UNSC RESOLUTION 1325 ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY: THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY

1. THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF UNSC RESOLUTION 1325: A PEACEWOMEN ANALYSIS
PeaceWomen Project
November 2003

October 31st, 2003 marked the third anniversary of the unanimous adoption of UNSC Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. While many events were organized around UN Headquarters in New York in order to celebrate the anniversary, many NGO and UN actors also acknowledged that this anniversary was, perhaps more importantly, a time for accountability.

A Time for Celebration

UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security is historic and unprecedented. As Ambassador Sir Emyr Jones Parry (United Kingdom) remarked at the Security Council Open Debate on 1325 held October 29th, “It has…become a beacon of hope and a rallying call. Few Security Council resolutions have resonated so widely and so deeply at the heart of civil society.” After all, what other SC resolution has a global constituency that spans civil society, academia, governments and the UN system?

‘Enough celebrating' or “1325: more reality, less fiction”

There is, however, a growing sentiment among NGOs based around UN Headquarters in New York and in the UN system, that, while celebration is important and worthwhile, it is time to demand accountability. After all, the third anniversary has just passed and the resolution continues to face resistance and lack of interest. As a result we have seen little implementation of Resolution 1325.

To mark the anniversary of Resolution 1325, the president of the Security Council holds an Open Debate each year. This October, the US, as president of the Council, continued the tradition and held an Open Debate on 29 October. The Open Debate this year focused on women, peace and security in the context of peacekeeping. Thirty-seven member states, including the fifteen members of the Security Council, made statements.

[This supplementary issue of 1325 PeaceWomen E-News features the statements made during the Open Debate in #4 below. All of these statements can also be found at: http://www.peacewomen.org/un/SCOpenDebate2003/OpenDebate2003index.html]

While formal discussions in the Security Council on women, peace and security issues are an important development, it is equally important that these formal discussions reflect a commitment that extends outside the SC chambers. It is not enough for member states to make a statement once each year on the anniversary. As Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere (France) remarked, “[The challenges in the application of SCR 1325] must be addressed every day, not just once a year during our commemorative debate.”

The statements made during the Open Debate demonstrate that member states are adopting an increasingly critical perspective of their slow progress in implementation and the slow progress of the UN system as a whole. According to Netherlands' Minister for Development Cooperation, Ms. Agnes van Ardenne, “it is good that we celebrate the anniversary of the resolution every year. But it is also up to us to make sure that there is something to celebrate…” Ambassador Parry (UK) remarked “…As a Council we cannot turn away from our commitments or dash the hopes that we have raised.” With the same sentiment, Ambassador John D. Negroponte (United States), during a panel on October 31st titled “Impact of 1325 – Reality or Fiction?” answered, “1325: less fiction, more reality.”

In recognition of the slow progress of implementation, member states' statements were full of detailed recommendations, and in some cases, commitments for action. We, as NGOs based around UN Headquarters must hold these member states accountable.

NGOs are not the only actors that will be reviewing and analyzing the anniversary events of 2003. At a panel on 1325 on October 31st, Ambassador
Negroponte (US) “assured” the audience that the US mission is dedicated to doing follow-up of the Open Debate and will be studying the transcript and notes from the meeting. We will be sure to request a copy of their findings.

Looking Ahead

Each anniversary is a time for reflection, analysis, and strategizing. The real test is to see how and where people are recognizing the value and importance of Resolution 1325, claiming it for themselves, and using it in their work.

As we look forward to 2004 and the fourth anniversary, and strategize on how to advance implementation, we welcome any comments or thoughts about your own strategies as well as suggestions for PeaceWomen on ways to improve our strategizing at UN headquarters here in New York.

