Cyprus: Pathways towards Sustainable Peace
[Nicosia, 8 March 2017] News from our members of the Cyprus Women’s Lobby. The "Pathways towards Sustainable Peace" White Book on "Building United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, Peace and Security Agenda in Cyprus" is the result of the hard work and efforts put forward by participants at the conference: Pathways Towards Sustainable Peacebuilding on November 3 and 4, 2016 in Cyprus. The publication is supported by World Vision International Middle East and Eastern Europe Regional Office, FES-Cyprus, UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office, United Nations Peacekeeping Force (DPK) in Cyprus, European Parliament Information Office in Cyprus and the Embassy of Sweden in Cyprus.
Abstract: The Cypriot Context: Where are the women in the Cyprus peace process?
"Cypriot women are still missing from the official negotiation table despite the UNSC Resolution 1325 recommendations to UN member-states which Cyprus has also endorsed. Both the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot negotiating teams have ignored for many years the relevance of UNSCR 1325 as part of the pathway towards a sustainable and durable solution to the Cyprus Problem. While the term “gender” includes women, girls, men and boys, an adequate understanding of its impact in formal discussions and possible solutions to the Cyprus Problem amongst the members of the negotiating team is not fully appreciated. Thus the context of the
Cyprus peace negotiations lacks a gender perspective and thus fails to address gender equality issues in all the chapters under discussion-governance, property, citizenship, economy and security. Women appointed in the working groups and the technical committees dealing with the talks are few. This also reflects the low participation of women in all other government institutions and decision-making bodies-only one woman minister and only seven women in the Legislature. In the Turkish Cypriot community there are three female “members of parliament” and one female “speaker of parliament”."
