Empowering women to change the world

At the International Conference on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) held at the Philippine International Convention Center last Oct. 28-30, the participants were able to gain a profound appreciation for the critical, multifaceted role women play in shaping a secure and equitable world. The gathering emphasized the greater need for women’s voices and leadership in peace processes.

In his keynote address at the conference, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo declared that “in light of evidence that when women are involved in peace processes, agreements are more likely to be reached, implemented and sustained.” He added, “To the Philippines, women in peace and security is not a new idea, but an affirmative extension of long-held values of our people.” In fact, the Philippines is the first Asian country to adopt a National Action Plan on WPS. This visionary commitment reflects the nation’s dedication to gender equality and women’s empowerment in peace efforts – an attitude deeply ingrained in Filipino society.

The three-day event reminded me of Svetlana Alexievich’s 2015 Nobel Prize-winning The Unwomanly Face of War, which broke stereotypes of wartime narratives by illuminating the often-overlooked sacrifices of women. Her accounts reveal the emotional and physical toll of conflict on Soviet women in World War II, echoing the experiences of countless women whose stories must be recognized as essential to a full understanding of peace and security.

In fact, global leaders have long championed the need for women’s involvement in peace negotiations and post-conflict reconstruction. During my tenure at the UN, I witnessed firsthand the transformative role of women’s leadership in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. In July 2010, the establishment of UN Women – the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women – marked a key step that has since strengthened gender-focused peacebuilding efforts worldwide. Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon advocated for the integral role of women in decision-making processes, where collecting data on women and girls in conflict zones, making peace operations responsive to their needs and allocating adequate funding for women-centered programs are deemed vital for sustainable peace.

As a member of the UN Security Council currently, WPS is one of the priority agendas of the Republic of Korea. At the WPS-related Council meetings, the Korean delegation has consistently voiced concern over the situation of women and girls in North Korea who are detained in inhumane conditions and subjected to torture, forced labor and gender-based violence. Recently, North Korea has gone further in its control over the infiltration of outside information and culture. State surveillance and severe punishment for merely watching South Korean dramas or listening to K-pop – branded as “counter-revolutionary” – are well-known.

“For South Koreans, people in North Korea are not ‘anybodies.’” These were the passionate words of Mr. Oh Joon, former Korean ambassador to the UN, delivered at a 2014 Security Council meeting on North Korea’s human rights situation. His remarks strike a chord especially this year, the 10th anniversary of the COI (Commission of Inquiry) Report on Human Rights in North Korea, which paved the way for the Security Council to address this issue as a dedicated agenda item. As the COI report depicts, Pyongyang’s systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations constitute crimes against humanity. In a year deemed the most conflict-ridden since World War II, these discussions also take on added weight.

Oppressive and extractive systems and institutions fail nations and peoples alike. On a national level, Why Nations Fail, a 2012 collaboration by economists Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, should serve a poignant reminder. The years of research by the 2024 Nobel Prize laureates in Economic Sciences revealed that “nations fail economically because of extractive institutions” that “keep poor countries poor and prevent them from embarking on a path to economic growth.” This concept is underscored by the way such extractive institutions, as seen in communist regimes, concentrate power in the hands of the elite, often without constraints, who shape economic systems to benefit themselves rather than society.

Their insights were echoed by former US president Obama, who noted at the UN General Assembly in 2016 that failed economic policies and isolationism often lead to poverty and conflict, as evidenced by the divergent paths of the two Koreas. In addressing this sobering imbalance, he said, “The stark contrast between the success of the Republic of Korea and the wasteland of North Korea shows that central, planned control of the economy is a dead end.”

On an individual level, I still vividly remember the impassioned speech of Malala Yousafzai before the United Nations in 2013, where she exuded strength and peace. Narrowly surviving a Taliban assassination attempt, she later became the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2014. Former UN Secretary-General Ban succinctly described that she had turned into what the Taliban feared the most: a girl with a book.

The storytelling of Korean Nobel laureate Han Kang also exemplifies the way that women, through their creativity and empathy, contribute to healing and resilience. Han, author of the best-selling three-part novel The Vegetarian, is the first woman from Asia and the Asia-Pacific region to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. She was recognized for addressing historical trauma and human vulnerability, which resonate with the narratives of women globally who lead peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts in their communities. Korea’s achievements, reflected in Han Kang’s literary accolades, embody a broader movement toward gender equity and empowerment, encouraging nations to uplift women’s voices and recognize their societal contributions.

Half the world is women, and half the world is under 25 years of age. Young women are potential engines of democratic reform, economic advancement and human growth. As such, they must be given the tools to fully participate in economic activities and to have their voices heard at all levels of decision-making. However, too often our work has been piecemeal, scattered. The whole is not greater than the sum of its parts. There are coordination gaps that must be bridged in our common endeavor. This was one of the important takeaways from the WPS conference.

Korea and the Philippines, now elevated to Strategic Partners, are well positioned to work toward this end. President Yoon Suk Yeol and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. recognized the central role of women as “change agents in maintaining peace and security,” expressing their strong political will to promote gender equality in peace and security processes.

For our part, Korea, through our own “Action with Women and Peace Initiative,” supports the essential role of women as catalysts for peace and will host the 6th International Conference on Action with Women and Peace in Seoul this December. When women are fully empowered and engaged, all of society benefits. Women’s issues are not an add-on; they must be an integral part of our thinking on peace and security.

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Lee Sang-hwa is the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Philippines.