2. 1325 ANNIVERSARY EVENTS

During October, a number of events were organized by NGOs and the UN around UN Headquarters in New York to mark the 3rd anniversary of Resolution 1325. They are listed below in chronological order:

* Working lunch on “UNSC Resolution 1325: Implications of the Resolution and Integration into NGO Advocacy,” co-sponsored by the NGO Working Group on the Security Council, Amnesty International and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom UN Office (17 October 2003)
* UN Security Council Open Debate on women, peace and security (29 October 2003)
-The statements are available at: http://www.peacewomen.org/un/SCOpenDebate2003/OpenDebate2003index.html
* Inter-Agency Taskforce on Women, Peace and Security: Iraq, Liberia and DRC (30 October 2003)
* Launch of UNIFEM's Women, War and Peace Web Portal – see #1 below (30 October 2003)
* Re-launch of PeaceWomen.org - see #1 below (30 October 2003)
* Premiere of “PEACE by PEACE: Women on the Frontlines,” a film by PEACE x PEACE (30 October 2003)
* Panel discussion on “Impact of 1325 – Reality or Fiction?”, organized by the Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues (OSAGI), the Department of Political Affairs and the Inter-Agency Taskforce on Women, Peace and Security (31 October 2003)

This issue of the newsletter highlights the UN Security Council Open Debate. For information on the new web partnership between PeaceWomen.org and UNIFEM's Women, War and Peace Web Portal, also mentioned above, see the last issue of the newsletter at: http://www.peacewomen.org/news/1325News/issue32.html.

We will be including coverage of the other anniversary events in later issues of 1325 PeaceWomen E-News.

3. WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY NEWS: MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF RESOLUTION 1325

WOMEN HAVE IMPORTANT ROLE IN PEACE EFFORTS, U.S. SAYS: U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL REVIEWS PROGRESS ON ADDRESSING WOMEN'S SECURITY ISSUES
November 10, 2003 – (Washington File) The United States places great emphasis on the role of women in resolving conflicts and building peace, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte says. "No approach to peace can succeed if it does not view men and women as equally important components of the solution," he says.

WOMEN FROM IRAQ AND OTHER CONFLICT ZONES STAND WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN CALLING FOR AN END TO GLOBAL WAR ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN: STRONGER ROLE SOUGHT FOR WOMEN IN PEACEKEEPING AND RECONSTRUCTION EFFORTS
November 5, 2003 – (Office of Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson) Women from war zones and post-conflict zones such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Liberia, and Palestine, and areas of economic upheaval such as Argentina, raised their voices with members of Congress and representatives of women's organizations today in calling for the end to the universal war on women and children around the world.

3rd ANNIVERSARY OF SC RESOLUTION 1325 ON WOMEN PEACE AND SECURITY IS NOT ALTOGETHER A HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
November 3, 2003 – (Hague Appeal for Peace) Three years ago the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution women, peace and security which calls for gender sensitivity; women at all levels of governance; respect for international laws on the rights and protection of women and girls in armed conflict; expanding the role of women in UN operations and increasing the role of women in decision making especially in peace agreements. See www.PeaceWomen.org and www.womenwarpeace.org the web sites of WILPF and UNIFEM respectively.

SPEAKERS HIGHLIGHT INCREASING ROLE OF WOMEN IN ENDING WARS
November 3, 2003 – (UN Wire) U.N. officials and activists last week marked the anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security by highlighting the contributions women are making to national reconciliation and the role Resolution 1325 plays in promoting that goal.

SUMMARY BY AMBASSADOR NEGROPONTE, UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UNITED NATIONS, IN HIS NATIONAL CAPACITY, OF THE OPEN DEBATE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1325, IN THE SECURITY COUNCIL, ON OCTOBER 29, 2003
October 31, 2003 – (US Mission to the UN Press Release) The Security Council held an open debate on Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security on October 29, 2003. The Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Jean-Marie Guéhenno, briefed the Council on the Department of Peacekeeping Operations' efforts to implement the resolution. Ms. Amy Smythe, the Senior Gender Adviser for MONUC (the United Nation's Mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo) provided the Council with an operational perspective of the implementation of SCR 1325 and spoke about lessons learned and remaining challenges.

U.N. STILL OVERLOOKS WOMEN VICTIMS OF CONFLICT - EXPERTS
October 31, 2003 - (IPS/GIN) Three years after the U.N. Security Council recognized the plight of women in armed conflicts, the United Nations has launched a website aimed to become the most comprehensive databank on women and armed conflict.

SECURITY COUNCIL REVIEWS GENDER "MAINSTREAMING" IN PEACEKEEPING
October 30, 2003 – (UN Wire) At a meeting of the Security Council yesterday marking the third anniversary of Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, U.N. Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno said his department has made "real progress" at "putting gender issues at the center of peacekeeping."

