From Policy to Practice: SDG 16 & SDG 5 Interlinkages for Inclusive Peace & Development

 

The 2024 Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 68) presented the priority theme of “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective”. With SDG16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) being reviewed at the 2024 High-level Political Forum, we have an opportunity to observe and understand SDG16’s interlinkages and the role it can play in advancing gender equality, the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, and the New Agenda for Peace. It is in this context that the TAP Network, Women for Peace and Gender Equality Initiative (WOPEGEE), Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) and Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) presented this virtual side event.

Overall Messages:

  • SDG16+ financing is essential. Beyond adoption of policies to promote peace, justice, and inclusion, there exists a need for financing these activities, and connecting policies to budgets, namely budgets to advance gender equality
  • The intersection of SDG 5 and SDG 16 requires dismantling systems of power and social norms related to patriarchy, militarism, and legitimization of violence. 
  • Identification and leveraging of SDG16+ interlinkages across the 2030 Agenda is critical for policy coherence and efficiency, from a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach. Concrete SDG16+ links to climate, education, gender, and overall accountability and transparency—as captured in policy, plans, and strategies—were highlighted in this event.  
  • Multi-stakeholder partnerships, with joint decision-making, are key to implementation across national and local governments, civil society, networks, and the United Nations (UN). 
  • Greater emphasis should be placed on storytelling and working with academia and research institutions to build an evidence-base to support gender-inclusive policy, reporting and analysis, and advocacy.
In an interactive segment, we solicited inputs from attendees to identify areas we can strengthen interlinkages between SDG5 & SDG16:

Speakers:

  • Minister Dr. Isata Mahoi, Honorable Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Government of Sierra Leone
  • Hira Amjad, Cora Weiss Peacebuilding Fellow at GNWP and Executive Director of DASTAK Foundation in Pakistan
  • Dr. Mojisola Akinsanya, Executive Director, Women for Peace and Gender Equality Initiative
  • Isabela Marín Carvajal, Gender Specialist, Fundación Ideas para la Paz
  • Megan Corrado, Senior Director, Alliance for Peacebuilding (moderator)