The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) in Egypt hailed the decision and strong initiative of the government of Egypt to develop the country's first national action plan on women's peace and security. In a statement Sunday, the organisation praised the statements of the head of the Egyptian National Council for Women (NCW) Maya Morsy, in which she highlighted that engaging women at all levels of decision-making is the cornerstone of Egypt's Vision for the Empowerment of Women 2030. “Egypt's forthcoming National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security will be developed on this premise; the participation of women in prevention and protection,” Morsy said. “The government of Egypt's initiative coincides with the lead up to the 20th anniversary of UNSCR 1325, guided by a vision of inclusively developing a high-impact national action plan that drives coordinated and actionable policy change through the full and meaningful participation of women in peace and security,” the UN Women statement said. The organisation also praised cooperation between the Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peace-building (CCCPA), the Egyptian foreign ministry and the National Council for Women in securing the initiative's success. Egypt had declared 2017 as a year of Egyptian women, a step that was lauded by UN Women, which said it is the first such move of its kind globally.
