The 5th Northeast Indigenous Women’s Peace Congregation held on March 26 adopted several traditional ways for conflict resolution, reconciliation and peacebuilding as practised in different states of Northeast India.
Northeast India Women Initiative for Peace (NEIWIP) and Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network (MWGSN) took the initiative inviting indigenous women groups for the congregation which seeks to foster collaboration, advocate for gender-inclusive peacebuilding and champion the rights of indigenous communities of Northeast India, stated a release on Tuesday.
Speaking at the event was president of All Manipur Kanba Ima Lup (AMKIL), Ima Lourembam Nganbi, who reiterated that the Government should take full responsibility to take care of the forcibly displaced persons of the prevailing conflict and stressed the need for possible efforts to ensure their safety and rehabilitation, it asserted.
Resolutions highlighting violent conflicts prevailing in Northeast India, transnational criminal & armed networks, narcotic drug production and trafficking, gun-running and human trafficking, relief and rehabilitation of the affected victims of the conflict and immediate disarmament and demobilization of armed elements etc, were taken during the congregation, it said. It also urged the centre, all state governments in the Northeast, Northeast Council and other bodies to bring a resolution to conflicts and help in peace and development.
It further mentioned that first initiative for the NE India Women Peace Congregation was taken in 2015 in Imphal by Manipur’s own Binalakshmi Nepram, with an aim to unite together women from across NE states to start the process of understanding one another and help mitigate common issues that women face in the region due to decades of conflict.
The congregation witnessed participation from eminent women leaders from different states of Northeast India including Manipur, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Assam, who made valuable contributions to bring peace and harmony in the region, it said. Conflict survivors also shared their testimonies at the congregation, it stated.
Manipuri pena Artist, Donna Ngairangbam performed Pena Seihou ‘Maikei Taiba’ at the congregation, it added. President, Sikkim Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association, Mayalmit Lepcha, human rights lawyer Limasenla Longkumer and Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty from Assam were among those present at the programme, it added.
