1325 PeaceWomen E-News
Issue #69
18 October 2005

fifth anniversary of resolution 1325

The Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, 31 October 2000. CLICK HERE for the full text of the resolution.

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For past issues of the newsletter, CLICK HERE.

THIS ISSUE OF 1325 PEACEWOMEN E-NEWS FEATURES:
1. Women, Peace and Security News
2. Fifth Anniversary of Resolution 1325: Women, Peace & Security October Advocacy Program - Participants & Events Calendar
3. Feature Statement: Open Letter to UN Ambassadors from the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security.
4. Voices from the Past: 2004 Security Council Open Debate & 2003 WILPF Statement to UNCHR
5. Feature Resources: “Gender Mainstreaming in Conflict Transformation: Building Sustainable Peace”; Report of the Gender Monitoring Group of the World Summit; Report from OSCE Expert Seminar on Women in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management
6. UNIFEM Update: Rwandese PeaceBaskets & Establishment of First Independent Women’s Radio Station

The PeaceWomen is a project of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Please visit us at http://www.peacewomen.org.

ARGENTINA: WOMEN TAKE CENTER STAGE IN ELECTION CAMPAIGN
October 14, 2005 – (IPS) Thirteen years after the passage of a gender quota law, women have become a significant force in Argentine politics and will play a decisive role in this month's mid-term elections for federal legislators. But the progress made in addressing gender-related issues lags far behind the advances in women's political participation.

AFGHANISTAN: WOMEN’S WORK
October 9, 2005 – (NYT) After bumping along five hours of potholes and rock-strewn mountain switchbacks on the main commercial artery from Kabul to Pakistan early last month, I was surprised as we entered the Jalalabad Valley to see an enormous campaign poster, the size of a Times Square billboard, featuring not the boyish face of Hazrat Ali - Jalalabad's most famous ex-warlord and a parliamentary candidate - but that of Safia Siddiqi. It's striking enough that a woman would appear so boldly in such a poster in a city where women still do not appear in public without a burka - more striking still that she was wrapped in a shawl made from the green, black and red of the Afghan flag. These colorful, patriotic images of Siddiqi also loomed over the streets of Jalalabad itself, offering a lush kind of hope for its residents.

AFRICAN GENDER MINISTERS MEET IN DAKAR
Thursday, 13 October 2005 - (GNA) Over 30 African ministers of gender and women's affairs gather in Dakar, Senegal, next Wednesday for a meeting of one of Africa's key groupings on women's affairs. The joint meeting of the Economic Commission for Africa's Committee on Women and Development (CWD) and the African Union (AU) will be opened by Senegalese President Aboulaye Wade.

U.N. LINKS POVERTY, VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
October 12, 2005 (AP) - The world will never eliminate poverty until it confronts social, economic and physical discrimination against women, the United Nations said Wednesday. "Gender apartheid" could scuttle the global body's goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015, the U.N. Population Fund's annual State of World Population report said.

UN PEACEKEEPERS SUSPENDED FROM POLICE FORCE AFTER SEX ABUSE ALLEGATIONS
October 4, 2005 (Feminist Majority) - Eleven Nigerian police officers who were part of a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been suspended from the Nigerian police force in the course of investigations into the sexual abuse of Congolese women and girls. Nigeria withdrew all 120 of its peacekeepers in Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital, in mid-September when the UN began investigating the allegations. The decision to withdraw was accepted by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who cited “a policy of zero tolerance regarding sexual exploitation and abuse … by peacekeeping personnel.”


For more country-specific women, peace and security news, CLICK HERE

For more international women, peace and security news, CLICK HERE

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WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY MONTH

October 31 marks the 5th Anniversary of Resolution 1325. Below we highlight the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security’s October Advocacy Program and offer a sampling of the events planned for the month.

NGO WORKING GROUP ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY – OCTOBER ADVOCACY PROGRAM

The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security will be conducting its October Advocacy Program from 21-28 October 2005. The objective of the program is to ensure that women’s experiences and concerns in areas affected by violent conflict are heard at UN Headquarters. As part of this program it will be bringing six women leaders and peacemakers to the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The women traveling to New York are developing concrete recommendations on issues of women, peace and security for the work of the Security Council, UN Agencies, Member States and civil society. These recommendations will be communicated at a variety of events, panels and meetings planned for this period.

