A group, Community Initiatives to Promote Peace (CIPP), has called  on leaders to address the current state of insecurity in the North-West.
The call is contained in a statement issued by the CIPP Women Peace Council North West, yesterday in Kaduna.
The statement was issued to mark the International Peace Day.
The women expressed concern over the recurring cases of kidnapping that have forced displacement and loss of innocent lives, including women and children in the region.
“While we sincerely acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of government at all levels to address insecurity in the region, all hands must be on deck to increase investment in human security and prioritize non violent solutions over militarized action.”
They also called for inclusive planning and implementation of programs targeted at supporting vulnerable populations and communities most hit by the security challenges, including COVID-19 pandemic.
The council further raised concern on the premeditated violent attacks directed at men, women, and children, which it attributed to lack of respect for rule of law and proliferation of small arms, among others.
The women, therefore, called for effective strategies to end gender motivated killings, sexual violence against women and children as well as other practices that violated human rights.
“While advocating  for the perpetrators to face justice and the wrath of the law, we call on relevant government institutions to ensure accountability by enacting and enforcing laws that will guarantee the protection of survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and forestall future occurrences.
“We also appeal to government at all levels to use its resources and powers to protect the dignity of the citizenry and promote respect for fundamental rights of all residents in the states, regardless of their gender, age, ethnic background, and religious affiliations.”
The women also called for collective effort of the executive, legislative and Judiciary to create an enabling environment for the implementation of conflict and gender friendly policies and laws
which would serve as tools for improving lives of vulnerable populations.
It further called for the localisation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on ‘Women, Peace and Security’ National Action Plan and ‘Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015 in states that are yet to do so.
“We further call on all parties to respect the Rule of Law and stop indiscriminate killings of innocent civilians and attacks on sources of livelihood.
“Peace building actors need to work together to develop and implement innovative ways to constructively engage religious and traditional institutions, ethnic leaders, youth groups, women groups, people with disabilities, political leaders, and civil society in identifying local solutions to the current crises.
“Representation of local perspectives and their voices remains critical to improving outcomes of conflict management effort and finding common grounds in addressing the root causes of conflict at all levels.
“While reiterating on the importance of public enlightenment and education, as well as widening access to economic opportunities as vaccines for building resilience of the populace to engagement in criminal activities, and other social vices.
They pledged to support efforts of women peace builders and all parties to conflicts who chose to honour the call to end violence at all levels.
“Considering the significance of women’s engagement in building peace, we call on duty bearers to ensure the inclusion of women in both formal and informal peace processes in line with the principle of ‘leaving no one behind’ and Sustainable Development Goal 5.”
NAN reports that CIPP Women Peace Council is a platform that brings together a diverse group of influential grassroots women leaders.
The members are drawn from the Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Women Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN), and National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) and other women-led organizations.
Their target is to promote inclusive peace process and development at the grassroots for sustainable peace.
“We enjoin you all to embrace nonviolent means to demand for concrete actions to be taken to address the root causes of violence and promote meaningful participation of all groups at risk of exclusion in decision making.”
“These efforts are necessary to bringing diverse perspectives to addressing inequalities, gender specific vulnerabilities and achieving durable and sustainable peace at the local, state, and national levels.”