From the IPS United Nations Newsbriefs

The topic of natural resource management posed a critical question during the  current 58^thsession of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW): how can women utilize their knowledge for managing natural resources to promote peace and develop themselves?

The answer lays in the experiences of local Liberian women who actively encouraged their fellow citizens to educate themselves about land ownership and management -  especially because women own less than one percent of the land in Liberia.

In a partnership with United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office(PBSO) and United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), civil society, governments and non-profit organizations met to discuss the mobilization of women and natural resources in a CSW side event titled ‘Turning Money into Honey: Women’s Role in the Management of Natural Resources and Extractive Industries in Liberia for Durable Peace.’

Etweda “Sugars” Cooper addresses audience at CSW side event on women and natural resource management in Libera. Credit: Lusha Chen/IPS

A new report (Women and Natural Resources – Unlocking the Peacebuilding Potential) by UN Women, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and PBSO explores the relationship between women and natural recourses, in order to strengthen women’s contribution to resolving conflict, entities should focus on how women manage, use and make decisions about natural resources

“We are the drivers of our country.” said Edtweda “Sugars” Cooper, a leader of the Liberian women’s movement who spoke during an informal meeting at the Swedish mission Wednesday afternoon.

Land in particular, is one of the most important aspects of a woman’s livelihood in Liberia and has recently been a topic of controversy as corporate companies seek economic gains within the country.

Alice “Old-Lady” Kamara, a rural women’s activist and head of the women’s “Peace Hut” in Henry’s Town, Gbarpolu County, Liberia told the story of a logging company that destroyed forests, damaged roads and ultimately polluted the water system. 

The situation came to a head when Kamara and other local women took matters into their own hands and rallied against the logging company, creating a roadblock and driving them out of the town.

The women feared the destruction of their roads would prevent them from transporting goods to the market – an essential part of both their economic and social development.

This form of retaliation served as a reminder to governments and big corporations that women in Liberia view the land not only as a means to create a life, but also as an empowerment tool.

“You can’t take away our livelihood.” Cooper said, commenting on the importance of allowing women to stand up to corporations and authorities that dismiss their eligibility to manage natural resources.

“Women are skilled, we’re are managers.  In Liberia, in a farming community, the woman will clear the land; she plants, she harvests, she processes, she markets the produce from the land.”

UN Women together with their counterparts in Liberia call for the recognition of women as integral land developers, managers and business owners. 

Using Liberia as a success story, three major points are defined: education of women in such a way that promotes skill, literacy and empowerment, enforcement of gender sensitivity from the local level to the parliamentary level and economic investment for locally owned businesses.

After a 14-year civil war that left the country destabilized, Cooper believes no one should underestimate the strength of women in Liberia.  “We bring skills to the table and those skills will help with the development of our country.” she said.

Liberia is home to over three million people and according to UN Women—about half of them are women.

UN Celebrates Cultural Diversity and Multilingualism

By Jean-Baptiste Viallet

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 21 2014 (IPS) – “We live in a multicultural world. The language we speak affects both the way we think and act,“ said Under-Secretary-General Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, the UN  Coordinator for Multilingualism, at a roundtable discussion on the occasion of the International Francophonie Day on Thursday.

The discussion focused on both cultural diversity and multilingualism, which play an essential role to spread the message of the United Nations throughout the world.

Currently, about  220 million people speak French in 77 countries that are official members of the International Organization of la Francophonie (IOF).

Panelists highlighted the importance of multilingualism for a better understanding of the contemporary world. “Multilingualism is a basic condition to the establishment of an international cooperation,” said Launsky-Tieffenthal, head of the department of public information (DPI).

He added that cooperation and common values have the power to reinforce creativity and build a more inclusive society.

Ambassador Mohammed Loulichki, Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations and President of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors, stressed the need to stand up for multilingualism, which is a federative and connected process.

“Diplomacy and culture have so much in common,” he said.

Manu Dibango, a well-known Cameroonian saxophonist, singer and UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2004, underscored the contribution of artists with a view to peace.

“The constant struggle for peace still exists because war is still in place,” said Dibango. “Between peace and war, artists try to create room for dreams.”

The Chief of Cabinet of the UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, Tariq Al-Ansari,singled out the issue of cultural diversity and multiculturalism in the service of effective international action.

He said that Francophonie is not only a language; it is also about how civilizations can share and communicate with each other.

“Better languages provide better opportunities to understand each other correctly,“ Al-Ansari added.  “Francophonie is a catalyst between nations,“ he stated.

By its singular network throughout five continents, and by educational, cultural and political initiatives, Francophonie contributes to the elaboration of a better comprehension between nations.

“Culture must play a stabilizing role as regards human rights and development,” said Filippe Savadogo, Permanent Representative of the IOF to the United Nations.

Quoting Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegalese poet, politician, cultural theorist and first president of Senegal, he underlined the fact that “culture is at the beginning and the end of development.”