There are quite a few mentions of “women” as victims and beneficiaries but a young man from Uganda, Mr Mawanda Shaban, Member of the Youth Commission, took a different tack:
“Well, of course, it is a fact that when you talk about violence, even when you talk about migration, you cannot separate it from the youth. But I would like to look, in thirty seconds, at what causes this violence. And the major challenge is definitely lack of integration with the society. Once there is lack of integration, when the youth are not integrated, when the women are not integrated – culturally, economically, or socially – there will be violence. So, I think that there should be campaigns to integrate the community – the women, the youth, the different tribal sectors and cultural sectors in the community. I think then there will be no violence at all[i]”.
A representative of the Government of Norway, Mr Rolf Einar Fife, the Director General of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs concluded with references to gender and representation:
“Finally, we salute the efforts of the ICRC to promote better gender representation and participation, in particular through the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 on women and peace and security. We are here assembled in Geneva with united resolve and a unique platform illustrating existing partnerships and highlighting potential for further effective action.[ii]”
The President of Burkinabé Red Cross Society, Ms Ouandaogo Bana, delivered a report on the organization and activities of her National Society, during which she mentioned the following, seeing women as actors:
“Nor has our National Society lagged behind, in such sectors as food security (2,100 women were taught to read and write and 12,600 benefited from income generating projects), hygiene/sanitation, assistance to the elderly and the disabled, and in efforts to combat poverty through a comprehensive women’s project in several of the country’s provinces. [iii]”
The Vice-Chairman of the Ugandan Red Cross, too, raises the issues of the roles of youth and women in a relatively brief intervention:
“Madam Chairwoman, in conclusion, I just want to say a little about violence. Many speakers have talked about this, but I would like to mention that the National Society, and indeed the Government of Uganda, would like to challenge in terms of what measures can be taken by our government to reduce violence. I would like to list the following questions. I want the National Societies and the heads of government to think about them. Are we doing enough to involve young people and women in decision-making across the board? Are parents doing their best to mould our young people to be good citizens? Have we looked at the serious problems that young people are burdened with as a result of family breakdowns? Are we instilling values and virtues in our children that will make them respect humanity? Are our governments providing enough social security and educational benefits to our young people? Have National Societies, the ICRC, the International Federation and governments taken initiatives to provide for enough youth activities in their programmes? [iv]“
During the closing of the Conference, the Chair, Ms Mandisa Kalako-Williams spoke: choosing her word order deliberately, one might think, while thanking the volunteers at the meetings:
“Now ladies and gentlemen, I would like to start the
end of the Conference in the following manner. I would like us all to thank, in
the most visible and special way, the volunteers who have made this Conference
live for us. From the day the Movement’s statutory
meeting started, they have been women and men in red T-shirts, and I would
invite them to come and be seen by everybody and be applauded by the Conference[v]”.
[i] Report of the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent: including the summary report of the 2007 Council of delegates, Geneva, 23-30 November 2007; Geneva : ICRC : Federation, [2009]; P 222; P 224/350 in the electronic version at https://library.icrc.org/library/docs/DIGITAL/CI_2007_RAPPORT_ENG.pdf
[ii] Report of the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent: including the summary report of the 2007 Council of delegates, Geneva, 23-30 November 2007; Geneva : ICRC : Federation, [2009]; P 212; P 214/350 in the electronic version at https://library.icrc.org/library/docs/DIGITAL/CI_2007_RAPPORT_ENG.pdf
[iii] Report of the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent: including the summary report of the 2007 Council of delegates, Geneva, 23-30 November 2007; Geneva : ICRC : Federation, [2009]; P 242; P 244/350 in the electronic version at https://library.icrc.org/library/docs/DIGITAL/CI_2007_RAPPORT_ENG.pdf
[iv] Report of the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent: including the summary report of the 2007 Council of delegates, Geneva, 23-30 November 2007; Geneva : ICRC : Federation, [2009]; P 294; P 296/350 in the electronic version at https://library.icrc.org/library/docs/DIGITAL/CI_2007_RAPPORT_ENG.pdf
[v] Report of the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent: including the summary report of the 2007 Council of delegates, Geneva, 23-30 November 2007; Geneva : ICRC : Federation, [2009]; P 336; P 338/350 in the electronic version at https://library.icrc.org/library/docs/DIGITAL/CI_2007_RAPPORT_ENG.pdf
