New Beginnings bring New Responsibilities

1. EDITORIAL
Maria Butler

2010 - the year of the tenth anniversary of UNSCR 1325- is a time for new beginnings. I have recently begun as the new PeaceWomen Project Associate in the UN Office of WILPF and have the honor of continuing the work of Sam Cook. The PeaceWomen Project will also launch our new modernized website in April. This improved platform will allow PeaceWomen to communicate with our supporters and web-users in a whole new way; through increased interaction with the content, as well as the PeaceWomen Project itself. We will be providing new space for women to share their experiences, exchange views, and make their voices heard. It will be transformational for all of us working in the field of women, peace and security!In the coming weeks (March 1- 12), thousands of women from around the world will take part in the Fifty-Fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 54) to undertake a fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Item 2). The strategic objectives set out in the Beijing Platform for Action fifteen years ago called for the increased participation of women in conflict resolution and at every level of decision-making (Strategic Objective E.1). It also called for the protection of women living in situations of armed and other conflicts or under foreign occupation (Strategic Objective E.1). The CSW is an energizing time as well as an important opportunity to focus on the implementation of these key objectives.

Beyond CSW, the coming months are critical for creative initiatives and action relating to the implementation of the four women, peace and security resolutions (UNSCR 1325, 1820, 1888 & 1889). The marking of the 10th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 in October 2010 needs to focus on specific outcomes for women in conflict situations. Throughout this year and in the build-up to the anniversary, PeaceWomen and our partners in the NGO Working Group will advocate for concrete action and accountability.
Under Item 4, this PeaceWomen E-News features the recent appointment of Margot Wallström as the Special Representative (SRSG) for sexual violence in conflict. SRSG Wallström is tasked to provide leadership in the UN with a mandate that addresses sexual violence in conflict in a broader framework of participation, prevention and protection, as called for in SCR 1888 OP4 (2009). We are encouraged by SRSG Wallström remarks: "in far too many parts of the world women are excluded from the decision-making process and from conflict resolution and peacekeeping. This absolutely has to change and I am determined to play my part in making that change happen".
The UN is preparing a report proposing indicators to measure implementation of SCR 1325 on women, peace and security as called for in SCR 1889, OP 26. There will be an NGO consultation to input to the UN Indicator Report on the 12th March 2010. Details are featured in Item 9 of this PeaceWomen E-News issue.
As this is my first PeaceWomen E-News as Editor, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge my predecessor Sam Cook's dedication and commitment to women, peace and security. Sam broke ground in so many ways by taking the PeaceWomen Project to new heights - through increasing the visibility of the Project online and also strengthening the work we do in monitoring and assessing the work of the UN on women, peace and security. Her work has been remarkable and inspiring. Thank you, Sam from the PeaceWomen team!
New beginnings bring new responsibilities for us all. We must take forward the energy at CSW 54 and utilize the build-up to the UNSCR 1325 10th anniversary as a catalyst to the focus on responsibility to implement real action on the ground for women in conflict situations.

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2. Commission on the Status of Women 54 Beijing + 15

The 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 54) will take place from March 1- 12 in New York. Thousands of women from around the world will take part in CSW 54 to undertake a fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly.

Throughout its sixty years of existence and its fifty-three sessions, the Commission on the Status of Women has consistently promoted the advancement of women. It has been instrumental in expanding the recognition of women's rights, in documenting the reality of women's lives throughout the world, in shaping global policies on gender equality and empowerment of women and in ensuring that the work of the UN is all areas incorporates a gender perspective. It continues to play a critical role by bringing together Governments, UN entities, NGOs, and other international and regional organizations to promote women's rights and advance gender equality.

3. WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY NEWS

UN AGENCY HOPES TO INCREASE MEDIA SPOTLIGHT ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE
February 12, 2010 – (UN News) With not a single conviction resulting from the thousands of sexual violence cases reported last year in Sierra Leone, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is hoping the media can be a power ally in spotlighting how these offences go unpunished in the West African nation.