UN: DIPLOMAT TALKS ABOUT PROTECTION OF WOMAN
October 30, 2003 – (Angola Press Agency - Luanda) The Angolan Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ismael Gaspar Martins, Thursday said in New York that the protection of women in situation of armed conflict and promotion of their role in the prevention and solution of conflicts are in the centre of international worries.

WOMEN SUFFER DISPROPORTIONATELY DURING AND AFTER WAR, SECURITY COUNCIL: TOLD DURING DAY-LONG DEBATE ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY
October 29, 2003 – (UN Security Council Press Release) Women and girls suffered disproportionately during and after war, as existing inequalities were magnified, and social networks broke down, making them more vulnerable to sexual violence and exploitation, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council today.

MORE WOMEN NEEDED TO JOIN, SENSITIZE UN MISSIONS, SECURITY COUNCIL TOLD
October 29, 2003 – (UN) With women making up only 4 per cent of civilian police in United Nations peacekeeping missions, a senior UN official appealed to Member States today to assign more women police and military personnel to international forces.

PEACE BY PEACE: WOMEN ON THE FRONTLINES
October 16, 2003 – (Peace X Peace e-Newsletter, Edition 23) Filmed in Afghanistan, Burundi, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Argentina, and the United States, the PEACE X PEACE documentary PEACE BY PEACE: Women on the Frontlines kicks off an international tour with its world premiere at the UNITED NATIONS on October 30, celebrating the third anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. This feature-length documentary was filmed over the past year by an all-female crew and shows how women working to strengthen the cultural conditions of harmony, equity, restorative justice, and democracy are possibly the most powerful force today for local and global peace. Yet the contributions they have made to build the foundations for peace have not been recognized by a world trying to achieve peace without equal female representation in peace negotiations or implementation.

With the re-launch of PeaceWomen.org, the PeaceWomen website now provides women, peace and security news on and from more than 40 countries in conflict as well as an international news index on women, peace and security issues.

For PeaceWomen's country-specific news pages, click here.
For PeaceWomen's international news index, click here.

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4. UN SECURITY COUNCIL OPEN DEBATE ON RESOLUTION 1325: CONCERNS, COMMITMENTS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

As mentioned above, to mark the third anniversary of Resolution 1325, the United States hosted an Open Debate in the Security Council chambers on women, peace and security in the context of peacekeeping operations.

Mr. Jean-Marie Guehenno, Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping, and Ms. Amy Smythe, Senior Gender Advisor in MONUC, the UN peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, made interventions on the Debate theme. Their statements were followed by those of the Council members and then those of UN Member States. Thirty-seven interventions were made at the Open Debate. Of these statements, two were made on behalf of groups of countries. The Debate was day-long; it carried over from the morning session to and through the afternoon session of the Council.

There were a number of key points shared by many member states during the Open Debate. These included: the need to intensify efforts to appoint more women as Special Representatives to the Secretary-General (SRSGs) and as Special Envoys; the need for a mechanism to monitor implementation of Resolution 1325; and better coordination, cooperation and communication between the various actors responsible for implementing and working on Resolution 1325.

Ambassador Negroponte (US) released a summary of the key points made during the debate, at the request of member states and the Friends of 1325. Click here for the full summary.

Click here for all 37 statements.

Below are brief excerpts of the statements made by Member States organized according to specific concerns, commitments made, and concrete recommendations for future actions.

CONCERNS

Mr. Guehenno, Under-Secretary General, Department of Peacekeeping Operations:
-“All too often, gender mainstreaming is reduced to an accountancy exercise in which managers focus on the number of women on their staff. We tend to overlook the need to include a gender dimension in the programmes they are managing.”

Bulgaria – Ambassador Tafrov:
-“The resolution provides a very important legal framework for action by the Council, but we should not stop there. It must be said that the results of its implementation are meager indeed.”

Mexico – Minister Arce de Jeannet:
-“Regarding the work of the Security Council, much still remains to be done to ensure that the question of gender is considered systematically when framing resolutions and that it is dealt with as a central matter in questions of international peace and security, and not as a marginal issue.”
-“A profound change in mindset is needed, on the part of both member States of this Organization and the Secretariat.”

