WINDHOEK, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) — Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on Thursday called for renewed global commitment to the full and equal participation of women in peace and security processes, as the country hosted the silver anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
Speaking at the event in Windhoek, Nandi-Ndaitwah said that women remain the backbone of peace-building and must be recognized not only as victims of war but as agents of change whose leadership helps build durable and inclusive peace.
“Peace is not only the absence of conflict, but the presence of cooperation, dignity and mutual care across societies,” she said, urging world leaders to ensure that women’s voices are integrated into decision-making on conflict prevention, peace negotiations and post-conflict recovery.
Nandi-Ndaitwah highlighted Namibia‘s historic role in advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, noting that Namibian women actively participated in the country’s liberation struggle and in the United Nations-supervised negotiations that led to independence in 1990.
She identified persistent challenges to the WPS agenda, including the under-representation of women in peace processes, uneven political will, weak accountability, and unstable funding for civil-society organizations that drive advocacy and relief work.
She urged countries to adapt the WPS framework to address modern threats such as climate change, cyber insecurity, and pandemics.
Namibia has established an International Women Peace Center to strengthen cooperation with similar institutions worldwide, she said. (Xinhua)
