Sharjah24 – WAM: Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF), has honoured Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, in recognition of her pioneering role and tireless efforts in supporting and empowering women during her tenure as Executive Director of UN Women.
Reem Abdullah Al Falasi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, on behalf of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak 'Mother of the Nation', honoured Mrs. Phumzile Mlambo.
Speaking on the occasion, Noura Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Secretary-General of the General Women's Union, said that this noble gesture by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima stems from her appreciation for all efforts aimed at promoting women's rights and empowerment, building their capabilities and developing their skills in across various fields and sectors.
For her part, Mlambo-Ngcuka extended her thanks and gratitude to Sheikha Fatima for this honourable gesture, noting that Her Highness represents a global symbol in the field of women empowerment in the political, economic, social, military and other vital fields. She said that thanks to Sheikha Fatima’s effective efforts Emirati women have achieved pioneering successes and accomplishments, pointing out that Her Highness' endeavours extended to improve the status of women at the Arab, regional and international levels.
As part of Mlambo-Ngcuka's tenure as Executive Director of UN Women, with the support of the UAE and under the directives of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, UN Women opened a Liaison Office for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Abu Dhabi in October 2016 at the headquarters of the General Women's Union.
Her tireless efforts contributed to the success of many of the UAE’s initiatives concerned with women in many sectors and fields, including the peace and security sectors, which resulted in the launch of the "Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Women, Peace and Security Initiative", the landmark training programme builds women’s capacity in the military and peacekeeping sectors and is hosted by the Khawla bint Al Azwar Military School in Abu Dhabi. The programme managed to train more than 300 women from various Arab, Asian and African countries by the UAE Armed Forces.
The programme - to build the capacity of women in the military and peacekeeping in the Arab region - followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Defence, the General Women’s Union and the UN Women in 2018, in the presence of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Among the signatories at the ceremony, which was held at the UAE Mission to the United Nations in New York, were Major General Abdulla Al Hashmi, Assistant Under-Secretary for Support Services at the Ministry of Defence; Noura Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the General Women’s Union; and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women.
Mlambo-Ngcuka's also supported the launch of the UAE's National Action Plan on women, peace and security, which was launched in March 2021, aimed at implementing the UN Security Council Resolution 1325. It is the first National Action Plan developed in a GCC country aimed to empower and support women globally by promoting the UN Security Council Resolution.
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