EuropaWorld 9/3/2001 The Millennium Peace Prize for Women

The Millennium Peace Prize for Women is the first award of its kind. Co-sponsored by the human rights organisation, International Alert, and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the award aims to highlight the integral role played by women in peace-building and conflict resolution. It is a role that has frequently been under-estimated and overlooked - as has the part played by women in sustaining families and communities during times of violence and war.

The media rarely convey women's contributions to peace-building, focusing instead on their victimisation. Governments rarely acknowledge the potentially powerful roles that women can play in securing peace, regularly leaving women out of formal peace negotiations and post-conflict decision-making. There were no Bosnian women at the Dayton Peace negotiations in 1995, for example, despite their presence in peace building campaigns. Since it was first awarded 100 years ago, less than 10 per cent of Nobel Peace Prize winners have been women or women's organisations.

The aim of the Millennium Peace Prize for Women therefore is not only to celebrate the achievements of the winners but also to acknowledge the work of thousands of women around the world, who are working, across political, religious and ethnic divisions, for peace and justice in their communities. It also aims to put an end to the misguided perception that women and girls are passive victims of conflict.

This year six prizes will be awarded to individuals and organisations who have made a significant and substantial contribution to peace either in their communities, or at the national, regional or global level. Organisations will receive an award of $5,000 as a contribution to their work. Both organisations and individual award-winners will also receive a statue designed by renowned artist Tim Holmes, creator of sculptures commemorating the 100 day anniversary of Tiananmen Square and the International Peace and Reconciliation Centre in South Africa.

Chosen from more than 100 nominations, 4 individuals and 3 organisations have been awarded the prize for their outstanding contributions to peace. Winners were selected by a panel which included the Rt. Hon. Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand; the East Timorese Nobel Peace Laureate, Jose Ramos Horta and the Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Alice The prize ceremony took place at United Nations headquarters in New York on International Women's Day, 8th March.

The individual winners of the Millennium Peace Prize for Women are: Dr Flora Brovina, the Kosovar Albanian humanitarian, peace and human rights campaigner imprisoned in 1999 by Serbian authorities; Veneranda Nzambazamariya, posthumously awarded for her role in promoting peace and reconciliation and helping women rebuild their lives in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide, and the human rights activists and lawyers.Asma Jahangir and Hina Jilani, who have risked their lives in defence of women and minorities in Pakistan.

The organisations honoured for their work were; Leitana Nehan Women's Development Agency for its cross community work for peace during and after the nine year war between Bougainville rebels and the Papua New Guinea military; Ruta Pacifica de las Mujeres, a nationwide coalition that campaigns for peace in Colombia and helps to create alternative peace proposals at a community level; and the international women's peace movement, Women in Black that has mobilised women from all regions of the world to hold demonstrations against war and violence.

More details of the prize, the ceremony and the work of the winners can be found at http://www.undp.org/unifem/mpprize/.

Asma Jahangir and Hina Jilani are also featured under this week's Extraordinary Lives.