UK launches Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security in Afghanistan

 According to the British Embassy in Afghanistan Mr. Richard Stagg, the British Ambassador to Afghanistan hosted a reception at the British Embassy in Kabul on Monday to launch the implementation of the UK’s National Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security in Afghanistan.

The event celebrated the work that Afghan women are already doing to promote peace and security in their country, and launched the UK’s Implementation Plan to help support them to take this forward. The reception was attended by Afghan women from the worlds of politics, human rights, education and business.

The British Ambassador to Afghanistan, Mr. Richard Stagg stated in press released,” As last night’s reception demonstrated, women and girls already play a huge role in Afghan society. Women are putting their talents to use in Parliament, in the newsroom, in business and on the sports field. They are playing a key part in creating the more stable, peaceful and prosperous future which Afghanistan both wants and deserves. This is vital: Afghanistan will never succeed if it relies on only half of its population.”

The UK’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, released in June 2014, sets out the UK’s priorities around five key pillars of women’s participation in decision making and the peace process, prevention of violence against women and girls, protecting the human rights of women and girls, addressing women’s needs in peace and recovery and building national capacity.

The press release also states that Afghanistan is one of the National Action Plan’s six focus countries, alongside Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Somalia and Syria and the UK has released this Implementation plan to sets out the activities the UK will undertake for 2014-2017.