Russian Federation – Ambassador Karev:
-“Unfortunately, many recommendations still remain on paper and others are not being fully implemented.”

Australia – Ambassador Dauth:
-“Without further concrete action, resolution 1325 will only remain a set of aspirational standards.”

South Africa - Ambassador Grobbelaar:
-“Trust that the human resources capacity of OSAGI will be expanded in accordance with the objectives of resolution 1325 (2000).”

Ukraine - Ambassador Kuchinsky:
-“Skepticism about women's contributions continue to hamper policy and programmatic developments aimed at supporting and enhancing women's participation.”

Croatia – Ambassador Drobnjak:
“It is important to proceed along the road paved by that resolution and to prove in practice that it remains and action-oriented, results-producing document.”

Liechtenstein - Ambassador Wenaweser:
-“…the level of reporting on gender related issues to the Security Council…is still unsatisfactory.”
- “The action plan for implementation developed by the [Inter-Agency] Task Force [on Women, Peace and Security], requires a significant coordinating efforts, and it is not clear to us whether the Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues is sufficiently equipped to fully play this crucial role.”

Iceland - Ambassador Hannesson:
-“The Security Council should put the same effort into ensuring the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) as it puts into all its other resolutions. The effectiveness of the United Nations and its international authority ultimately rest on the extent to which it is seen to implement its own decisions.”

COMMITMENTS

Mr. Guehenno, Under-Secretary General, Department of Peacekeeping Operations:
-“I intend to ensure that all future multidimensional peacekeeping operations include strong gender expertise, for instance in the form of a gender affairs unit that has access to senior level decision making in all areas of the missions work. I hope that Member States will support that effort.”
-“I will ensure that gender training is included in all induction courses for new personnel.”
-“In the coming year, DPKO will ensure that each mission has an active strategy to prevent and respond to the problem of sexual abuse and exploitation.” Each mission will set up a focal point
-“We also seek systematic feedback on action taken by Member States against peacekeepers repatriated for serious misconduct.

France - Ambassador de la Salbliere:
-“I will personally make sure that our debates [on the question of child soldiers] address very precisely the specific question of the reintegration of girl soldiers.”

Indonesia - Ambassador Jenie:
-“Indonesia wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the implementation of Resolution 1325 and to constructively contributing to the deliberation on the issue at the forthcoming session of the Commission on the Status of Women.”

Norway – Ambassador Lovald:
- “We will work actively to make sure that a gender perspective is included in all relevant [UN] training activities.”

RECOMMENDATIONS

Amy Smythe, Senior Gender Advisor of MONUC, DRC:
-“If gender mainstreaming is to succeed in peacekeeping operations, it should start from the headquarters level and proceed to the field…recruiting and adequately supporting gender advisers at a sufficiently high level in field missions will enable them to influence decision-making at all levels to that effective use can be made of a missions resources to the satisfaction of the population as well as other stakeholders.
-“Troop and Police Contributing Countries should ensure that personnel recruited for Peacekeeping operations, including Civilian Police and Military Observers consist of a substantial proportion of women. We have come to realize that it may be necessary to review the recruitment criteria in order to enable women to be identified for field missions.”
-“The Security Council should hold national Governments accountable for implementing gender-related provisions in peace accords, to guarantee women's participation, in all decision-making arrangements.”

Germany – Ms. Kerstin Muller, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs:
-“The active involvement of civil society [regarding women's participation and empowerment in conflict resolutions, peace and post-conflict rehabilitation processes] should be further encouraged and supported.”

Syrian Arab Republic – Ambassador Medkad:
-“There should be more programmes for women and girl ex-combatants in order to create a more favourable environment for them after the conflict and ensure their safe return to the productive workforce in society and to a decent life.”

Pakistan – Ambassador Akram:
-“…requiring current and future United Nations peacekeeping operations to monitor and report regularly to the Security Council on the situation of women and girls in their mission areas.”

Bulgaria – Ambassador Tafrov:
-“Very close cooperation with women's organizations and networks by the Security Council and the United nations in general in implementing resolution 1325.”

France - Ambassador de la Salbliere:
-“Security Council missions in the field should always include contacts with women's associations.”

