teach us how to be a part of and belong to that truth. That’s a lesson Pilate doesn’t seem to understand. He just wants facts, “What have you done?” “So you are a king?” It’s a lesson the world desperately needs to learn. It’s a lesson I am still learning. Maybe you are too. To seek and claim sole and exclusive possession of the truth is the way of Pilate and the way of the world, but it is not the way of Christ. Jesus never asks us to possess the truth about him or anything else. Instead, he asks us to belong to the truth, to let ourselves be possessed by his truth, and listen to his voice. So here’s my question. Do we belong to the truth or do we live and act as if the truth belongs to us? How we answer that question will determine whose voice we listen to, the choices we make, the priorities we establish, the words we speak, and the actions we take. “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice,” Jesus said. Okay, then whose voice do we listen to when we act as if the truth belongs to us? Our own. We listen to our own voice and when we do it becomes difficult if not impossible to hear another’s voice, human or divine. When we make ourselves custodians of the truth, when we believe that the truth belongs to us, we listen to our own voice and the voices of those who think and act like us. We listen to the voice of our political party, our country, our religion, our faction. We listen to the voice of our fear and insecurity. We listen to the voice of our prejudice, our individual needs and desires, our experience. I know those voices. I’ve heard and listened to them. I know they are real. And they do speak a truth but it is only a piece of the truth. They remind me that the world is not always safe and life is not always easy. But I also know this. There is another voice, a voice that speaks from a kingdom not of this world. In the midst of uncertainty, fear, and terrorist attacks there is a voice that says, “Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Is. 41:10). “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20). In the darkness of death there is a voice that says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live” (Jn. 11:25). In a sea of human diversity, people who think, act, and believe differently than us, there is a voice that says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mk. 12:31). In a world with battle lines drawn and enemies named there is a voice that says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt. 5:44). In the midst of humanitarian need there is a voice that says, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt. 25:35). In the midst of today’s refugee crisis there is a voice that says, “You shall love the foreigner as yourself” (Lev. 19:34). “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Heb. 13:1). In the pain of a broken heart, hurt feelings, and betrayals, there is a voice that says, “If anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you” (Col. 3:13). In every time, in every place, in every situation there is always that other voice. It is always speaking to us. It speaks in today’s world, in your life, and in my life. That’s the voice I want to listen to. That’s the truth to which I want to belong. That’s the life I want to live. What about you? What about you? Will we belong to the truth or will we live and act as if the truth belongs to us? Michael K. Marsh | November 22, 2015 at 9:01 pm | Tags: Christ the King, John 18:33-37,Sermon, Truth | Categories: Sermon | URL: http://wp.me/pprAI-2dA

Dale Hess calendar week beginning 15-10-19

Wednesday 21 October 7:30 pm - 9pm: Tim Colebatch: Tax Changes or Tax Reform?  Tim Colebatch is a writer, freelance journalist, and former economics editor of the Age. In the first half of his long career, before focusing on economics, he covered many roles, including environment writer, investigative reporter, editorial writer, political and economic columnist, and Washington correspondent. 

Venue: The Study Centre Yarra Theological Union, Box Hill, Best entry via 34 Bedford Street. Entry free. Donations welcome. Refreshments afterwards. Info: 03 9890 1077 | 0409 897 971

Thursday 22 October, 7.30 pm – 9.30 pm: Syria – What is Happening? Speaker: Shahram Akbarzadeh,who is a Research Professor of Middle East and Central Asian Politics. Dr Akbarzadeh works at Deakin University. He has an active research interest in the politics of Central Asia, Islam, Muslims in Australia and the Middle East. We will give an update on the various ways Brigidine Asylum Seeker Project is helping asylum seekers and also explore the needs and what further assistance is needed. Venue: St Joseph’s Hall (beside the bluestone church), 274 Rouse Street , Port Melbourne. Contact:   03 9696 2107.

