By King’s Office Correspondents
ANTALYA, TÜRKIYE: Women are being left behind in peacebuilding efforts, yet there are more than 6 million women and children living in conflict zones.
Türkiye First Lady Emine Edorgan has since called for more empowerment of women in dialogue and peace-building initiatives so that they can play an impactful role.
This call was made during the Women, Peace and Security session at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF), which was attended by Inkhosikati LaNkambule, who was received by the First Lady.
The ADF seeks to find ways to better use diplomacy in the current state of affairs through an interactive and thought-provoking platform.
According to the ADF, the session was held against the backdrop of a world going through a period marked by intensified conflicts, deepened geopolitical polarisation, and interrupted efforts towards an international rules-based order that are shaking the global system.
It says failure to find peaceful solutions to successive conflicts bears the risks of further deepening the fault lines between nations and dragging the world into much larger-scale global breaking points.
The ADF says peace diplomacy is much needed to counter this global spiral of violence, which is depriving millions of innocent people of their fundamental rights and freedoms, especially the right to life, and to establish a more just world order.
Against this background, the Turkish First Lady hosted the session to focus on the significance of the role of women in peace processes, in line with the understanding always endorsed by Türkiye that women’s empowerment is necessary for a just world.
The First Lady observed that women need to be at the forefront of peace initiatives as they bring life to earth and are entrusted with instilling values in children. She said these values must include dialogue as a solution to conflict, not violence, in order to create a more tolerant future generation.