Chile – Ambassador Munoz:
-“…seek and develop effective monitoring mechanisms to enable more systematic control of implementation.” (see discussion above)
-“…the reports of the Secretariat on peacekeeping operations contain a specific chapter on gender issues in relation to Resolution 1325, so that ongoing evaluation takes place of how mandates on the status of women in peacekeeping operations are being fulfilled.”
-“The development of regional approaches to identifying strategies for the implementation of the resolution.”

Cameroon - Ambassador Tidjani:
-“I appeal to contributors for technical, logistical and financial support for UNIFEM and women's community groups and networks whose initiatives share common goals with resolution 1325 (2000).”

Angola - Ambassador Gaspar Martins:
-“Encourage the Secretary-General to ensure the increasing participation of women in peacekeeping processes.”

United Kingdom – Ambassador Sir Emyr Jones Parry:
-“An approach that is more coordinated between all the actors, the UN and Member states, nongovernmental organizations and other parties is very necessary.”
-“We must…continue to welcome and demand briefings and progress reports such as those we have received today.”
-“We should pledge ourselves to continue to place gender in the mainstream of our work, actively seeking all opportunities to do so and remaining in the truer sense actively seized of this matter.”

Netherlands - Ms. Agnes van Ardenne, Minister for Development Cooperation:
-“[Member states] must always ask for feedback from the Secretary General's Special Representatives, and also for feedback in reports to the Security Council.”

Fiji - Ambassador Tavola on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum:
-“We hope that all future Security Council resolutions will make reference to gender”
-“We also hope that the reports of the missions, which until now have been silent on gender issues, will in future include specific feedback on the gender issues covered in the missions.”
-“We hope in particular that more work can be done on gender-perspective training for UN peacekeepers, and we would like to highlight the importance of the compulsory gender-training module for all personnel about to deploy.”

Italy, on behalf of the European Union, the acceding 10 states and the associated countries Bulgaria, Romania and Tyrkey:
-“The EU is also strongly committed to the adoption of all international measures and instruments, including the ‘Palermo Protocol,' aimed at supporting the fight against trafficking of human being, in particular women and children, and the CEDAW Convention. The EU calls upon States to do the same.”

South Africa - Ambassador Grobbelaar:
-“Establishing centres of excellence for training women for leadership positions in peacekeeping operations.”

Bangladesh – Ambassador Tasneem:
-“The Security Council can collate these experiences and practices, examine and study them and transmit them in an institutionalized fashion…”

Republic of Korea - Ambassador Kim Sam-hoon:
-“ We also see that all references to gender issues are included in DPKO reports to the Council. We would have like to see greater detail and elaboration in those references. We hope the substance will be provided in future repots of missions as well as when the SG presents his next report on the issue to the council in 2004.”
-“…We strongly encourage the collection of data related to peace operations, disaggregated by gender and age.”

Indonesia - Ambassador Jenie:
-“We recommend support of this idea [a database of gender specialists and women's groups and networks in countries and regions in conflict] to Member States of the Organization, donors and civil society, towards providing financial, political and technical support for women's peace-building initiatives and networks.”

Ukraine - Ambassador Kuchinsky:
- “All humanitarian response in conflict situations must include systematic reporting on sexual violence, emphasize the special reproductive health needs of women and girls and reflect a strengthen policy guidance on responses to gender-based violence and sexual exploitation.”

Canada - Ambassador Laurin:
-“We again call for explicit reference to gender considerations in all Security Council mandates.”
-“Security Council missions should meet with women, NGOs and Ministries, and reports should reflect information gleaned.”
-“ We must recommit ourselves to achieving the 50/50 gender balance goal. It is our role as Member States, to put forward candidates.”

Liechtenstein – Ambassador Wenaweser:
-“There is thus a continued need for close cooperation between the Security Council and the General Assembly which is active in the elimination of discrimination and domestic violence against women.”

Norway – Ambassador Lovald:
-“There is a need to place greater emphasis on gender issues in all reports to the Council.”
-“We call on the Security Council to mainstream elements of resolution 1325 into all future resolutions on peace and security.”

Iceland - Ambassador Hannesson:
-“Staff working directly on gender issues must be included in all peacekeeping operations and afforded effective authority to ensure compliance at all levels.”

