Her Excellency Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak Concludes Peace Convention
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Alexandria—Her Excellency the First Lady of Egypt Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, President of the Institute for Peace Studies (IPS), concluded yesterday 10 January 2007, the Second Roundtable of the Brainstorming Session on the subject of "Building a Protective Environment for Civilians in Armed Conflicts." The meeting took place in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina—which hosts the IPS—and was attended by various dignitaries.
Her Excellency expressed in her concluding remarks her gratitude for the many accomplishments made in the short time that the Institute has been in existence, giving special attention to the adoption of a practical future-based Plan of Action. Mrs. Mubarak also expressed her belief that the Plan of Action "addresses urgent matters and the ways to redress them," stressing the need to "face our enormous responsibility, each in his or her capacity, of ensuring that the Plan of Action is actually put into 'action.'"
These responsibilities, which Her Excellency went on to detail, included the reconvention of the Expert Group, possibly alongside relevant NGOs, including those of the Global Coalition on Women Defending Peace, to formulate a strategy for the newly-approved campaign on banning cluster bombs. Among the responsibilities also came the establishment of the data bank entrusted with recording claims of victims and information on perpetrators of war crimes as a means of addressing the issue of impunity. Her Excellency highlighted the focal nature of this point designated in the IPS.
Mrs. Mubarak emphasized the need to approach, convince, and work together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to convene a meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the fourth Geneva Convention, with a view of examining the principles and concepts of the disproportionate use of force, collateral damage, and the rehabilitation and compensation of victims of armed conflicts. Her Excellency also stressed the importance of approaching our governments, especially foreign ministries in order to place the formulated plan of action among their priorities.
Her Excellency also highlighted the importance of the role played by the different channels of media in engaging the public, and spoke of the need to encourage universities and research centers to focus on the protection of civilians in armed forces. She also pointed out that the IPS should provide a system by way of organizing symposia and conferences on disseminating information.
Emphasizing the need to mobilize the necessary moral and material resources for implementing the plan of action, Mrs. Mubarak pledged to communicate the outcome of the meeting to the world community, including member states of the Women for Peace Movement of which Her Excellency is President, inter-governmental and non-governmental organization, members of the civil society, and committed activists.