BOLIVIAN WOMEN SPEARHEAD MORALES REVOLUTION
February 11, 2010 – (BBC) In the early 19th Century, Bolivian women fought alongside men for the country's independence from colonial Spain. They stormed into battle on horseback, seized cities and were on the frontline.

CONGO-KINSHASA: SEXUAL VIOLENCE EXACERBATED NATIONAL AIDS EPIDEMIC
February 11, 2010 – (All Africa) Sexual violence used as a weapon of war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo continues unabated as more than a decade of conflict in the area drags on.

FOR PEACEMAKING, SENEGAL HAS JUST THE WOMAN
February 11, 2010 - (WOMENSENEWS) One of Senegal's leading lawyers has mediated labor strikes and defused election violence. Her name is Amsatou Sow Sidibe and Malena Amusa thinks she's a major reason why Senegal is relatively peaceful compared to neighboring Guinea.

NO SHORT CUTS TO AFGHAN JUSTICE
February 10, 2010 – (guardian.co.uk) Plans for rebuilding Afghanistan always seek the shortest route – and have repeatedly resulted in failure. At the London conference last month there was talk of reconciliation or reintegration for the Taliban but, once again, the Afghan government and its international allies failed to put a legitimate and functioning justice system in place.

Q&A: CREATING MOMENTUM FOR WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION
February 9, 2010 - (IPS) Women's movements have played a critical role in creating political space for female participation in politics around the world. In fact, there are more women in government today than ever before.

WEST AFRICAN COLLABORATION FOR GENDER EQUALITY ENHANCED BY UN INITIATIVE
February 8, 2010 – (UN News Centre) Gender equality, respect for women's rights and the fight against sexual violence in West Africa received a new weapon in its arsenal today with the launch of a United Nations initiative to enhance cooperation among all stakeholders in the region.

AFRICA: STRENGTHENING WOMEN'S ACTIVISM IN POST-CONFLICT AFRICA
February 8, 2010 – (All Africa) ABANTU for Development with support from the Global Fund for Women (GFW) and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is organizing a four-day methodology workshop under the theme "Strengthening Women's Activism in Post-Conflict Africa" in Accra for international and locally based researchers and activists from Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana. The purpose is to design action-oriented women's rights tools for undertaking researches in the sub-region.

COSTA RICA: CHINCHILLA TO JOIN CLUB OF WOMEN PRESIDENTS
February 8, 2010 - (IPS) Laura Chinchilla of the governing National Liberation Party (PLN) will be the first female president of Costa Rica and the ninth in the history of Latin America.

CEDAW COMMITTEE: PROTECT RIGHTS AND INVOLVE WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN NEGOTIATIONS
February 6, 2010 – (UN Dispatch) United Nations human rights experts share the unease Afghan civil society representatives voiced in London last week about the protection of women's human rights during peace negotiations with the Taliban.

ANY PACT WITH TALIBAN MUST GUARANTEE RIGHTS OF AFGHAN WOMEN – UN PANEL
February 5, 2010 – (UN News Centre) Any agreement between the Afghan Government and the Taliban should include a clear commitment to protect women's human rights, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women said today.

KENYA: ICC INVESTIGATORS ARE CALLED TO INVESTIGATE POST-ELECTORAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
February 5, 2010 - (Spero News) Ahead of the arrival of ICC investigations to carryout a fact-finding mission into Kenya's 2007-2008 post-election violence, there is a project to document testimonies of women who survived sexual violence during this catastrophic period.

GETTING WOMEN A SEAT AT THE PEACE TABLE
February 4, 2010 - (UN Radio) Nearly ten years after the adoption by the UN Security Council of its groundbreaking resolution on Women, Peace and Security, known as resolution 1325, women are still not sufficiently represented in peace negotiations.

”MY PLIGHT IS NOT UNIQUE”
February 4, 2010 – (AWID) What conceptions of gender underlie military policy towards sexual violence? Is the specific form the violence takes determined by the type of warfare? To what extent is sexual violence in wartime different to that in peacetime? And what does a closer examination of homosexual violence add to our understanding? A roundtable discussion organized by the Hamburg Institute of Social Research.

