Abu Dhabi will host a UN conference to advance the participation of women in peacemaking and conflict prevention across the world.
Held under the patronage of Sheikha Fatima, Mother of the Nation and Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, the high-level International Conference on Women, Peace and Security, will take place on September 8, 9 and 10.
The conference will review the achievements and challenges in the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
Passed in 2020, the first landmark Security Council resolution on women, peace and security addresses the impact of war on women and the importance of their full and equal participation in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction.
It also aims to protect women from violence.
The Ministry of Defence has supported the training of more than 350 women at the Khawla Bint Al-Azwar Military School
Mohammed Ahmed Al Falasi,
Minister of State for Defence Affairs
The conference also seeks to achieve consensus on procedures to implement the UAE National Action Plan, which aims to empower and support women globally by promoting adherence to UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
The conference will review the work done by the General Women's Union in supporting the Women, Peace and Security Agenda at the international level.
It will also assess the impact of the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Women Peace and Security Initiative, which promotes the role played by women in decision-making and policies more effectively.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, said the UAE is committed to achieving gender equality and promoting the role of women in society, especially in light of its current non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council.
Mohammed Ahmed Al Bawardi Al Falasi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs, said that by organising the conference, the UAE wants to emphasise the importance of the role of women in global peace and security.
“All stakeholders have worked to develop the military capabilities of women and their knowledge of the foundations of peacekeeping,” he said.
“The Ministry of Defence has supported the training of more than 350 women from various Arab, Asian, and African countries at the Khawla Bint Al-Azwar Military School with great success and we will continue to implement these training programmes.”
The Khawla Bint Al-Azwar Military School opened in 2014 and is the Gulf region's first military college for women.
After completing their training, the women can be sent to military and civilian areas to provide support, protect women's rights and help reduce sexual violence.
The UAE also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UN Women in September 2018, to develop the capabilities of Arab women in military and peacekeeping operations.
Noura Al Suwaidi, Secretary General of the General Women’s Union said the conference will help in creating an empowering environment for women and raise awareness of the issue.
Women in peacekeeping
According to UN data, in 1993 women made up 1 per cent of deployed uniformed personnel.
In 2020, of approximately 95,000 peacekeepers, women constituted 4.8 per cent of military contingents and 10.9 per cent of formed police units, that are pledged by member states to UN missions, and 34 per cent of justice and corrections government-provided personnel in UN Peacekeeping missions.
The UN's 2028 target for women serving in military contingents is to push it to 15 per cent, and 25 per cent for military observers and staff officers. For formed police units, the target is 20 per cent.
Dr Mouza Al Shehhi, director of the UN Women Liaison Office for the GCC, said: “Women have long been doing important work in peacebuilding in many conflict zones, but there is a sharp contrast with their participation in formal peace negotiations, where women still largely do not play any formal roles.
“Between 1992 and 2019, on average, only 13 per cent of negotiators were women, although studies show that women’s participation increases opportunities for sustainable peace and leads to agreements containing more provisions that benefit women and men equally.
“The conference aims, through its various sessions, to bring together decision-makers and stakeholders from different countries to analyse the role of women in peace and security, in line with the objectives of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325."
The conference will be organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in partnership with the Ministry of Defence, the General Women's Union, UN Women, the League of Arab States and the Abu Dhabi Ports Group.
Several international decision-makers, senior officials, diplomats, and advocates of women's role in peacebuilding are expected to participate.
Inside the UAE’s first military college for women — in pictures
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
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In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
UAE SQUAD FOR ASIAN JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP
Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan
Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Engine 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
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US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
