Washington, DC
Remarks
ADMINISTRATOR DEPUTY ISOBEL COLEMAN: Thank you, Lilian, for moderating that interesting panel discussion. And congratulations to all of you for getting this Strategy and Action Plan across the finish line.
The events of the last three weeks make clear – and you’ve discussed throughout today’s program – this launch could not come at a more critical time. Since the last Strategy was released in 2019, we have seen more humanitarian crises – an alarming rise in deaths from global conflict, and new risks posed by emerging technologies – all of which, we know, have an outsized impact on women and girls.
We also continue to see, time and again, women and girls stepping up to take bold action to address challenges in their communities. They don’t wait for permission to lead. They continue to defy entrenched norms. And they know what their communities need in order to forge a more peaceful future.
You’ve heard today of ways that we are working together across the U.S. government to support women leaders and women led organizations – helping them address barriers to their leadership; to increase protection from gender based violence; and respond to the unique needs of women and girls in humanitarian and emergency settings. Nowhere is it more important to prioritize gender equality than in our conflict prevention efforts.
In line with the Global Fragility Act’s U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability – we are working to disrupt the cycles of inequality, exclusion, and injustice that lead to conflict, and to utilize the full extent of our diplomatic, development, and security apparatus to do so. From Coastal West Africa to Haiti and Libya to Mozambique, and Papua New Guinea, our efforts to pursue new, more comprehensive strategies to address fragility will prioritize preventing and responding to gender-based violence, promoting gender equity and equality, and supporting women peacebuilders.
In Papua New Guinea, for example, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is partnering with PNG Defence Forces to deliver training and develop a gender advisory workforce with an emphasis on GBV prevention and response.
This is complemented by a State Department police service professionalization program that will support gender-sensitive reform efforts. For USAID’s part, we are supporting women’s legal and financial literacy in PNG and working to increase access to livelihood opportunities for women and girls.
The increasing number of humanitarian crises – including those linked to climate insecurity – have underscored the need to direct greater attention and resources to supporting affected women and girls. Our response across humanitarian crises – including Gaza – must also shift power to women and girls, recognizing them as experts, providers, and leaders.
That’s why USAID is announcing $10 million for the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund to support diverse local and grassroots leaders and their organizations in Ukraine and Haiti, and to address gender disparities through our Global Food Security Response. And it’s why we are calling on the humanitarian community to not only add to, but change, conventional humanitarian response standards and practices, so that together, we can achieve the vision that all individuals, and specifically women and girls, are free from all forms of gender-based violence in emergencies.
We know we need diverse women leaders at the table, making decisions, if we want to see better peace and security outcomes. This is what women leaders have long advocated for, and we must remain steadfast in keeping that as one of our top priorities. That’s why, through the Summits for Democracy, the U.S. government announced steps to advance women’s and girls’ leadership and tackle violence against women in politics and public life – both physical and online violence.
And it’s why today, USAID is announcing an additional $300,000 dollars to build the evidence base on the negative repercussions of technology-facilitated gender-based violence. With the new Strategy comes an opportunity for us to reflect on the lessons we have learned, to re-focus our efforts, invest in approaches that work and identify new ways to deliver on our commitment to advance sustainable peace and security.
Thank you.