News

“Migration, Peace, and Security” (MPS) Spotlight Project Launch!

We are excited to launch the “Migration, Peace, and Security” (MPS) Spotlight Project in the context of the 2022 Paris Peace Forum.

The MPS Spotlight Project connects protection frameworks in regards to conflict, violence, and disaster - such as Regional Refugee Response Plans (RRPs) and Refugee Migrant Response Plans (RMRPs) - with considerations around peace and security. The objectives of the project are to monitor RRPs and RMRPs in regards to gender-responsiveness with a focus on GBV and to provide recommendations to stakeholders as it concerns operational and funding structures.

In analyzing operational and funding structures on GBV-related programming and funding streams, the project seeks to contribute to a critical gap at the migration-peace-security nexus, namely to implement response measures targeted and specific to the needs and challenges of women, girl, LGBTQIA+, and gender diverse migrants. Our project is global in scope and spans across regions, including the Regional Migrant Response Plan for the Horn of Africa and Yemen, the Afghanistan Regional Refugee Response Plan, the Ukraine Regional Refugee Response Plan, the Refugee and Migrant Response Plan for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela, as well as the Rohingya Refugee Crisis Joint Response Plan.

The project builds on our ongoing efforts as a signatory to the Women, Peace, and Security Humanitarian Action Compact (WPS-HA) and our ongoing work around the Refugee and Migrant Response Plan for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (RMRP-Venezuela).

Mark your calendars for our first event in relation to the MPS Project:

“Another world is possible! Feminist answers to the big questions” - Women’s Major Group Monthly Meeting

November 30, 2022 9.00AM- 10.30AM EDT (virtual)

Overview

Protracted conflict, pervasive violence, and effects of climate change have impacted migration patterns in important ways. In 2022, the number of people seeking protection due to conflict, violence, and disaster  has exceeded 100 million, resulting in migration within and across borders. To address these mixed migration patterns caused by conflict, violence, and disaster, Regional Refugee Response Plans (RRPs) and Refugee Migrant Response Plans (RMRPs) have emerged as key protection frameworks. RRPs and RMRPs involve multi-partner, multi-sector response strategies and funding requirements for priority areas established based on region-specific needs. Across RRPs and RMRPs, gender-based violence (GBV) has been identified as a priority area, yet programming and funding for GBV prevention, mitigation, and response remains limited.

In connecting protection frameworks in the context of conflict, violence, and disaster with considerations around peace and security, the objectives of our Spotlight Project “Migration, Peace, and Security” (MPS) are to monitor RRPs and RMRPs in regards to gender-responsiveness with a focus on GBV and to provide recommendations to stakeholders as it concerns operational and funding structures. In analyzing operational and funding structures on GBV-related programming and funding streams, the project seeks to contribute to a critical gap at the migration-peace-security nexus, namely to implement response measures targeted and specific to the needs and challenges of women, girl, LGBTQIA+, and gender diverse migrants. Our project is global in scope and spans across regions, including the Regional Migrant Response Plan for the Horn of Africa and Yemen, the Afghanistan Regional Refugee Response Plan, the Ukraine Regional Refugee Response Plan, the Refugee and Migrant Response Plan for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela, as well as the Rohingya Refugee Crisis Joint Response Plan.

Context

The project builds on our ongoing efforts as a signatory to the Women, Peace, and Security Humanitarian Action Compact (WPS-HA) and our ongoing work around the Refugee and Migrant Response Plan for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (RMRP-Venezuela).

In 2021, the WPS-HA was established to bridge existing efforts on the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda (WPS) and Humanitarian Action (HA) through a multi-stakeholder approach. As a signatory to the WPS-HA Compact, we are committed to ensuring that the migration-peace-security nexus is addressed through monitoring and accountability of RRPs and RMRPs.

With regards to our ongoing work around the RMRP-Venezuela, several contributions are noteworthy such as the co-authored article “Women, Peace, and Security in the Venezuelan Situation: Centering Civil Society Efforts and Envisioning the Role of the UN,” which was selected as a winner of the Call for Papers by the Center for Justice and Peace (CEPAZ - Venezuela) and the UN University of Peace, a Spotlight Dossier and social media campaign on the RMRP with a focus on GBV, as well as a Policy Note on the RMRP with an emphasis on health justice for Venezuelan women, girl, LGBTQIA+, and gender diverse migrants.