From Burundi, Iraq, Cote d’Ivoire, Colombia, Burma, and Afghanistan, the participants selected for the program are all actively working on Resolution 1325 and related women, peace and security issues on the local, national and regional levels.

PARTICIPANTS

Hanna Edwar (Iraq) participated in and led two successful campaigns in Iraq: To repeal an Iraqi Governing Council order aimed at nullifying the Family Law; and to ensure a quota for women in decision-making positions. Ms. Edwar is the General Secretary of the Iraqi Al-Amal Association and founder of the Iraqi Women’s Network.

Sweeta Noori (Afghanistan), the Country Director for Women for Women International, was an assistant to the Chair of the Loya Jirga Commission in forming the interim administration of Afghanistan. She traveled with the delegation to Belgium for talks with donors and international community representatives.

Ohmar Khin (Burma) has worked for the last twenty years to ensure the increased participation of women in Burmese politics in the democratic movement. Ms. Khin is the Coordinator for the Peacebuilding and Reconciliation Program, Women's League of Burma.

Helene Dandi (Côte d’Ivoire) was one of 1000 women nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. Ms. Dandi has worked in Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo on refugee repatriation issues. She is the French Regional Adviser (West Africa) of the Network of African Women for Peace.

Goretti Ndacayisaba (Burundi), a founding member Dushirehamwe - Lets Reconcile a national women’s network for grass-root peacebuilding in Burundi, she has worked for seven years as a national-level coordinator on a gender and conflict-transformation training and advocacy.

Margaretta Muñoz (Colombia) has worked extensively with vulnerable populations in Colombia, especially women and children displaced by the armed conflict in Bogota and Cartagena. As the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom’s Colombia Project Coordinator she has she has also done extensive work to develop and promote women, peace and security advocacy tools.

For the full profiles of the participants visit, CLICK HERE

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1325 OCTOBER CALENDAR

Below is a sampling of events organized for the 5th Anniversary of Resolution 1325

PeaceWomen has developed an October events calendar available here: CLICK HERE

For the Calendar developed by The Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women visit: http:///www.un.org/womenwatch

18 October:

Panel Discussion: Gender, Weapons and Militarism
Global Action to Prevent War & Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
1:15-3pm, Conference Room A, UN HQ, New York

Speakers:
Dr. Diana Dolev of New Profile: A Movement for De-Militarizing Israeli Society on “Militarization, gender and anti-militarist activism in Israel”
Dr. Rebecca Johnson: Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy on “Ridding the world of nuclear weapons: why does gender matter?

Moderated by Merav Datan: Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

This wide-ranging discussion will also highlight the new GAPW/ WILPF report: “Women in Conflict Prevention” and will include participants from WILPF’s Reaching Critical Will and PeaceWomen projects, as well as Global Action to Prevent War.


Panel Discussion/ Launch of Refugees International Report on Sexual Exploitation & Abuse in UN Peacekeeping
Hosted by the Tanzanian Mission to the UN and Refugees International
10:00-11:30am , 2nd Floor Conference Room, UN Church Center, New York.

Panelists:
∑His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, Permanent Representative of the Jordanian Mission to the UN
∑Sarah Martin, Advocate, Refugees International (RI) and author of Refugees International Report "Must Boys Be Boys? Ending Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in UN Peacekeeping Missions"
∑Anna Shotton, Focal Point on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations

Moderator: H.E. Mr. Augustine Mahiga of Tanzania, Permanent Representative to the Mission of the United Republic of Tanzania to the UN

For more information, please contact Michelle Brown at 646-379-0542, michelleb@refintl.org
or Megan Fowler at 202-828-0110 x214, megan@refintl.org.
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25 October:

Panel Discussion: Women and Elections/Launch: Guide to Women’s Participation in Post-Conflict Elections
DPA/OSAGI
1:15-2:45pm, Conference Room 5, UN HQ, New York

Launch of “Five Years On Report” by NGO Working Group on Women, Peace & Security
Church Center of the UN

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26 October:

Book Launch and Panel Discussion: Gender Mainstreaming in Conflict Transformation – Building Sustainable Peace
Commonwealth Secretariat & OSAGI
1-15-2:45pm, Conference Room 8, UNHQ

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27 October:

UN Security Council Open Debate on SCR 1325/2000
UN Headquarters, New York
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28 October:

