More than 300 people joined the online seminar “International Experience in Including Environmental Issues in Programs and Action Plans on Gender Policy and Women’s Rights.” The event was organized as part of the project “Environmental Security with a Gender-Sensitive Approach,” which is implemented by the CSO “Democracy Development Center” with the support of OXFAM. українською
The event was also co-organized by the Higher School of Public Administration and the Public Council at the IFU “Equal Opportunities”.
The participants of the online workshop were welcomed by Dominika Ożyńska, OXFAM representative in Poland and Ukraine. Maria Victoria “Mavic” Cabrera-Balleza, representative of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders #GNWP, also spoke about global trends in environmental security and gender equality and the “Women. Peace. Security” agenda. According to her, environmental problems are supranational, such as pollution, biodiversity loss, the need to attract innovation and renewable energy sources. It also concerns agricultural practices that support the stability of the ecological environment, wider representation of local communities in the creation of relevant policies and the importance of equal participation of women and men. The destruction of the biosphere itself leads to conflicts that will primarily affect vulnerable women and girls, and every person must have the rights and power for inclusive security.
Pia Hollenstein, representative of KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz (Switzerland), spoke about the significance of the European Court of Human Rights’ decision on women’s rights and climate commitments of April 9, 2024. According to her, the initiators of the lawsuit had been seeking the ECHR’s precedent-setting decision for nine years, and were rejected by all local courts, however, the European Court of Human Rights drew attention to the articles of the Human Rights Convention on the right to life and the principle of environmental protection, and therefore the judges obliged Switzerland to report every six months on improvements in its climate strategy. This decision also sets a precedent because it confirmed the possibility of non-governmental organizations to demand environmental protection.
Anna Collins Falk, a representative of the Swedish Gender Equality Agency, spoke about the relationship between conflict-related environmental destruction and gender equality. A representative of the Armenian NGO “Women’s Agenda” Knarik Mkrtchyan and President of the Gender Center (Moldova) Valentina Bodrug-Lungu also spoke about the experience of women’s organizations in Europe and their response to the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After all, Moldova accepted three times more Ukrainian refugees per 10,000 of its own population than Poland, almost 70% of them were women and girls.
The experience of Ukrainian public organizations was shared by Natalia Revutska, a representative of the CSO “Women’s Energy Club of Ukraine”, who spoke about the gender dimensions of energy security in Ukraine. The online workshop was also joined by Valeria Bondarieva (youth eco-feminist CSO “Rozviy”) and Sofia Shevchuk (VONA Platform & NGO “The Tide”), who explained the features of integrating gender and environmental components into local recovery plans.
Previously it was reported that the CSO “Democracy Development Center” is implementing a project in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine with funding from the international association OXFAM. The planned activities within the framework of the cooperation will last five months.
The project plans to involve consultants and trainers on environmental and social policy issues to develop proposals for the National Plan “Women. Peace. Security”. An offline training “Environmental Security and Women’s Rights” will also be held, an offline seminar on the development of a strategy and proposals for the National Plan “Women. Peace. Security”, a national online event on the implementation of a gender perspective in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
OXFAM is an international association of 21 organizations working in 79 countries around the world to solve the problems of poverty and injustice.