Timor-Leste - Ambssador Guterres:
-“We would like to see this issue remain a regular item on the Security Council's agenda.”

India - Ambassador Nambiar:
-“We support the Secretary-General's recommendation that the reintegration of women through DDR programmes be an integral part of all future peacekeeping missions.”

All 37 statements are available here.

UNIFEM is compiling a summary and analysis of the Open Debate which will be featured on their new Women, War and Peace web portal at: http://www.womenwarpeace.org/toolbox.htm

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5. UN SECURITY COUNCIL OPEN DEBATE ON RESOLUTION 1325: INTERESTING DEVELOPMENTS

From the perspective of PeaceWomen, there were two particularly interesting developments that emerged during the Open Debate that are outlined below:

1. MONITORING IMPLEMENTATION OF RESOLUTION 1325

Ambassador Maquieira (Deputy Representative of Chile) raised a proposal, initially introduced by the UK during the 2002 anniversary (visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/un/SCOpenDebateOct2002/OpenDebateindex.html), to request that, each year, a member of the Council be responsible for monitoring implementation of Resolution 1325. According to Ambassador Maquieira, “Chile stands ready to participate in this exercise.”

For Ambassador Maquieira's full statement, click here (PDF).

Ambassador Parry (UK) followed Chile's suggestion with the following remarks:
-“As the Ambassador of Chile recalled, last year the UK joined a number of member states in suggesting that the Council might establish a mechanism through which it would monitor its own progress on these issues. This might be the right time for our experts, supported by the Secretariat, to examine in more detail whether such a mechanism would be useful.”

For Ambassador Parry's full statement, click here.

Ambassador Wenaweser (Liechtenstein) supported Chile's proposal with the following remark:
-“Enhanced coordination and monitoring, along the lines of the suggestion made by Chile earlier during this debate would be an excellent measure to improve the efficiency of the Council in this respect.”

For Ambassador Wenaweser's full statement, click here.

PeaceWomen has heard that discussions are currently underway among Council members concerning which member states would be interested in such an initiative.

2. A NEW RESOLUTION?

Minister Arce de Jeannet (Mexico) proposed the idea of adopting a new resolution:
-“We think a new resolution would serve to update and supplement Resolution 1325 and keep the attention of the Security Council and the attention of the membership of the United Nations at large focused on this issue.”

For Minister de Jeannet's full statement (in Spanish), click here.

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6. FEATURE STATEMENT

The Role of Women in the Transformation of Violent Conflict
Statement by the NGO Working Group on Women Peace and Security in support of the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325 - October 2003

“..the critical inputs of women in peace and security, poverty eradication, environmental protection and promoting democracy and effective governance must be recognized and actively promoted and facilitated”
[Secretary General's report to the General Assembly on July 11th (A/58/135 para 58)]

1. The formal participation of women in peace negotiations and decision-making processes is key to the effectiveness of conflict prevention and the sustainable transformation of violent conflict. Since last October there have been both significant benchmarks for peacebuilding in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Liberia, matched with increased violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Afghanistan, including the pre-emptive attack on Iraq and the continued situation of instability in that country, sadly reflected in the recent bomb attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad.

1.1 Representative women have not been systematically included in the formal processes underpinning conflict transformation and resulting agreements have been gender blind. In the context of each of these difficult and complex conflict transformation situations, the members of the Security Council are required to endorse actions to support peacebuilding and conflict prevention, in line with Resolution1325 in which the formal participation of women is a priority.

1.2 We are encouraged by the numerous UNSC Resolutions, which make specific reference to 1325*; the budget allocation for a P4 gender position based at DPKO headquarters; the DDA Gender Action Plan and the OCHA initiative to also develop a Gender Action Plan; the swift advertisement for the P5 Senior Gender Adviser and proposed Gender Unit for the Mission in Liberia. We hope these positive ‘better practice' initiatives will be systematized throughout the UN Secretariat, agencies and departments as an integral part of the commitment to gender-mainstreaming.

1.3 Emphasizing that, action plans need to be backed with appropriate financial and human resources at country level and UN headquarters level, coupled with effective monitoring and evaluation of implementation, which move sound proposals into practice.

