Nadia Murad and Maas inaugurate 'Women, Peace and Security' office in Berlin

Women‌‌ 12:29 PM - 2021-05-16

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The German embassy in Baghdad announced on Sunday, that German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Nobel Prize winner Nadia Murad inaugurated the "Women, Peace and Security" office at the German Diplomatic Academy in Berlin-Tegel.

 

According to a statement by the German embassy, during the opening ceremony of a building bearing the name of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 "Women, Peace and Security" at the Academy for the Emerging Generations of German Foreign Ministry employees in Berlin Tegel, Maas emphasized on the central role of women as active participants in peace processes.

 

Maas stressed the importance of the rights of women and girls around the world, adding, "Where human rights are violated, there can be no political stability in the long term."

 

The minister continued by saying that "respecting the rights of women and girls is a very central indicator. This is one of the reasons why the 'Women, Peace and Security' agenda has been a staple of German foreign policy in recent years."

 

He noted that the goals of the agenda of the United Nations Security Council of the same name, which emphasize the importance of the role of women in peace processes, are an integral part of training in all disciplines at the Academy.  

 

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, on women, peace, and security, was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 31 October 2000, after recalling resolutions 1261, 1265, 1296, and 1314. The resolution acknowledged the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women and girls.

 

Yazidi woman, Nadia Murad, was among thousands of women and girls who were captured and forced into sexual slavery by ISIS terrorists in 2014. She became an activist for women and girls after escaping and finding shelter in Germany. She is the first Iraqi and Yazidi to win the Nobel Peace Prize for "her efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict" in 2018.

 

Murad is the founder of Nadia's Initiative, an organization dedicated to "helping women and children victimized by genocides, mass atrocities, and human trafficking to heal and rebuild their lives and communities"

 

The ISIS attacks on the Yazidis in Iraq that began on 3 August 2014 resulted in thousands being killed: the United Nations estimates that 5,000 Yazidi men died in the massacre. Yazidi men who refused to convert to Islam were executed and dumped in mass graves; many boys were forced to become child soldiers. An estimated 7,000 Yazidi women and girls, some as young as nine, were enslaved and forcibly transferred to locations in Iraq and eastern Syria. Held in sexual slavery, survivors reported being repeatedly sold, gifted, or passed around among ISIS fighters.

 

ISIS gained full control of one-third of Iraq till 2017 when Iraq announced regaining full control of the provinces of Nineveh, Anbar, and Saladin and parts of Kirkuk and Diyala.

 

 

 

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