26 September 2023 Stronger together: feminist partnerships in displacement

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Esteemed Network members and partners,
Ms. Jimenez,
Distinguished Members of the German Parliament,
Friends and guests,

In August, I visited a refugee registration center in Mauritania. There, I met Leila Kparambeti, who had come from the Central African Republic nine years ago. She told me how difficult it is for refugees to find jobs and housing. She is a trained accountant. In Mauritania, she took part in a sewing course. Now she makes and sells clothing. She would love to start her own sewing business, together with other women. Another woman there sold me this necklace. She, too, started her own crafts business, working with determination to take part in economic life.

And another woman – who has been living at Mbera Camp near the border with Mali for many years – told me that her children are able to go to school with no fees, and that they get medical care. She said that this was more than she had expected. She said that, thanks to this, she doesn't feel like a second-class person.

What impressed me so much about these encounters was that these women have so much optimism and energy – in spite of the difficult setting. They are ready to change things and make the best of their situation.

I regard these women as agents of change. In their daily lives, they are striving for participation, and they are building a future for themselves. And in that way, they are also building a future for the societies in which they live.

Women as agents of change – that is also what you are, the members of the Network. In your daily lives and at the political level, you are working tirelessly for displaced women's social participation.

You are making their voices heard.

You are empowering them to enjoy participation.

I thank you very much for your committed work. And I thank the supporters of the Network who are here today.

Almost exactly one year ago we met in person for the first time, here in Berlin.

I remember that meeting very well.

I remember your enthusiasm as you talked about your work in various countries.

I remember how some of you talked about your personal experience of displacement. How you asserted your rights in that situation – and how the realization that women have rights has encouraged you.

I was very impressed by what you shared.

Over the last year, your Network has become even closer. It is becoming more and more visible and audible to the outside world. I am thinking, for example, of your contributions to the international High Commissioner's Dialogue on development policy in Geneva, with more than 90 countries present.

You are raising your voices there and elsewhere. In that way, you are giving shape to a feminist policy on displacement, and also a feminist development policy.

It is very challenging to give displaced women equal access to the three Rs – rights, resources, and representation. Nobody knows that better than you. One of the goals of the Network is to enable policymakers to draw on your knowledge and experience. The situation in Mauritania shows how important it is to put a focus on women's concerns.

Mauritania has opened its labor market for refugees. It has reduced legal barriers. As soon as refugees have been registered, they get access to social protection, education, and healthcare. That gives them better opportunities towards equal participation. It is a very progressive policy.

Yet barriers remain – often administrative barriers – that are difficult to overcome, especially for displaced women.

For instance, they need to show documents from their home country in order to register – even for children who were born in Mauritania. If they cannot present such documents, they have no access to important resources, no basis for improving their situation, which is often precarious.

And the fact that they do not enjoy adequate political or economic representation means that their concerns are not given enough attention.

This is just one of many examples. It shows that political initiatives, legislation and measures work best if they are designed together with those affected by them – with refugees, with women.

To that end, a strong civil society is absolutely vital. Civil society organizations often have direct access to refugees. They know about their concerns and can voice them at the political level.

In order to support this, my Ministry is working with the United Nations Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund in ten countries. We finance local projects run by civil society organizations for women's rights.

One country is Colombia, where displaced women and girls receive training to empower them to take part in peace processes.

Another is Ukraine, where women teachers are trained on how to better respond to the needs of traumatized children. Most of the organizations which we support are led by refugees. That makes a difference, because they know best which issues to address. Again, this is only possible with them – with the refugees, with the women.

One factor that is just as vital as a strong local civil society is high-level political dialogue. Such dialogue prepares the ground for making sure that displaced people will be heard and represented in decision-making that concerns them.

That they will take part in peace, reconstruction and reconciliation processes.

That they can speak for themselves. The Network – that is, you all – has managed to give displaced women a chance to share their expertise in international debates and processes.

One instance was the Global Women's Forum for Peace and Humanitarian Action in Berlin in May, where representatives of over 80 women's rights organizations jointly drafted the Berlin Declaration. The demands in that Declaration are a standard against which governments and providers of ODA will be measured in the future.

This is a major achievement. However, we need much more representation at the international level so that displaced people – and especially women – have a say, and a chance to participate. To me, it is clear that the German delegation to the Global Refugee Forum in December should include one displaced person – in order to literally give displaced people a voice. And in order to send a signal that progress will only be possible with them – with the refugees, with the women.

At the most recent Global Refugee Forum four years ago, the Development Ministry made a commitment to support the establishment of a network of displaced women. Now, four years later, you will be representing that very Network at the Forum yourselves.

I am proud of this – and you certainly can be proud of it.

The Global Refugee Forum will be an important milestone. It will review the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees. Participants will reach new agreements and make new commitments. The Forum will pave the way for refugees' future opportunities for participation. I expect the international community, for example, to make a commitment to reduce legal and practical barriers to refugees' access to the labor market and social protection; to increase their access to education and health – which includes psychosocial support –; and to increase the focus on the participation of refugees in political dialogue.

That is why the Network's meeting today and tomorrow is important. It gives you a chance to discuss practical ideas for contributions to the Global Refugee Forum. Maybe the Network might even want to make commitments of its own? You may count on the support of the Development Ministry. I trust that you will use the Global Forum as an opportunity to act exactly in line with the Network's name: Women as agents of change.