AFGHANISTAN CAN'T AFFORD A FUTURE WITHOUT WOMEN AT THE TABLE
February 4, 2010 – (New America Media) At last week's London Conference on Afghanistan, the first in a series of summits led by Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Afghan women were left out in the cold. Only four men thought it important enough to attend the “Women's Priorities” panel, an event assembled by Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS), and billed as the primary Afghan women's event outside the summit itself.

COSTA RICA EXPECTED TO ELECT FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT
February 4, 2010 – (International Herald Tribune) Costa Rican voters appear likely to elect the country's first female president, a protégé of Nobel laureate Oscar Arias who holds a nearly 20-point lead over two male rivals ahead of Sunday's balloting.

PEACEBUILDING OFFICE TEAMS UP WITH UN ENTITIES TO COMBAT SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT
February 3, 2010 – (UN News Centre) The United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office has joined forces with a network of over a dozen other UN entities to prevent sexual violence in armed conflict and respond effectively to the needs of survivors.

TAKING GENDER BASED VIOLENCE OUT OF CLOSET
February 3, 2010 - (Observer) Gender Based Violence (GBV) in all its manifestations remains a critical concern in Uganda. Gender Based Violence implies violating the fundamental rights of an individual largely because of his/her gender. This violence may include physical, sexual, psychological, child abuse, dowry related violence, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation. The violation of the human rights of women in situations of armed conflict, in particular systematic rape, sexual slavery and forced pregnancy, have been documented in virtually all parts of Uganda that have experienced armed conflict

NEPAL: SUJATA DEMANDS WOMEN REPRESENTATION IN HIGH LEVEL POLITICAL MECHANISM
February 2, 2010 - (Nepal News) Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala has said representation of women in the High Level Political Mechanism (HLPM) is necessary to ensure women participation in the peace process.

PHILIPPINES: WOMEN WANT A PEACE OF THE ACTION
February 2, 2010 - (News Blaze) A woman's place is at the negotiating table, especially when the issue at hand is about winning lasting peace that has eluded the community for decades. This view was strongly expressed by Laisa Alamiya, a lawyer and member of Nisa Ul Haqq Fi, a Muslim women's group; and Teresita Quintos-Deles, former presidential advisor on the peace process, during recent discussions held as part of the National Women's Summit held in Quezon City.

UN CHIEF LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN IN AFRICA TO ERADICATE MALE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
January 30, 2010 – (UN News) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the support of African leaders to give new impetus to his campaign to end the violence suffered by women on the continent, which he called the “unsung heroines” of development in the region.

THE POLITICAL ROLE OF NEPALESE WOMEN
January 29, 2010 - (World Press) Young Nepalese women from the Newar ethnic community participate in a parade held to mark the declaration of the Newar Autonomous Region in Kathmandu on Dec. 26.

PAKISTAN: JAMMU HIGH COURT LIKELY TO GET FIRST WOMEN HIGH COURT JUDGE
January 28, 2010 - (Kashmir Observer) With the Jammu and Kashmir High Court more or less set to have more judges to deal with pending cases, history is likely to be made as the new appointments may include a woman candidate, sources said. The union law ministry is likely to announce the appointment of judges against vacancies in the High Court very soon.

INTERVIEW: THE FEMALE AFGHAN DELEGATE
January 28, 2010 – (inthenews.co.uk) Selay Ghaffar is part of the unofficial Afghan delegation, the official version of which is entirely male dominated.

EU, NATO JOIN FORCES TO PROMOTE WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY
January 27, 2010 - (Turkish Weekly) Sexual violence has become a tool of modern warfare. Most victims are women of all ages, but often young girls; and the results are unwanted pregnancies, HIV infection and social stigmatization.

BOLIVIA: UNPRECEDENTED GENDER PARITY IN CABINET
January 27, 2010 - (IPS) Evo Morales began his second term as president of Bolivia by swearing in a cabinet made up of an equal number of women and men - unprecedented in this South American nation with a strong patriarchal tradition.