Breakfast Meeting on Resolution 1325
Hosted by NGO Working Group on Women, Peace & Security
9am-12pm, Church Center of the UN

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UPDATES & REMINDERS OF ONGOING INITIATIVES:

WEEK 2: 14 October, 2005 "Women making a difference" - openDemocracy online conversation on UN Resolution 1325
Rosemary Bechler and the 1325 team at openDemocracy

The Women Making a Difference blog ends its second week with a special week-end link to the openDemocracy archive – Wendell Steavenson’s beautifully observed account of her journey to Afghanistan. We have had daily links to the Inclusive Security Toolkit compiled by International Alert and Women Waging Peace and these will continue throughout next week. Most of our bloggers have now come into the conversation, and are beginning to turn their minds to some of the recommendations they wish to make in the run-up to the anniversary of 1325 on October 31. It is going well. Here at openDemocracy, we have decided to extend the debate into November.
Please come and engage them in debate – we look forward to seeing you there...

On Monday, Lesley Abdela launches our series of articles taking stock of 1325 with a call to action.

For more on this initiative CLICK HERE

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The 2005 Peace Building Cyberdialogues on UNSCR 1325

On October 27, the International Women's Tribune Centre is convening a Women's Peace Building Cyber Dialogue that will connect women in 11 countries around the world in a "real time" discussion on women's role in peace building and reconstruction with an emphasis on implementation of SCR 1325. Envisioned as a global town hall meeting, the Peace Building Cyberdialogue will connect women activists and academics attending the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) International Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, with women working on peace and conflict resolutions in countries in Asia, Africa and Europe and with gender advocates, policymakers and diplomats at UN headquarters in New York who are engaged in a five year review on implementation of SCR 1325.

In order to make possible a "real time" interactive discussion (which uses Internet voice chat and/or audio visual teleconferencing) across so many time zones, the discussion will take place on October 27, 2005 at the following (local) times:

New York: 8 am- 10 am
Dakar: 12 noon-2 pm
Harare and Berlin: 2 pm-4 pm
Kampala and Nairobi: 3 pm- 5 pm
Khatmandu: 5.45 pm-7.45 pm
Bangkok: 7 pm- 9 pm
Manila: 8 pm- 10 pm
Dili: 9 pm-11pm

The outcome of this discussion will feed into discussions at the AWID International Forum in Bangkok on the role of women as change agents in the peace building process. Outcomes will also be shared with discussants at the Open Debate on 1325 which will take place immediately following the Cyber Dialogue, and will be used as the basis for local radio programs that will reach out to women working at community level.

To join the Cyber-Dialogues or for more information contact Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, International Women's Tribune Centre, Tel: 1212-687-8633 ext.210. Fax: 1212-661-2704: mavic@iwtc.org or visit: http://www.iwtc.org/

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For the complete calendar, CLICK HERE.

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OPEN LETTER TO UN AMBASSADORS
Letter from the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security
New York, 11th of October 2005

Dear Ambassador,

The Security Council will hold an Open Debate on the implementation of UNSC resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security on 27 October 2005. This year’s Open Debate will focus specifically on the participation of women in peace-making and peace-building processes. The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (NGOWG) urges you to make a statement at this Open Debate in support of the implementation of resolution 1325 at national, regional and international levels.

In making your statement to the Open Debate, we hope that in addition to reporting on how your government has implemented resolution 1325 at the national level, you will also consider:

1. Calling on the Security Council to establish a focal point and an expert-level working group to ensure the integration of resolution 1325 in the Security Council’s work.
2. Welcoming the UN System-Wide Action Plan and requesting the Secretary-General to update, monitor and review its implementation on an annual basis, starting in October 2006.
3. Requesting that the Secretary-General make recommendations to the Security Council next October 2006 on:

- Different means by which the Security Council could be more systematically informed of the use of gender-based violence by parties to armed conflict, paying special attention to the mechanism already developed to monitor and report to the Security Council on violations against children in armed conflict,
- Different means by which the Security Council could do more to hold parties to armed conflict accountable for these violations by considering, for example, the imposition of targeted sanctions against such parties.

