AWACIO

REPORT ON AWACIO’S PARTICIPATION IN THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY SEMINAR AT THE NEW CHELSEA HOTEL, CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, ABUJA.

The organization, Justice For All (J4A), in collaboration with the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) held a Seminar/Award presentation event to commemorate the international women’s Day (IWD) celebration at the New Chelsea Hotel, Central Business District, Abuja.
AWACIO, as well as, other members of the Women for Peace and Security (WPS) network were present at this Seminar/Award presentation event. AWACIO is a member of the event planning committee.

The meeting started with the registration of guests at about 9.00am, guests were given the programme of events, copy of the National Action Plan (NAP), and a biro. The numbers of participants were about a hundred and forty five (145).
The event started officially with the introduction of the Master of the Ceremony (MC) Dr (Mrs.) Nwadinobi Eleanor, who immediately requested a minute of silence for the lives of those lost during the Boko Haram insurgence in the North Eastern part of the country. She went ahead to say that “We are joining hands with friends across the nations to commemorate the IWD.” She read out the theme of the event, which was ‘Women Peace and Security: the missing MDG’. Members of the High table were introduced and the following persons were recognized:

• Dr.Ukoha Ukiwo, Programme Manager, NSRP.
• Mr. Godwin Odo, Component Manager, J4A.
• Mrs. Diseye Desire Nsirim, Commissioner of Police Niger State.
• Barrister Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku, Former Director Nigeria financial intelligence unit.
• Representatives of the Dutse Emirate Council.

Next on the agenda were the Remarks by the Programme Manager, NSRP who welcomed everyone to the Seminar/Award presentation event. He stated that the background of the programme was as follows:

• Nigeria, as a nation, is facing serious security challenges. The event will try to address the threats of conflicts which pose a very big challenge to development.
•  How to support Nigerians to manage conflicts better since conflicts have become part of our existence.

         He went further to enumerate factors which have made organizations managing conflicts in Nigeria to be weak and he highlighted them as:

• Lack of coordination amongst institutions involved.
• No participation by relevant bodies in decisions patterning to security.
• No accountability thereby leading to lack of public trust.

In trying to proffer a solution to the insecurity problems, he said that supporting the coordination of the local, state, and federal Government’s efforts will go a long way in addressing the drivers of violence in the country.
Laying emphasis on the component of the Seminar/Award event, the Programme Manager reiterated that the purpose was to support the participation of women in decision making and also to handle the harmful impacts of violence. He stated that Justice reforms which promotes accountability, should also be encouraged.
The first presentation of the day was delivered by Professor Patricia Donli, Executive Director, Gender Equality, Peace and Development Centre on ‘Women Peace and Security’. Her speech was based on an article titled ‘Women in Conflict situation in Nigeria’.  She spoke on the plight of women in the conflict zones in Nigeria and called for suggestions on how to best tackle the problem which she stated as ‘the way forward’. She rounded up her presentation in forty five (45) minutes / after which there were questions and answers.

Following her presentation was the second speaker of the day, the Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Mr. Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani), who spoke on the topic “Women as agents of peace building”. He spoke on obstacles facing women’s participation in peace building process and also on ways of enhancing women participation in peace building and security process. The presentation was very brief, followed by questions and answers.
Immediately after the tea break, the third presenter, Dr. Eleanur Nwadunobi spoke on the National action Plan (NAP) referred to as the UNSCR 1325. She spoke about the key provisions of UNSCR 1325 which included the 5ps:

• protection
• prevention
• participation
• promotion
• Prosecution.

She outlined the roles of the Federal Sector, State Sector, National Assembly, and Civil society organizations. She also discussed the role of Donors and the Judiciary Sector in the implementation of the UNSCR 1325. She concluded by discussing the expected impacts and challenges facing the implementation of UNSCR 1325. There were questions and answers after her presentation.

The final presentation of the day was delivered by Saudatu Mahdi, MFR, Secretary General of  Women Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) spoke on the “Access to Justice for Victims of Violence against Women and Girls’. She was introduced by Godwin Odo. She talked about principles of Access to justice for women and the challenges and opportunities for Access to Justice for victims/survivors of violence. There were questions and answers after her presentation.

Award presentation to outstanding achievers in “Inspiring change in Women, Peace and Security through justice sector reforms initiatives” were made.
The recipient of the Awards were,

• Barrister Mrs. Itoro Eze- Anaba, Managing partner-partnership for Justice
• Mrs. Diseye Desire Nsirim, Commissioner of Police Niger State.
• Barrister Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku, Former Director Nigeria financial intelligence unit.
• Representatives of the Dutse Emirate Council from Jigawa State

Following the remarks of Mr. Bob Arnot, the event came to a conclusion.
Glossary:
IWD =                            International Women’s Day
AWACIO =                    Aids for Women, Adolescents and children international organization
NSRP=                           Nigeria Security and Reconciliation Programme
J4A=                                Justice for All
NAP=                              National Action Plan
UNSCR=                         United Nations Security Council Resolution
VAW=                             Violence against Women
A2J =                               Access to Justice.
WRAPA =                       Women Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative.
CISLAC =                        Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre.
WPS =                             Women for Peace and Security.
MDG =                             Millennium Development Goal.
MC=                                 Master of Ceremony