Moving 1325 Forward
By Julika Erfurt, WILPF

The brainstorming session on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 organized by the NGO Working Group on Peace (Geneva) and the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (New York) identified ways to move the resolution forward. The discussion focused on challenges, strategies and opportunities, and concluded by identifying five priorities that should serve as basis for a global agenda for 1325.

The group identified the following issues as some of the challenges to the successful implementation of 1325: the lack of awareness, knowledge and ownership; the lack of accountability at the national and international level; and the applicability at different stages of conflict, in non-conflict and post-conflict countries.

The strategies identified to address the challenges were, among others, to raise awareness, including with men and boys; to monitor and report the government progress; for NGO's to write Alternative Reports; to write a gender-sensitive template for peace agreements to be used in all peace negotiations; to ensue senior gender advisors on all assessment missions; to build partnerships between civil society, governments and international agencies; to compile a gender training kit; to mainstream 1325, especially among funding institutions; and to transform all national laws and international contracts to reflect 1325.

The five priorities

(i) To submit alternative reports on what NGO's and governments have done (or not done) regarding 1325. Reports should be submitted at the same time as the SG report and the Beijing+10 questionnaires will appear.

(ii) To send declarative statements to all UN agencies indicating that we demand a women-critical mass included in everything the UN does, including peace negotiations and donor meetings.

(iii) To attend the final CSW day to exert pressure on governments so that last year's lack of agreed conclusions will not be repeated.

(iv) To create informal networks.

(v) To raise awareness in our own communities on how 1325 contributes to secure environments.

For the seven priority actions, CLICK HERE. For the full list of recommendations, CLICK HERE.