The National Council for Women (NCW) announced on Tuesday the formation of a working group involving the Cairo International Center for Settlement of Disputes, Peacekeeping and Peace-building under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Council for Women and concerned authorities in the country to prepare the first Egyptian national plan on promoting the role of women in peacekeeping and peace-building.

The Council mentioned in a statement that this is in accordance with Security Council resolution 1325 of 2000, which states the importance of further measures to activate women’s role at all levels of decision-making, conflict prevention and resolution, peacekeeping and peace-building. This is in line with the constitutional amendment on the allocation of 25% of the parliamentary seats for women, corresponding to Egypt’s presidency of the African Union and with the approaching twentieth anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325.

The council also pointed out that cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Council is a development of Egyptian women’s efforts  in the fields of making, preserving and building peace between Arabs and Africans whether through participation in UN peacekeeping operations or through the role of the Cairo Center in building Arab and African capacities in implementing the agenda of women and security, Including the capacity building of the AU Commission and the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States.

The National Council for Women noted that Egypt is one of the most important contributing countries with military and police forces in UN peacekeeping operations. It also plays a vital role in efforts to resolve the African and Arab conflicts. The Cairo Center is one of the centers of excellence in training certified by the AU as well as in the implementation of the agenda of women, peace and security.