AN EFFECTIVE WEAPON IN THE WAR ON TERROR: WOMEN
January 25, 2010 - (Global Post) In Peshawar, Pakistan, the sermons of radical imams are carried on loudspeakers atop the minarets of mosques, and the words echo in the narrow streets.

Q&A: WITH MORE POLITICAL SPACE, WOMEN CAN DO MORE AS PEACEMAKERS'
January 25, 2010 - (IPS) As a political activist and president of the women's wing of the Awami National Party (ANP), Zahira Khattak has been working relentlessly for the empowerment of women in the war-torn North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan. She believes that by empowering them, they can contribute more to the peace efforts in the region.

UNIFEM MOURNS THE DEATHS OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVISTS IN HAITI
January 21, 2010 - (UNIFEM) It is with tremendous sadness that UNIFEM learned about the deaths of several women leaders from governmental and civil society organizations in Haiti.

PERU: VICTIMS OF MILITARY RAPISTS WAIT FOR JUSTICE 25 YEARS ON
January 20, 2010 - (IPS) "I want justice. That will be a kind of peace," says Micaela, a 40-year-old woman from the Andean region of Peru who is a survivor of the sexual violence prevalent during the 1980-2000 civil war. Twenty-five years ago, soldiers assaulted her at a military base and in her own home.

COTE D'IVOIRE: WOMEN'S GROUP SUPPORTS ELECTION SCHEDULE
January 19, 2010 - (Africa News) A women's umbrella group, the Federation of Feminine Associations and NGOs for the Elections in Cote-Ivoire (FFAOECI), on Monday staged a demonstration in Abidjan in front of the headquarters of the Independent Election Committee (IEC) to press demands for adherence to the election schedule.

DEEPENING DEMOCRACY BY BUILDING GENDER EQUALITY
January 18, 2010 - (Open Democracy) The conference on 'Women deepening democracy' held in New Delhi last week examined what can be done to tackle the gender-specific double standard encoded into the DNA of political liberalism Women have been at the forefront of democratization struggles around the world, from the Southern Cone of Latin America in the 1980s to the Eastern European transitions of the 1990s, and from the Orange and Rose revolutions, to the establishment of democracy in post-conflict countries such as Timor Leste, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nepal.

TURKEY: WOMEN'S RIGHTS MARRED BY VIOLENCE IN THE SOUTHEAST
January 16, 2010 - (Turkish Weekly) Domestic violence is the biggest obstacle to developing women's rights in the predominantly Kurdish Southeast. A local organization in Van became a driving-force for women to stand up for their rights.

GAMBIA: POLICE DECLARE ZERO TOLERANCE FOR GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
January 14, 2010 - (Africa News) Gambia's Assistant Superintendent of Police Yahya Fadera on Wednesday declared there will be zero tolerance for gender-based violence, in particular rape and sexual assault against women and girls, warning that perpetrators will have no place to hide.

SENEGAL: CASAMANCE WOMEN CALL FOR PEACE
January 14, 2010 - (Pambazuka) Since the onset of violence in Casamance back in 1982, the Senegalese government and the Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) have not been able to negotiate a lasting peace. Periods of relative calm have been regularly punctuated by violent flare-ups that lead to fresh negotiations. In recent months, the region has once again been plunged into violent conflict. The women of Casamance make this call for an immediate end to the violence.

EASTERN CONGO: "WOMEN ARE AFRAID THEY COULD BE RAPED ANY NIGHT HERE"
January 12, 2010 - (AlertNet) Julie had just blown out the kerosene lamp and was lying in bed next to her husband when suddenly the stillness of the night was pierced by enraged shouts and the sound of a door being kicked open. Eight armed men burst into her house in a small village in Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province, wielding machetes and automatic rifle.

IRAN'S ‘MOURNING MOTHERS' MUST BE RELEASED
January 11, 2010 - (Amnesty) Amnesty International has urged the Iranian authorities to release a group of women who were beaten and arrested during a peaceful vigil in Tehran at the weekend.

