XV Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement

First Ladies Summit

15-16 July 2009

Women in Crisis Management

 Perspectives and Challenges, Best Practices and Lessons Learned

Chairperson's Summary

 At the initiative and under the chairmanship of H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, the First Lady of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the NAM Summit for First Ladies was held on the 15^th and 16^th of July 2009, with the participation of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and four UN Specialized Agencies ( see list of participants ).

        The Summit was entitled " Women in Crisis Management : Perspectives and Challenges, Best Practices and Lessons Learned". It consisted of two main sessions, the first addressing the Global Economic Food Crises, and the second global humanitarian and health crises.

 The Summit provided a platform for discussion on the role of women in crisis management, where experiences and success stories were shared, and persisting challenges were considered.

          In the course of the Summit, numerous innovative practices and effective initiatives were presented. It was agreed that the following elements may constitute    a significant contribution to the way forward:

• All approaches to crisis management should be based on the principle that women are leaders, key players in achieving the required solutions, and more globally, agents for change.  

• Women should be directly involved and represented in all areas and at all stages in the conduct of public affairs, as well as in the formulation of the social agendas of their societies.

• It is essential to adopt coordinated approaches, at the policy-making and implementation levels, in the context of crisis management, bringing together, in partnership, governments, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector.

• Capacity building, education and training programs should be enhanced with   a view to achieving the requisite levels and numbers of women who are qualified to assume key roles in crisis management.

• Traditional stereotypes and negative societal attitudes regarding the role and responsibilities of women continue to pose a major obstacle to their involvement in crisis management and must be addressed.

2- Financial and Economic Crises:

• The need to improve women's access to micro-credit services as a tool for self-employment and income-generation must be improved, especially women living in poverty and women heading households.
• It is recommended to increase opportunities for women in areas of education and training as a means leading to employment with higher wages.
• Employment generation and cash transfer programs must be elaborated.
• Our societies should undertake broad initiatives to promote women in corporate leadership roles and strategic philanthropy.
• The economic crisis needs a global response and partnership with developed countries in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and rebalance the global trade system in favor of developing countries. 
• Developed countries must honor their Official Development Assistance commitments in order to enable developing countries to overcome the challenges posed by the global financial crisis. 

• We should continue to coordinate with all partner U.N. agencies and civil society organizations in order to respond effectively to the high volatility of food prices and avoid a further severe food crisis, taking into account the gender perspective while elaborating food security programs.
•  Due consideration should be paid to empowering rural women and enabling them to participate actively in the elaboration and implementation of development planning, including through the provision of adequate health facilities, social security programs, training and education, agricultural credit loans, marketing facilities and appropriate technologies. Rural women should be encouraged to organize self-help and cooperatives in order to improve their access to economic opportunities.
• International programs devised to assist small farmers to produce their own food must be followed by allowing them full market access.
• Transfer of agricultural technology with the aim of increasing production in order to address the problem of hunger should be considered a priority.
• With a view to maximizing our efforts to tackle the scourges of food insecurity, malnutrition and hunger, NAM countries should work towards improving access to developed markets in the context of the Doha trade negotiations.

4- Humanitarian and Health Crises:

• Relief efforts should be targeted at women as this has proven to constitute       a wise practice as well as a good investment.
• National health systems in our countries must be upgraded in order to enable them, not only to deal with common health challenges, but imperatively with immediate and new health risk and disasters such as H1N1.
• Achieving health related goals for women is central to our sustainable development and the space for potential cooperation in this field, within NAM, is unlimited.
• Cooperation between our countries on health matters should include: transfer of technology, education and training, strengthening health systems, access to essential medicines and vaccines, improving response capacity to unforeseen health threats.
• There is a need to coordinate our efforts within already existing relevant NAM bodies when confronting humanitarian crises. The newly established NAM Contact Group on Humanitarian Affairs is of high relevance in mobilizing resources in facing natural disasters and pandemics.
• Climate change continues to pose a growing threat to our societies, and new and innovative solutions, adapted to the specific challenges prevailing in different regions of the world, should be formulated to tackle its negative effects.

5- Peace and Security:

• The UNSC Resolution 1325 is an important tool for the integration of women at all levels and stages of peace making and building and post-conflict reconstruction efforts, as well conflict prevention and resolution.
• It is essential to redouble our efforts to disseminate the principles of UNSC resolution 1325. 
• The provisions of UNCS Resolution 1325 should be contextualized to address the local realities of women in different communities.
• A gender perspective must be incorporated in post disaster relief, recovery, and rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.
• It is highly important to enhance women's participation in peace keeping missions as well as law enforcement activities at the national level, as this promotes a gender sensitive approach conforming to the purposes of such missions and activities.

·         Human trafficking is a global phenomenon that is a direct result of globalization and advances in communication. Poverty, illiteracy and armed conflicts render women more vulnerable to be exploitation by traffickers. As  a form of modern slavery, human trafficking not only violates human rights, but also endangers peace and security of all states.

6- Information and Communication Technologies:

• Benefiting from communication technologies applications in the area of women and girls' education, including through equipping schools with modern communication technologies to enable them to play a role in serving local communities and supporting efforts aiming at the empowerment of women in developing and least developed countries.
• Making use of the applications of communication technologies in providing opportunities for young people to foster the culture of peace. The Cyber peace Initiative (CPI) in Egypt is a successful experience that could be shared.

With a view to enhancing our joint efforts to empower women, including in the context of crisis management, the following measures are of the highest importance:

• Accelerating the implementation of the Putrajaya Declaration by establishing regional representations of the NAM Institute for the empowerment of women. In this context, the Summit welcomed the endorsement by NAM Countries of the offers of the governments of Guatemala and Egypt to host the regional representations for the Latin American and Caribbean, and for the Middle East and Africa, respectively. 
• Establishing a network that brings together women leaders from different regions, with the participation of civil society organizations, to enrich women's capabilities in creating a direct path-way, through which their needs and ideas can be communicated more efficiently to the decision making levels.
• Establishing a link for the First Ladies of NAM on the Egyptian NAM Presidency website, aiming at facilitating the identification and sharing of best practices, in addition to fostering cooperation and networking in conformity with the objectives of NAM.