Monday 26 October, 7 pm – 9.30 pm: Peace in Australia: The untold story: From Military Security to Human Security: Beyond the Cold War & War on Terror. Launch of Peace Museum. The Road Taken: from Vietnam to Afghanistan and Iraq Emeritus Professor with Joseph Camilleri OAM, La Trobe University; Followed by questions and comments The Road We Must Travel:  Prof Camilleri in conversation with Prof Jacqui True, Monash University; Prof Robyn Eckersley, University of Melbourne; A/Prof Marianne Hanson, University of Queensland. Venue: Unitarian Peace Memorial Church 110 Grey Street, East Melbourne. Presented by Pax Christi Victoria for the Anzac Centenary Peace Coalition. Further information: camrita44@gmail.com

Wednesday 28 October, 10 am – 11.30 am: The Australian Climate Security Panel. Australia and its neighbours are on the frontline of climate change. Soaring temperatures, rising sea levels and increases in extreme weather events will play a role in raising the risk of conflict, increasing the displacement of people and worsening the extent of destruction caused by extreme weather events in our region Hosted by UNSW Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy, the panel will discuss climate change, its security implications and the steps being taken by the US and UK militaries to be prepared. Speakers: Rear Admiral David Titley, USN (Ret.), who initiated and led the US Navy’s Task Force on Climate Change whilst serving in the Pentagon; Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, RN (Ret.), who acted as the UK Government’s Climate and Energy Security Envoy;Admiral Chris Barrie (Ret.), Australia's former Chief of Defence; Professor Will Steffen, world leading climate change expert and Climate Councillor. Where: UNSW Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy. Tickets are limited, click here for more information and to reserve your seat in the auditorium.

Wednesday 4 November, 6 pm to 8:30 pm: Impossible Climate: Safe Climate Restoration Under the Microscope. Advocacy for the restoration of a safe climate calls for solutions that the world does not currently possess.. The central question remains ‘is safe climate restoration possible and, if not, what level of action is now morally defensible and yet practically achievable?’ Join Breakthrough for this special forum to examine and critique the recently published discussion paper Striking Targets, with author Philip Sutton. 
FORUM PANELLISTS: Ben Courtice, Friends of the Earth Climate Campaigner; Andrea Bunting, Climate Activist, Researcher & Writer; David Spratt, Climate Policy Analyst; Mark Wakeham, CEO Environment Victoria;Adrian Whitehead, Save The Planet Campaign Manager. Venue: University of Melbourne, Ground Floor, 700 Swanston Street, Carlton, VIC 3053. Free event, donations welcome. Register:https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/im-possible-climate-tickets-19009790796

Friday 6 November – Saturday 7 November, 9.30 am – 5.30 pm: Turn Conflicts into Opportunities. Our relationships are often the most important thing in our life. But when was the last time you took the time to explore how YOU can build better relationships with yourself and others? The "Turn Conflicts to Opportunities" training is a GREAT opportunity to share in a safe and supportive space, and really dive deep into powerful, transformative tools, so that you can integrate them into your life and use them daily. Facilitator: Efrat Wolfson. At Leisure Centre, Eastwood Street, Ballarat VIC. Costs? $355 / $325 early bird special (till 5/10). For more info: For more details and testimonials - click on this link 

Monday 9 November – Tuesday 10 November, 9 am – 5 pm: Community Development: Introductory Course. Become more confident in designing & facilitating community development programs & activities. Learn practical ways of empowering communities; understand the basic concepts of Community Development; examine power and change processes; discuss community development practices; hold conversations with experienced Community Development workers; access to further learning resources; come to understand the field; use the modes of head (intellect), heart (feelings), hands (practical work with people) and feet (groundedness). Venue: 2 Minona Street, Hawthorn.