SOUTH SUDAN: WOMEN'S EYES ON THE POLITICAL PRIZE
January 7, 2010 - (IPS) January marks the fifth anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended a bitter north-south civil war in Sudan. With important elections scheduled for April, women are debating and fighting for an expanded role in the new institutions of government.

IRAN: WIDESPREAD ARRESTS OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVISTS, FEMALE JOURNALISTS AND RELATIVES
January 5, 2010 - (ICHRI) Numerous women's rights campaigners, female journalists and relatives are being arrested and persecuted as authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran attempt to repress masses of Iranians from advocating for their civil rights in recent weeks, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

SECURITY REFORM KEY TO PROTECTING WOMEN
January 2010 - (African Renewal) The massacre of nearly 200 opposition demonstrators in Conakry, Guinea, in late September 2009 shocked Africa and the world. Beyond the sheer brutality of the crackdown, one feature was particularly stunning to many survivors and observers — the systematic rape of scores of women.

4. Feature Appointment

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS MARGOT WALLSTROM OF SWEDEN AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT
February 2, 2010 - (UN News) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Margot Wallström of Sweden as his Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

NGO WORKING GROUP ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY PRESS RELEASE
The UN Secretary-General's announced intention to appoint Margot Wallström as his new Special Representative for sexual violence in conflict could finally focus international action against these crimes, said the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (NGOWG). “The UN has for too long lacked crucial leadership for its day-to-day work against rape in war,” said Sarah Taylor, Executive Coordinator of the NGOWG.

RIGHTS: New U.N. Envoy to Crack Down on Sexual Violence
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 2, 2010 (IPS) - When the Security Council adopted resolution 1325 back in October 2000, it was a historic event: for the first time the U.N.'s most powerful political body dealt with a gender-related issue, explicitly linking women to peace and security. Last week, that resolution completed a full political circle when Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Margot Wallstrom of Sweden as his Special Representative (SRSG) to tackle violence against women and children in the world's battle zones.

5. feature statement

Statement Read on Behalf of Afghan Women to the London Conference on Afghanistan
By Ms. Arzo Qanih, Spokesperson, Afghan Women's Network on 28 January 2010 at the London Conference on Afghanistan, Plenary Session.

“As the only Afghan woman scheduled to address the plenary, I must spend a moment to focus on women's needs and priorities and the role women should play in efforts to stabilize and rebuild my country. Afghan women are acutely aware of the need to improve security on-the-ground. We are paying the largest price for the resurgence in violence and we benefit most from peace and stability. Evidence from around the world is clear: societies are more peaceful, stable and productive when women have equal status with men. Over the past few weeks, there have been extensive consultations with Afghan women leaders to prepare our messages to this Conference today. We have put these in writing and we hope you all have a copy. I will focus my comments on the key issues that must be addressed — not only in words, but in important practical ways:

1. Women must have a voice in all decision-making about the future of the country. This must include any peace jirgas, conferences on development, or negotiations to reconcile competing factions. Women have a broader view of security, different priorities in development, and specialized knowledge and expertise that should be leveraged in efforts to return peace to the country.
2. Women's rights and status must not be bargained away in efforts to reconcile competing factions. In any negotiations, women's rights must be protected. We have fought too long and too hard to improve the status of women – rights that were completely eroded in the past. Compromising our rights will not bring peace; it will only undermine efforts to develop my country and leave unfulfilled a fundamental promise the international community made to Afghans in 2001. We look to the Afghan government and the international community to guarantee that our existing constitutional rights will be protected and advanced.

3. The military surge must be complemented by an equally robust effort to boost civilian support for recovery and long-term reconstruction. Only with a commensurate, coordinated, and complementary effort to invest in social and economic development, enhance government efficiency, root out corruption, and enhance rule of law will long-term peace and prosperity be attainable. Do not focus on short-term, quick impact projects; address human development needs. Undertake those efforts in partnership with Afghans themselves — women and men — and gear programs to long-term sustainable development outcomes.
4. Finally, in seeking to enhance rule of law, make sure to protect women's rights. Informal and traditional justice systems have historically proved discriminatory to women. Without careful checks and guarantees, violations of women's rights will go unpunished and women's voices will not be heard. As you seek to increase access to justice, intensify efforts to improve the formal justice system, because women's access to equal justice is far greater when formal, legally binding systems of redress exist with greater capacity for independent monitoring.
Women in Afghanistan are critical partners for peace. Women's engagement is not an optional extra component of stabilization and recovery; it is a critical precursor to success. Women's empowerment will enable you to deliver long-term stability, democratization, and development. Thank you.”

