NEW YORK // The UAE will donate US$500,000 (Dh1.8 million) to a United Nations organisation to encourage women to work towards fighting extremism and creating peace and security.
Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, the UAE’s permanent representative to the UN in New York, made the announcement to the Security Council during an open debate on women, peace and security.
The money will go to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women.
Ms Nusseibeh welcomed the unanimous adoption of Resolution 2242 by council members and announced the UAE’s co-sponsorship of the resolution.
“Now, more than ever, it is crucial that we recognise the important and necessary contributions that women make in international peace and security efforts,” she said, reported state news agency Wam.
“We know that empowering women and including their perspectives as part of inclusive peace building is essential to creating functional, just and stable societies.
“To truly achieve peace and security, we must prevent conflict and violent extremism by addressing its root causes,” she said. “This is a re-shifting of gears that needs to happen across the entire UN house, as well as in the approach of UN member states towards conflict prevention.”
In the UAE, ensuring there were real opportunities for women’s leadership throughout society was an important policy priority, Ms Nusseibeh said.
She commended the achievements of Maj Mariam Al Mansouri, the UAE’s first active-duty female fighter pilot, a recipient of the Asia Society 2015 Game Changers Award.
“There is no better counter to Daesh’s destructive narrative than the example she provides of the role and impact of women, peace and security in a moderate, tolerant Muslim nation,” Ms Nusseibeh said.
She said that Abu Dhabi would host the UN’s high-level panel meeting on humanitarian financing in February next year.
“Our hope is that this meeting will inform and enhance international action and innovation for implementation and financing of the Every Woman Every Child movement, particularly in advance of the World Humanitarian Summit and World Health Assembly next year,” she said.
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