She also said that the UN would continue to encourage the two leaders to ensure that any future process has women and men working together equally towards finding a sustainable, lasting solution to the Cyprus issue.
DiCarlo participated in a discussion on Monday afternoon with representatives of the Bicommunal Women’s Coalition and other women’s groups to discuss women’s participation in the peace talks and to hear their ideas about women’s participation, including how to have women’s voices heard in the absence of negotiations and how to ensure women’s meaningful role in a future peace process.
In her opening remarks, DiCarlo, said that her message was “a clear one: Cyprus needs you all as key partners, contributors and opinion leaders to help shape the future of the island”.
“We are now faced with the longest period of no formal negotiations in the history of the Cyprus issue. To find a mutually acceptable way ahead, your leaders need not only your support, but also your ideas and your ability to speak truth to power”, she said.
She noted that, in October of this year, it will be 25 years since the Security Council adopted resolution 1325 (2000), which recognised – for the first time at the global level – that women’s leadership is fundamental to achieving sustainable peace and security.
Adding that despite that, “women’s equal and meaningful participation in formal peace processes has remained elusive, with key actors slow or even resistant to taking up inclusive approaches”, she said that the available evidence “clearly demonstrates that conflict prevention, mediation and peacebuilding processes that fully, equally and meaningfully include women are far more likely to lead to agreements that enjoy broad national ownership and support”. Critically, such agreements are also more durable. she added.
DiCarlo said that women’s participation was “a key UN priority in all our conflict resolution, prevention and peace-building efforts – including in Cyprus”, referring to the “Common Pledge for Women’s Full, Equal and Meaningful Participation in Peace Processes” launched by the UNSG last October.
“The Common Pledge is also relevant to Cyprus, where, to date, the leaders and their negotiators have all been men”, DiCarlo said, adding that women did take on key roles as part of the track-one peace process during the last round of active negotiations.
“I know some of the women here today were key members of the negotiation teams, political advisors, coordinators, heads and co-chairs of working groups and technical committees — leading negotiations on crucial substantive issues”, she noted.
“I also know that your contribution was substantial and has the potential to inspire other women and future generations on both sides of the island”, she added.
The UN official also said that the agreement between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish leaders to an “Action Plan to ensure women’s full equal, and meaningful participation in the settlement process/an eventual settlement process in Cyprus” in 2022 “was a critical step forward”. What lies ahead is the task of implementing the Action Plan and advancing the work of the Technical Committee on Gender Equality, she added.
“The United Nations will continue to encourage the two leaders to listen to you and ensure that any future process, in line with their own commitment, has women and men working together equally towards finding a sustainable, lasting solution to the Cyprus issue”, she said.
According to DiCarlo the meeting was “a key opportunity” to expand the range and strength of women’s voices and to forge a stronger, more inclusive and more sustainable future.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
