By Justina Auta
The Nigerian government has inaugurated the third National Action Plan (NAP) Technical Working Committee of the 22nd anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCRl) on Women, Peace and Security.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, who inaugurated the committee on Monday in Abuja said the UNSCR recognised women’s role as peace-builders and agents of change.
She stressed the need to increase women’s participation in conflict prevention and peace building processes at all levels.
Tallen added that the ministry had been proactive in the implementation of UNSCR-132, saying it had made remarkable progress in the first and second NAP.
She said that although Nigeria experienced some setbacks in developing the third generation NAP, she was optimistic that it would address emerging security issues affecting the nation.
“We are confident that it will capture emerging peace and security issues from humanitarian and human rights perspectives, among others.
“And it would be a great instrument to address various fragments of insecurity situations experienced in almost every nook and cranny of our society,” she said.
The minister also said that one of the major achievements in the implementation was the domestication of NAP by 15 states in Nigeria.
She listed the states as; Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa, Plateau, Rivers, with corresponding Local Action Plan (LAP).
“Katsina State, which would make the 16th state, has finalised the development of its Action Plan which will be launched before the end of this year.”
While lauding the states for their efforts in domesticating NAP, the minister appealed to them to make budgetary provisions for its implementation.
Tallen said that women’s adequate participation in conflict resolution and peace processes remained the panacea to the heightened insecurity around the world and within the country.
She, therefore, charged the committee to use expertise to expedite the process and bring about a national document that would be of global standard.
She disclosed that 25 persons from relevant organisations were selected as members of the committee, with a time frame of five months to unveil the documents.
UN Women Deputy Country Representative, Mr Lansanah Wonneh, said the first and second NAP recorded successes, and was also extended and implemented at the state and local government levels.
Wonneh, however, noted that funding, monitoring and evaluation were some of the challenges in the implementation, and expressed the need to address it for more successes.
Dr Lydia Umar, a member of the committee, assured that members would strive hard toward achieving the committee’s mandate.
Umar said that the diverse and intergenerational members of the group from all sectors would use their expertise to contribute to resolving security issues in the country.
Dr Eleanor Nwadinobi, another member and President, Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA), said the successes recorded in the previous NPA led to domestication of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act.
“It is an opportunity to serve our nation at a time like this so that women will no longer be stigmatised, marginalised and traumatised in the context of conflict,” she said.
The UNSCR 1325 unanimously passed in 2000, currently has 103 countries that have developed and adopted NAPs and related resolutions.