6. Feature RESOURCES

Rape with Extreme Violence: The New Pathology in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo
Human Security Gateway, February 11, 2010 - On any given night in eastern DRC, armed groups of men will overrun a village and divide into bands of three to five, forcing themselves into houses where they seize and serially rape women and young girls. Some mutilate female genitals with guns, pieces of glass, wood, or heated plastic. Some take their victims to the forest and torture them as sex slaves for days, months, or years.

"You Will Be Punished" Eastern DR Congo: Surge in Army Atrocities
Human Rights Watch, December 13, 2009 - The United Nations Security Council should urgently act to protect civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo from further atrocities by government and rebel forces and ensure peacekeepers are not implicated in abuses, Human Rights Watch said in a report published today. The 183-page report, "‘You Will Be Punished': Attacks on Civilians in Eastern Congo," documents in detail the deliberate killing of more than 1,400 civilians between January and September 2009 during two successive Congolese army operations against a Rwandan Hutu militia, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The report is based on 23 Human Rights Watch fact-finding missions this year and interviews with over 600 victims, witnesses, and family members.

Women, Peace and Security: Empowering Women in Peace and Conflict
Outcome of the EU/Nato High-level event on Women, Peace and Security Brussels, 27 January 2010

Sexual Violence In African Countries
Human Security Gateway, February 11, 2010 - Civilians in Africa's conflict zones—particularly women and children, but also men—are often vulnerable to sexual violence, including rape, mutilation, and sexual slavery, carried out by government security forces and non-state actors, including, rebel groups, militias, and criminal organizations.

Iran: Violence against Women's Rights Activists - A Report on Arrests and Summons of Campaign Activists, AWID (2010)
For source, click HERE

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7. feature INItiatives

DECLARATION: STATE OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN HONDURAS SINCE THE COUP D'ETAT
"This Declaration marks the 25th of January, Honduran Women's Day, which commemorates the winning of women's right to vote; and the 8th of March, International Women's Day, a date that has been celebrated since 1912 by feminist organizations and women internationally of struggling for equality and the recognition of the human rights of women.

CALL FOR SOLIDARITY: FREEDOM AND GENDER EQUALITY IN IRAN
Women's Human Rights Defenders, March 1 – 31, 2010
“We (a group of Iranian feminists and women's rights activists) demand an end to state-led violence and repression, as well as the immediate release of all political detainees in Iran. We invite all women's rights defenders, activists, organizations, and networks worldwide to demonstrate their solidarity with the Iranian women's movement and the broader movement for democracy in Iran by organizing initiatives under the slogan ‘freedom and gender equality in Iran' throughout March 2010.

Suggested Strategies for Action
Below, please see some of the ways in which you can show solidarity with Iranian women. These are only examples; please feel free to be creative in your expression of solidarity.
· Mark the 8th of March by focusing on the situation of women in Iran in publications, blogs, public lectures, demonstrations, and community gatherings;
· Organize local events that focus on the current struggle in Iran as part of the World March of Women; Feature the slogan “Freedom and Gender Equality in Iran” on websites, Op-Eds, flyers, advertisements, public demonstrations, as well as in other innovative actions taken by activists, artists, feminists, and intellectuals;
· Keep in touch with us through our email iran.genderequality@gmail.com, blog, Facebook group Gender Equality, and Twitter page, where we will cover the news and reactions regarding the worldwide “freedom and gender equality in Iran” initiatives? Our goal is for these pages to also become virtual spaces for debate and engagement between feminists and women's rights activists worldwide and those in Iran;
· Make short films and take pictures of your local “freedom and gender equality in Iran” actions. We will gather these and publish them on the Internet pages mentioned above. A YouTube channel dedicated to these footages might be set up in the future."