Tuesday 10 November, 6.30 pm – 8 pm: When Brunswick and Coburg voted “NO” to war. Brunswick and Coburg’s dramatic history and role in the WW1 referendums on conscription will be discussed at  a public meeting on 10 November. The people of Brunswick and Coburg voted “No” to conscription. Local leaders included John Curtin, Frank Anstey and Bella Guerin.  Anti-conscription campaigners were imprisoned in Coburg’s Pentridge Gaol both in WW1 and during the Vietnam War - including speaker Michael Hamel-Green. The inaugural meeting of the Brunswick-Coburg 1916-17 Anti-Conscription Commemoration Committee (BCCCC) -  with suggested future activities presented for discussion. All welcome.  WHERE: St Ambrose Community Centre, 287 Sydney Rd Brunswick (the centre for anti-conscription campaigners in 1916-17!). INFO: Nancy, 0490 182 041

Wednesday 11 November – Thursday 12 November, 9 am – 5 pm: Community Development: Intermediate Course. Become more confident in designing & facilitating community development programs & activities. Learn practical ways of empowering communities; understand the basic concepts of Community Development; examine power and change processes; discuss community development practices; hold conversations with experienced Community Development workers; access to further learning resources; come to understand the field; use the modes of head (intellect), heart (feelings), hands (practical work with people) and feet (groundedness). Venue: 2 Minona Street, Hawthorn.

Wednesday 11 November, 6 pm: Book launch: World War One: A History in 100 Stories by Prof Bruce Scates, Rebecca Wheatley, Laura James. The event will also feature a lecture ‘Remembering and Forgetting War’ by Jay Winter. Venue: Museum Theatre, Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton, Victoria, 3053. Free event, but bookings essential:  ncas.enquiries@monash.edu. Refreshments provided.

Saturday 14 November – Sunday 15 November, 9.30 am – 5.30 pm: Turn Conflicts into Opportunities.Our relationships are often the most important thing in our life. But when was the last time you took the time to explore how YOU can build better relationships with yourself and others? The "Turn Conflicts to Opportunities" training is a GREAT opportunity to share in a safe and supportive space, and really dive deep into powerful, transformative tools, so that you can integrate them into your life and use them daily. Facilitator: Efrat Wolfson.At St Joseph’s Flexible Learning Centre, 385 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne. Costs? $355 / $325 early bird special (till 5/10). For more info:  For more details and testimonials - click on this link 

Saturday 14 November – Thursday 19 November: The Nonviolent Interfaith Leadership Program.Participants of the program will come together for a 5-day retreat in Melbourne at the beautiful Edmund Rice Retreat and Spirituality Centre ‘Amberley’ situated on a bend of the Yarra River in Lower Plenty. In an inspiring interfaith environment, participants will form a community of practice and together study the art of nonviolent leadership in ways that will deepen their leadership potential and expand their capacity to make vital contributions to their community and the world. A team of highly skilled, richly experienced and deeply spiritual facilitators will guide participants through a 5-day retreat. For details see:http://www.nonviolentinterfaithleadership.org/announcement-2015-program/

Friday 27 November, 5.30 pm: Climate Rally. This November, the climate talks will be held in Paris, home of the baguette, the beret and – in a foreboding symbol for heads of state – the guillotine. Of course, throughout history Paris has also been home to mass demonstrations that toppled unpopular regimes, a fact that shouldn’t be lost on leaders anxious about the outcome. As delegates arrive in Paris, Melbourne will kick off a weekend of global climate action with a People’s Climate March. Meet at the State Library, Swanston Street. Click here for more information.

Thursday 3 December and Friday 4 December, Registration at 8.45 am, program 9.30 am to 5.30 pm: Ethical Enterprise Conference 2015. The Ethical Enterprise Conference is a positive educational and networking event for ethical and social enterprises, to discuss the rewards, challenges, issues and opportunities facing ethical and social enterprises, large and small. The conference will bring together a community of professionals, business owners, managers, new social entrepreneurs, students and ethical business leaders with like-minded values. Speakers include Stephanie Woollard, Ross Honeywill, and many more. Venue: The Carlton Connect Initiative University of Melbourne, LAB-14, 700 Swanston Street, Carlton, 3053. Click here for more information

The G20 Summit occurring in Brisbane : voices of the Anglican Communion speak out : message from Philip Freier, Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia & Archbishop of Melbourne

Anglican Communion voices speak out ahead of the G20 summit 

Posted on: November 13, 2014 4:17 PM 

The G20 is a forum for the governments and central bank governors 

from 20 major economies 

Photo Credit: G20 

By ACNS staff

Leading figures from the Anglican Communion are speaking out before and during this weekend’s G20 meeting in Brisbane, Australia, on a range of economic and development issues.

