The Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen cconcluded Wednesday another consultation meeting in Aden that brought together 200 women activists, experts, academics, and political and civil society actors from across Yemen.
The aim of the meeting according to the office is to discuss their vision and priorities for forging an inclusive peace.
Aden meeting happened just weeks after a one-day consultative meeting in Amman on Gender Inclusion.in Track II on the margins of an EU event on Leveraging Track II Peace building in Yemen.
Amman meeting brought together a diverse group of organizations working in Yemen to discuss strengthening the inclusion of women in conjunction with the European Union initiative that aimed to support the contribution of Track-II peace building actors in Yemen through enhancing coordination and collaboration.
At Amman’s meeting Hans Grundberg, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen said: “It is crucial for peace building work to start early and not wait until the violent conflict ends. As such, I believe it is important that we assess where we stand in building -infrastructures for peace- at the local and national levels. And I hope we can examine how this work can reinforce efforts in the formal Track I process the UN is leading,”.
Participants of Amman’s meeting discussed various approaches and highlighted challenges associated with impended access and poor coordination. The debate also focused on how to address gender stereotypes and strengthen the inclusion of women in the Yemeni peace process.