Promoting peace : Women at the forefront

Women under the banner of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) took to the streets of Douala in a peaceful march calling for peace in Cameroon. The march, organised as part of activities to commemorate the 10th anniversary of WILPF, comes at a time when there are continuing calls for a ceasefire in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon. Through their placards, the women carried messages, some of which read: "Love and Fraternity", "Sharing, Unity, Forgiveness, Reconciliation, Multiculturalism, Reconciliation", "No to Hate Speech", "We need Peace what about you". The founder and international president of WILPF, Jacqueline Sylvie Ndongmo, has been working with the government of Cameroon to develop a national action plan for United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. "It is a resolution that underpins our struggle. In Cameroon, the women, peace and security agenda is being implemented thanks to successful advocacy with various stakeholders, with the adoption by the Ministry for the Promotion of Women and the Family of the National Action Plan for the Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and related resolutions," she affirmed.
She added that WILPF Cameroon was built around other programmes, especially disarmament, human rights, crisis response by analysing the gender dimension in conflicts, the environment and the consolidation of a youth movement (Young WILPF Cameroon) to ensure intergenerational continuity.  According to Nathalie Foko, President of WILPF Cameroon, they fought hard with the Ministry for the Promotion of...