STATEMENT: by Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 10th Anniversary of SCR 1325 on 'Women, Peace and Security'
Armed conflict exacerbates inequalities that exist between women and men in different forms and to varying degrees in all societies, and that make women particularly vulnerable when armed conflict breaks out. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the spirit of this resolution and its integral link with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
The adoption of Security Council resolution 1325 in 2000 marked an important international political recognition that women and gender are relevant to international peace and security. For the first time, the Security Council addressed the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women and recognized the undervalued and underutilized contributions women make to conflict prevention and resolution, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. It also stressed the importance of women's equal and full participation as active agents in peace and security.
Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), recognized as a historic and unprecedented document, has built on a number of global policy documents, resolutions, statements, reports and treaties, including the Women's Convention, which provides an overall framework for its full implementation. The Convention is a comprehensive women's human rights instrument aimed to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women, which is applicable in times of peace and in situations of armed conflict.
Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) recalls the Convention's preamble, which spells out that the cause of peace requires the full participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields, and by so doing, it holds out a promise to women across the globe that their rights will be protected and that all barriers to their equal participation and full involvement in the maintenance and promotion of sustainable peace will be removed.
The Women's Convention and Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) seek to move forward the gender-equality agenda in conflict and post-conflict situations, and seek to ensure that women's experiences, needs and perspectives are fully incorporated into the political, legal and social decisions that are aimed to achieve durable peace, reconciliation and development.
The adoption by the Security Council of resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008) and 1889 (2009) bear testimony to the progress made during the last decade in the area of “women, peace and security”. These resolutions have brought a much needed and welcomed visibility to the importance of gender mainstreaming at all stages of peace process, including peacekeeping, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction.
While much has been done in response to resolution 1325 (2000) in the last 10 years since its adoption, progress in implementation is still limited, and armed conflict continues to have a devastating impact on women and girls. Conflicts are often accompanied by gender-based violence and evidence suggests an increasing scale and brutality of sexual violence with rape often used as a tool of war. Women and girls are increasingly targeted as a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instil fear in, punish, disperse and/or forcibly relocate members of a community or ethnic group.
Ten years after the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), the situation remains far from satisfactory, with gaps and challenges remaining, particularly in the post-conflict period, where women's potential contribution to peacebuilding is constrained, owing to their exclusion from decision-making processes. While women are widely recognized as effective agents of peace, they still have little access to power and peace negotiations. There remain major gaps in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), and no mechanism of accountability to ensure its implementation has yet been instituted by the Security Council.
The Committee welcomes the elaboration of global indicators to track measure and monitor implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) pursuant to paragraph 17 of resolution 1889 (2009).
The Committee also supports the adoption by United Nations Member States of national action plans on resolution 1325 (2000) as a key tool in national-level implementation, and it recommends that technical assistance be provided to build the capacity of States for the elaboration and adoption of national action plans, as well as the development of comprehensive monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, all of which are closely linked to the implementation of the Women's Convention.
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000), the Committee emphasizes the synergy which exists between the standards in the Convention and those set out in resolution 1325 (2000) and reaffirms its determination to provide concrete strategic guidance to States parties for actions to be taken on the broad commitments outlined in resolution 1325 (2000).
The Committee recalls its reporting guidelines under which States parties are required to provide information on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) whenever appropriate, and reaffirms its resolve to continue to address resolution 1325 (2000) in its constructive dialogue with States parties in the examination of their reports, in order to broaden and strengthen gender equality in the context of conflict, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction, encouraging Governments to ensure these rights are realized by setting up adequate responses to women's needs and protection, and by ensuring women's full participation in decision-making at national, regional and international levels.
In this world of continuing instability and violence, with civilian victims often outnumbering casualties among combatants, the Committee supports and echoes the call of the Security Council for all parties to come together for an improved protection of women and girls, and commit themselves to end impunity and prosecute those responsible for all forms of violence, including rape and other sexual violence.
The Committee urges Member States to put resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008) and 1889 (2009) into practice by initiating, whenever appropriate, international investigations with special attention paid to sexual violence, and urges the Security Council to continue to support current efforts to resolve this situation in line with the principles these resolutions embody.
The Committee emphasizes the need for a concerted and integrated approach that would place implementation of resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008) and 1889 (2009) into the broader framework of the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol. It also calls on States parties to enhance collaboration with civil society and non‑governmental organizations working on implementation of resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008) and 1889 (2009), and stresses that this is a matter of concern to the guardians of global peace and security.