United Nations security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security

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United Nations security Council Resolution 1325
on Women, Peace and Security
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History

• On October 31, 2000, the United Nations Security
  Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 on
  women, peace and security

• Key players in adoption
• NGOs, especially womens NGOs ex. NGO Working
  Group on Women, International Peace and Security
• UN agencies, ex. UNIFEM
• Member States on SC, ex. Namibia, Bangladesh,
  Canada, Jamaica

• Historic and Unprecedented
• Effectively International Law

• 1325 did not come out of nowhere
• It was preceded by numerous international
  documents, treaties and statements

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Legal Framework

• Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
  discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 1979
• Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 1995
• ECOSOC Agreed Conclusions on Gender
  Mainstreaming, 1997
• Security Council Presidential Statement
  (Bangladesh), 8 March 2000
• Windhoek Declaration and the Namibia Plan of
  Action on Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in
  Multidimensional Peace Support Operations, May
  2000
• Outcome Doc. Of the UN General Assembly Special
  Session Women 2000 Gender Equality, Development
  and Peace for the 21st Century Beijing 5

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What is UN SC Resolution 1325?
It is a watershed political framework that makes
women and a gender perspective relevant to all
aspects of peace processes- from peace agreements
through peace support operations and planning for
refugee, IDPs and other war affected to
post-conflict reconstruction processes and the
restoration of the social fabric of a broken
society.
Resolution 1325 makes the pursuit of gender
equality relevant to every single action of the
UN SC ranging from Mine Clearance to Elections to
Demobilisation, Disarmament, Reintegration
Security Sector Reform.
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What Does Resolution 1325 Mean in Practice?

• Resolution 1325 is a validation of over 20 years
  of womens struggles, advocacy and persistent
  lobbying
• It is a political framework that provides a
  number of operational mandates with implications
  for the following actors Policy makers,
  decision-takers, programmers and funding
  components.

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Actors

• Security Council
• Secretary General
• Member States
• Humanitarian Agencies
• The Military
• Researchers

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It can be used as a Tool for

• Demanding political accountability and the
  protection of rights
• Advocacy and lobbying
• Negotiation
• Leverage
• Inclusion and representation in Peace Processes

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How is Resolution 1325 Constructed?
It calls upon all relevant actors to take action
in five interrelated areas elaborated in 18
paragraphs
Paragraphs 1-4 deals with womens participation
and representation in decision-making levels in
all aspects of peace processes, including in
peacekeeping and other field based operations
Paragraphs 6 7 deal with gender sensitive
training, materials and guidelines for HIV/AIDS
and the funding of training for all staff
employed on peacekeeping missions
Paragraphs 8 12 deal with the protection of
womens human rights and the right to redress
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Paragraph 13 addresses disarmament,
demobilisation, reintegration and differences in
women and mens needs
Paragraph 14 addresses humanitarian needs and
protection issues
Paragraph 15 expresses the SCs willingness to
consider gender considerations and womens rights
through consultation with local womens groups
during their various field missions.
Paragraphs 16 17 deal with Gender Mainstreaming
in UN reporting
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Key Commitments Made in UN SC Resolution 1325
Inclusion of a Gender Perspective at All Levels
of Decision-Making
Gender Perspective in SG Reports and in SC
Missions
Protection of and Respect for Human Rights of
Women and Girls
Gender Perspective in Post-Conflict Processes
Gender Perspective in Peacekeeping
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Inclusion of a Gender Perspective at All Levels
of Decision-Making

• UN SC Resolution 1325 calls for MORE
• Women at all decision-making levels in national,
  regional and international institutions and
  mechanisms for the prevention, management and
  resolution of conflict.
• Women as Special Representatives (head of
  peacekeeping mission) and envoys of the
  Secretary-General
• Women as military observers, civilian police,
  human rights and humanitarian personnel

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Protection of and Respect for Human Rights of
Women and girls

• UNSC Resolution Calls for
• Respect for international law, as applicable to
  women and girls
• Special measures to protect women and girls from
  gender-based violence and other forms of violence
  in situations of armed conflict
• An end to impunity, including for those
  responsible for committing sexual violence
  against women and girls
• Respect for the civilian and humanitarian
  character of refugee camps
• The integration of the particular needs of women
  and girls into the design of refugee camps

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Gender Perspective in Peacekeeping

• UN SC Resolution 1325 Calls for
• Senior level gender advisor/gender units
• Gender Training of all peacekeeping personnel
  pre-deployment (responsibility of member state)

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Gender Perspective in Post-Conflict Processes

• UN SC Resolution 1325 Calls for
• The adoption of a gender perspective in
  Demobilization, Disarmament, Repatriation,
  Resettlement and Reintegration (DDRRR), and
  post-conflict reconstruction
• The consideration of the different needs of
  female and male ex-combatants
• Respect for the civilian and humanitarian
  character of refugee camps