The G20 is a forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies that are said to account for around 85% of the gross world product, 80% of world trade and two-thirds of the world population.

 On the sidelines of the meeting will be people from countries not all represented in the G20, reminding world leaders that global growth should not come at the expense of the world's poorest people.

(l to r) Tagolyn Kabekabe and Abp Winston Halapua 
Photo Credit: ABM
 The Anglican Board of Mission (ABM) reports that the Archbishop of Polynesia, Winston Halapua is asking the G20 to consider how they might co-operate to minimise the impacts of climate change which are already being felt by people in the Pacific Islands.

The Anglican Alliance Regional facilitator for the Pacific will also be in Brisbane during the event. Tagolyn Kabekabe works with communities in the Solomon Islands who are experiencing the erosion of their homelands, poisoning of their food gardens by salt water and increasing exposure to extreme weather events.

Tagolyn represented the Anglican Communion, in particular those in the Pacific directly affected by climate change, at the C20 meeting – a civil society forum that met in June to feed in to the G20 discussions.

The Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, Dr Philip Freier, has issued a statement in which he warns global leaders that “failure to address these issues of economic security and justice will lead to more international conflict and reduce the possibility of human flourishing”. [His full statement is below]

ABM's Greg Henderson has been organising opportunities for people in Brisbane to meet Archbishop Winston and Tagolyn Kabekabe. He says that it is important for Australians to recognise that climate change is a justice issue, "because its impact is being felt most seriously by communities who have the least power to address the causes of anthropogenic warming".

According to the G20 website, the meeting's agenda has been built around the key themes of

• promoting stronger economic growth and employment outcomes 
• making the global economy more resilient to deal with future shocks 
• strengthening global institutions to ensure they reflect the new realities of the global economy.

For more about the G20’s priorities visit  

https://www.g20.org/g20_priorities  

Statement by Dr Philip Freier, 

Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia and Archbishop of Melbourne: 

The G20 meeting of the world’s 20 largest economies in Brisbane this weekend takes place in increasingly uncertain times. There are growing fears of global recession, rising international tensions and growing economic inequality between countries and within countries. 

 In the longer term there are vast challenges, such as managing climate change, global population growth and movement, international conflict, food security, water, and potential epidemics. 

It is essential that the countries taking part look beyond their own short-term national interests and seek to address these challenges in a concerted and effective way. I echo Pope Francis, who urged last week that the discussions move beyond declarations of principle to real improvements in the living conditions of poorer families and the reduction of all forms of unacceptable inequality. 

It will require good will and trust on all sides if the G20 summit is to achieve real progress, and it is the nature of international politics that no one wants to go first on such a path. Yet without a clear-sighted optimism, real change will be impossible. 

Failure to address these issues of economic security and justice will lead to more international conflict and reduce the possibility of human flourishing. They cannot be left to fester. The Anglican Church of Australia urges the G20 leaders to search for new and cooperative solutions that can work across the globe. To that end, we offer our support and prayers. 

 +Philip, Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia

United Nations : women, peace and security.

In a unanimously adopted Presidential Statement this morning ahead of a day-long debate on “women, peace and security,” the Security Council reaffirmed the need to dismantle the “persistent barriers” facing gender equality, calling on Member States to embrace a “dedicated commitment to women's empowerment, participation, and human rights” and ensure their full and equal participation in peace and security issues.

Held annually, the Council's open debate provides an opportunity for the wider UN membership to reflect on the progress made, and accelerate action on implementation of the Security Council resolution 1325, adopted in 2000, which requires parties in a conflict to respect women's rights and support their participation in peace negotiations and in post-conflict reconstruction.

In a message to the 15-member body delivered by Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon thanked the Council for its “consistent focus” on women and peace and security issues, noting that such debate has enabled the international community “to move beyond viewing women as only victims of conflict to seeing them as agents of peace and progress.”

However, he expressed concern that “unprecedented levels of displacement” and the “immense human and financial cost of conflict” is testing global commitments to addressing the needs of women and girls around the world while also hindering their participation in conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding initiatives.

To read more please go here