8.ngo working group update

NGO Consultation on UN Indicator Report, March 12, 2010
As you may know, preparations within the United Nations are underway to prepare a report proposing indicators to measure implementation of SCR 1325 on women, peace and security. SCR 1889, OP 26 requests: “…the Secretary-General to submit to the Security Council within 6 months, for consideration, a set of indicators for use at the global level to track implementation of its resolution 1325 (2000), which could serve as a common basis for reporting by relevant United Nations entities, other international and regional organizations, and Member States, on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) in 2010 and beyond”. In order to include the essential voices of civil society in the preparation of this report, an NGO consultation will be held on the 12th March 2010 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York – i.e. at the end of CSW. This consultation will encourage input on the draft indicators, as well as generate ideas for how the UN Security Council could better receive, analyze, and act upon information about the implementation of SCR 1325. The consultation will be held at a strategic moment in the report preparation process: on 9 March a paper will be prepared with a draft shortlist of possible indicators to track SCR 1325 across 4 pillars - prevention, protection, participation, and early relief & recovery. The NGO consultation on 12 March 2010 will be followed by similar consultations with independent thematic experts, Member States and UN principals on 15 and 16 March 2010. This consultation is being prepared in joint partnership with the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, UNIFEM and OSAGI.

Please note that if you are unable to attend in person, you will be able to provide input via email

UN Security Council Monthly Action Points (MAP) for February 2010
The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security has released the February 2010 version of our Monthly Action Points (MAP) on Women, Peace and Security for the UN Security Council. For February, in which France holds the Security Council Presidency, the MAP provides recommendations on country situations, such as reporting on Central African Republic/Chad, Darfur, Iraq, and Liberia; the mandate renewal and reporting on Timor-Leste; and the ongoing situation in Guinea. The MAP also recommends ongoing Security Council and Member State support for the recommendations in SCRs 1888 and 1889, particularly the forthcoming appointment of an SRSG; development of the Team of Experts; and the proposals to strengthen the UN response to sexual violence in conflict. The February MAP is currently available in English, and will be available in French shortly.

UN Security Council Monthly Action Points (MAP) for March 2010
The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security has released the March 2010 version of our Monthly Action Points (MAP) on Women, Peace and Security for the UN Security Council. For March, in which Gabon holds the Security Council Presidency, the MAP provides recommendations on country situations, such as the mandate renewals and reports for Afghanistan and Chad/Central African Republic; and the reporting on Sierra Leone, Haiti, and the situation in Guinea. The MAP also recommends ongoing Security Council and Member State support for the recommendations in SCRs 1888 and 1889. Small arms trafficking will also be an area of discussion for the Security Council this month, and we look forward to the Council's specific engagement on the substantial women, peace and security aspects of this issue. The March MAP will soon be available in French.

9.WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY 2010 CALENDAR requests by UN Security Council

January 2010: Appointment of SRSG on Women, Peace and Security, who will look at how to address sexual violence in conflict (OP 4, SCR 1888). Followed by a Team of Experts to focus on building national level capacity to end impunity for sexual violence in conflict. (OP 8, SCR 1888)
Feb/March 2010: Framework for a gaps analysis of UN approach to sexual violence, and suggestions on monitoring and reporting – UNICEF (OP 26, SCR 1888)
March 1-12 2010: CSW/ Beijing +15
April 2010: Report on suggested indicators to measure Member State, UN entity progress on SCR 1325 - OSAGI supported by UNIFEM (OP 17, SCR 1889)
May 31-June 6: Review Conference of the Rome Statute - ICC
September 2010: MDGs – high-level meeting to review progress, including “ Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women”
September 2010: Report on UN efforts to address SV in conflict - 1820 follow-up (OP 27, SCR 1888)
October 2010: 10th Anniversary of SCR 1325, Report on women and post-conflict reconstruction – PBSO (OP 19, SCR 1889), Report on implementation of SCR 1325 – OSAGI (OP 18, SCR 1889)