1.4 Regretfully, in terms of gender balance in high-level decision-making positions within the UN system, the number of women SRSGs has still not increased beyond one in the mission in Georgia, despite the existence of OSAGI data-bases of appropriately qualified women candidates and gender experts. Equally we are concerned at the time lag for filling the permanent P4 position of Gender Advisor within DPKO headquarters and the D1 Gender Advisor position in Afghanistan, and the fact that the 30% quota target for women in the UN system set out for 2005 is not on track.

2. Bearing in mind available knowledge and resources, on the crucial role of women in peacebuilding and conflict prevention, as well as the need for explicit gender-awareness in all conflict analysis, we call upon members of the Security Council to:

2.1 Further promote gender-mainstreaming, awareness and action with committed and sustained funding through inter alia, initial quotas at UN and national/regional intervention levels; commencing with the swift appointment of a permanent P4 Gender Advisor within DPKO headquarters office, support for a parallel Gender Advisor within DPA and permanent funding for the Senior Social Affairs Officer – Women, Peace and Security within the Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues (OSAGI).

2.2 Ensure that gender posts are funded from the regular budget and not from trust or voluntary funds, as part of ensuring a sustained mainsteaming of gender in peace and security issues.

2.3 Mandate and establish a Sub-Committee on Women, Peace and Security to develop and monitor a measurable plan for the implementation of 1325, including: a) the integration of the relevant aspects of 1325 into all country-specific and thematic UNSC resolutions; b) the institutionalization of reporting mechanisms on gender concerns in SC reports; c) the systematic support and promotion of the inclusion of women as active agents and equal participants at all levels and phases of peace negotiations; d) make full use of the resources developed by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Women, Peace and Security including check lists developed for SC Missions.

2.4 Establish an independent monitoring and response group to advise on gender-sensitive conflict prevention, with sustainable financial resource backing to monitor country level contexts. This group should address issues of gender-based violence and build on initial work done by NGOs such as International Alert and the Swiss Peace Foundation on gender-sensitive early warning indicators, highlighting the linkages of micro and macro levels of violence and the need for monitoring and early response.

2.5 Encourage and support the peacebuilding initiatives of women in particular in Afghanistan, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq and Liberia in respect of SC Resolutions: S/RES/1493 (28 JUL) paras 8 & 9; S/RES/1483/2003 (22 MAY); S/RES/1478/2003 (6 MAY); S/RES/1468/2003 (20 MAR) para 2; S/RES/1445/2002 (4 DEC) paras 12 and 19; S/RES/1419/2002 (26 JUN) para 7; S/RES/1386/2001 (20 DEC); S/RES/1383/2001 and S/RES/1355/2001 (15 JUN).

3. The NGOWG further calls upon Member States to:

3.1 Integrate 1325 into domestic national and regional legislation with particular focus on the protection of women's human rights in terms of address of sexual and gender-based violence, and gender-awareness in early education as part of violence prevention.

3.2 Mainstream gender-awareness training throughout their military and civilian security forces; along the lines of examples provided by the Scandinavian countries, the Canadians and the Dutch.

3.3 Ensure that all national peacekeepers are trained in gender-awareness and human rights protection, and fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with regard to accountability on engagement in UN peace support operations, failing this that there are at minimum clear and publicized lines of accountability for peacekeepers not currently falling under the ICC.

4. These recommendations are made in the spirit of Resolution 1325 and the Security Council's desire to remain “actively seized” in the implementation of this resolution as an effective tool for the grounding of sustainable peace globally.

The NGOWG would like to close by reiterating the statement made by the Secretary-General in his Study on Women, Peace and Security (2002):

"Central to any transition process is the need to take account of the differential needs of women and men at all stages of rebuilding societies and the importance of concrete mechanisms to ensure that all people- women and men- enjoy freedoms and participate equally in rehabilitation and reconstruction."

*The UN Office of the Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women (OSAGI) has compiled the “2002-2003 Security Council Resolutions with Analysis of Women, Peace and Security Issues” in a table format. For more information about this table, contact Jenny Perlman, Acting Coordinator of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, at: (212) 551-3140, or
jennyp@womenscommission.org.

The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security is comprised of Hague Appeal for Peace, International Alert, International Women's Tribune Center, Women's Action for New Directions, Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children and Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

For more information about the Working Group and to read their other statements and publications, click here.

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