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Gender Perspective in Secretary General reports
and in security Council missions

• UN SC Resolution 1325 Calls for
• The SG to carry out a study on the impact of
  armed conflict on women and girls, the role of
  women in peace-building and the gender dimensions
  of peace processes
• The SG to report on progress in gender
  mainstreaming in peacekeeping missions in all of
  his reports to the SC
• The integration of gender considerations and the
  rights of women in SC missions
• SC members consultation with womens groups and
  organizations while on mission

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UN SC Resolution 1325 Strengths

• AS a Security Council Resolution
• Article 25 of the UN Charter The members of the
  United nations agree to accept and carry out the
  decisions of the Security Council in accordance
  with the present Charter
• Global Constituency
• Grassroots organizations, international NGOs
• UN
• Governments
• Academics
• Active collaboration across sectors
• It does not stand alone Holistic perspective
• Other Security Council Resolutions
• General Assembly Resolutions
• CEDAW (1979)
• Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
  (1995)
• European Parliament Resolution on participation
  of women in peaceful conflict resolution (2000)
• G8 Rome Initiatives on conflict prevention
  Strengthening the role of women in conflict
  prevention (2001)
• Protocol to the African Charter on Human and
  Peoples Rights on the rights of women in Africa
  (2003)
• Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
  (ICC)

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UNSC 1325 Challenges

• Weak Language
• As compared to other resolutions, i.e.
  Counter-Terrorism Resolution (1373)
• UN SC Res. 1325 express, emphasizes, requests
• UN SC Res. 1373 decides, directs, declares
• Absence of mechanisms for monitoring and
  reporting on implementation
• Absence of quotas, time-bound targets (unlike
  European Parliament Resolution on participation
  of women in peaceful conflict resolution)

• Lack of Political Will among Member-States and
  within UN System
• Gender still not a politicized issue for many UN
  member states, remains a soft issue
• Women as victims vs. Active agents
• Resistance of budgetary actors to allocate
  funding for gender programming

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• People dont know it exists
• UN, government, civil society
• Example of lack of systematic information flow
  between UN Headquarters and field
• Translations needed

• Only 1 of approximately 50 Special
  Representatives of the SG or Special Envoys on
  peacekeeping operations is a woman (Georgia).
  There are 4 women deputy heads in peacekeeping
  missions (Guatemala, DRC, Ethiopia and Eritrea)
• 30 quota target for women in UN system set out
  for 2005 is not on track

• Rape and other forms of sexual violence and
  gender-based violence systematic, and widespread
  in todays armed conflicts
• DRC Rape as a systematic tool of warfare
• Iraq Rise in reported cases of kidnapping, rape,
  trafficking

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• To-date, only 5 peacekeeping missions have had
  staff working directly on gender issues (East
  Timor, Kosovo, DRC, Cote dIvore and Sierra
  Leone)
• These gender units continue to be understaffed
  and weak, as a result of a lack of mandate
  authority
• Cote dIvoire a UN Volunteer is the only staff
  member working on gender issues from within the
  Human Rights Unit.
• While Gender training is compulsory for
  peacekeepers, its integration relies on the
  political will of each mission head.

• Needs and voices of the dependants of
  ex-combatants frequently ignored and
  marginalized, respectively
• Wives of Ugandan rebels Lords Resistance Army-
  What happens to them?
• Refugee women and girls continue to experience
  sexual and gender based violence in refugee camps
  and settlements, forced to trade sex for
  humanitarian supplies
• Continued poor record of SC consultation with
  womens organizations while on mission

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UN SC Resolution 1325 Models for Implementation

• Civil Society
• DRC Using 1325 as a toll in preparation for and
  at Inter-Congolese Dialogue in Sun City, South
  Africa
• Internally displaced women in Colombia, Gender
  and Peacebuilding Working Group in Canada
• WILPF Australia 1325 as priority for education
  and action
• http//www.1325australia.org.au

• UN
• Inter-Agency Taskforce on Women, Peace and
  Security
• Gender Unit of the Peacekeeping Mission in DRC
  (MONUC)
• UNIFEM Women, War and Peace Web Portal
  www.womenwarpeace.org

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• Government
• Friends of 1325 a UN member states coalition
  (Germany as member)
• Netherlands joint working group of Ministries of
  Foreign Affairs and Defence on Implementation of
  1325 (2002) released report on status of
  implementation
• US Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson US House
  Congressional Resolution 432 on 1325 and women,
  peace and security -

• Collaboration Across Sectors
• Coalition 1325, Azerbaijan (UNIFEM Supported)