ACCORD hosted Ms Nthabiseng Malefane, South Africa’s newly appointed National Focal Point on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), and Ms Caron Kgomo, Director of Gender and Diversity Management from the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO) for a meeting at the ACCORD offices in Durban, on 09 September 2022. This meeting was a follow up to the WPS Focal Points 4th Capital level Meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland from 18 – 19 May 2022, where ACCORD was selected as the official civil society partner to DIRCO for the Capital Meeting.
Civil society has been critical in driving the WPS Agenda through advocating for the development of National Action Plans (NAPS) in various parts of the world. Building on the recommendations made at the 4th Capital Meeting, this meeting served as a recap of the proceedings that took place and provided an opportunity to discuss the importance of sustaining civil society involvement in the life cycle of WPS, more specifically, WPS NAPS, and building bridges between governments and civil society organizations. The meeting identified actionable points that ACCORD will provide support to DIRCO during its Co-chairship of the WPS Focal Points Network. The analysis and knowledge shared during this meeting will help inform the relevant stakeholders on policy development that will contribute towards enhancing the capacity of women to influence and lead peace processes and post-conflict reconstruction initiatives at the national and multilateral levels. The formalization of this engagement and participation will further strengthen the WPS Agenda.
