David Pratt reports for the Herald on Beyond Borders’ involvement in supporting the role Syrian women in the nation’s peacemaking process.

THE strength of Scotland’s democracy has made it the perfect setting for a new diplomatic push for peace in Syria, according to the United Nation’s top envoy.

Staffan de Mistura, UN Special Envoy for Syria says that with Scotland having its own parliament, strong gender balance in government and firm democratic credentials, it was the perfect platform from which to help launch a much heralded United Nations (UN) initiative aimed at supporting the role of Syrian women in the nation’s peace process. De Mistura’s comments will be seen by many as a solid vote of confidence by the UN’s top diplomat in Scotland’s democratic process and its unique non-violent constitutional journey.

Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Herald in Edinburgh last week, de Mistura outlined the origins and makeup of the Special Envoy’s Syrian Women’s Advisory Board and the crucial role Scotland has played in its formation. “The very special case of Scotland – currently with its own parliament and its own strong gender balance in government and the fact that the First Minister and two opposition leaders are women – were key motivating factors in helping set this up,” said de Mistura.

The creation of the board, consisting of 12 women from across all factions of Syrian society is the first of its kind to be established through UN-led peace talks. It’s success has already attracted the attention of other UN peace making groups with women from other conflict wracked countries like Libya and Yemen looking to the template of the Syrian women’s board on which to model their own mediation role.

Ten of the Syrian board’s members travelled to Edinburgh last week for four days of talks, including a two-day conference at the Scottish Parliament. The board’s work relates to UN resolution 1325, which reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts.

Asked whether if Scotland were an independent country initiatives such as the advisory board might be the kind of ‘soft’ foreign policy role Scotland could be expected to play, de Mistura said such discussions were “internal issues”. “What I do realise though is that even when you are not independent you do still have a very specific message to give that has international resonance, and you should do so,” de Mistura added emphatically. “Even when I mention this to the UK foreign office they have a certain feeling of pride in the fact that Scotland is having this type of unique message.”

De Mistura points to the enormous challenges that Syrian women face and how Scotland has provided a “remarkable” example of what women are able to achieve. “When we came and the board were shown the example of Scotland where women have made it to the top echelon and there is political stability, they were incredibly impressed,” says de Mistura.

“To see a parliament where women count and can be counted and know that such an environment exists when centuries ago it was not always so, has helped the Syrian women realise the potential of their own political role.” De Mistura paid tribute also to the involvement of Scotland’s First Minister. “On top of Scotland’s obvious credentials, when I met Nicola Sturgeon, she was very willing to support this experiment and it is an experiment, but one that has now moved beyond that and is being started by others in UN peace making operations,” de Mistura explained.

The UN envoy also acknowledged the significant involvement of Scotland’s Beyond Borders think-tank based in Edinburgh and at Traquair House in the Scottish Borders and its founder Mark Muller Stuart KC. “We have excellent connections with Beyond Borders and for some time now Mark Muller Stuart has been alerting me as to Scotland’s suitability for such a role in supporting the Syrian women,” de Mistura continued. “Mark is one of my senior advisers on the Syria negotiations in his own capacity and helped enormously in bringing the Beyond Borders team to our notice.”

Muller Stuart a barrister is also well know for his role in advising numerous international bodies on humanitarian and conflict resolution laws. After talking to the Sunday Herald de Mistura headed back to Brussels and the next round of negotiations on the ever deepening crisis in Syria that has focused most recently on the beleaguered city of Aleppo.

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http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14493676.UN__39_s_top_diplomat__Scotland_is_perfect_setting_for_Syrian_peace_talks/