4. Committing to develop a national action plan for the coordinated implementation of resolution 1325. Such an action plan should be public, drawn up in consultation with civil society, and contain specific and time-bound activities, targets and monitoring and reporting mechanisms. 5. Recognizing that the mandate of the proposed Peacebuilding Commission explicitly commits to partnering with civil society, including women’s organizations, through formal mechanisms at headquarters and at the country level. The mandate of the Peacebuilding Commission should explicitly commit to partnering with civil society through formal mechanisms at headquarters and at the country level.

The NGOWG advocated for the adoption of resolution 1325 in 2000. Since the unanimous adoption of the resolution, we have worked with other civil society organizations, governments and the United Nations to monitor and support the full and rapid implementation of the resolution. Preceding this year’s Open Debate, the Working Group will release a report, “From Local to Global: Making Peace Work for Women,” which provides insight into the implementation of SCR 1325 by the United Nations, Member States and civil society over the past five years.

We are confident that the aforementioned mechanisms will do much to ensure accelerated implementation of resolution 1325. Should you wish to discuss this matter with us, please do not hesitate to contact our office at the address given above.

Thank you for your consideration and your concern regarding this issue.

Yours truly,Gina Torry, Coordinator


The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security

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NGOWG’s action alerts and updates are posted on the NGOWG website at:
http://www.peacewomen.org/un/ngo/actionalerts.html

For this statement and more information about the NGOWG, CLICK HERE

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STATEMENTS AT UN Security Council Open Debate on Resolution 1325 - 28 OCTOBER 2004

In its Open Letter to Ambassadors (featured above) the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security urges Member State participation in the upcoming Security Council Debate on Women, Peace and Security to be held on 27 October 2005. Part of that call is for consideration to be given in statements to specific issues and implementation mechanisms. A number of these issues were raised in a similar Open Debate held on 28 October 2004 to mark the 4th Anniversary of Resolution 1325. In that debate all 15 Security Council members, 27 Member States, 5 UN entities and 1 civil society representative made interventions in the course of the day's proceedings.

Featured here are excerpts from a number of statements made by those Member States that will be serving on the Security Council in 2006 and that participated in last year’s debate:

United Kingdom
There is more the Council must do, too, along with the wider United Nations membership here in New York, but crucially, resolution1325 (2000) must also be implemented at the national level by all United Nations Member States if it is to be fully effective.

Our obligation is clear: we have to create a post-conflict environment that offers hope. Women must be full and equal participants in the building of peace — in the development of post-conflict legislative, judicial and constitutional structures — because that is the only way that those structures will be fully representative of the post-conflict society, and therefore fully able to meet the needs and demands of all. That is sustainable peace.

Russian Federation
We are convinced that women can play an important role in conflict prevention and settlement and we endorse the Secretary-General’s intention to develop strategies to ensure the equal participation of women in peace negotiations and election processes. In the context of postconflict recovery, we support the appeal for broader recourse to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women as a benchmark document.

China
Fourthly, women need assistance to become fully involved in peace negotiations and to ensure that the relevant peace agreements include the protection of women’s rights and interests.

France
First, it is certainly important to ensure the quality of the thematic and country reports that are submitted to the Council by the Secretary-General. In that regard, I note the commitment made by the Secretary-General in the report to make sure that such reports do not overlook that issue.

……My second point concerns the gender-specific content of mandates. France, for its part, is committed to ensuring that the mandates of peacekeeping operations systematically include a gender-based aspect and aim specifically at resolution 1325 (2000)…As I pledged last year, we will spare no effort in that regard.

Argentina
…We strongly support, and we will continue to support, any initiative taken by the Council designed to address the particular needs of women affected by armed conflict.
Argentina…. calls attention to the full validity of the statements made in the year 2000 and asserts that only a clear-cut commitment, a resolute and sustained political will and genuine conviction on the part of Member States that the participation of women is a key element for achieving lasting peace and concerted multilateral action will be able to guarantee implementation of resolution 1325 (2000).

My country supports the recommendations made by the Secretary-General in his report, in particular, his intention to develop a strategy and comprehensive plan of action to implement Security Council resolution 1325throughout the United Nations system by establishing a systematic evaluation mechanism and reporting procedure.

We also call on Member States to take the gender perspective duly into account, when making national, regional and international level appointments. We support the participation of women at the negotiating tables of peace agreements, in all mechanisms for the implementation of those agreements, and in post-conflict rebuilding processes. In that regard, we urge everyone to set aside archaic, ancient and stereotypical views about the role of women.

Japan
The post-conflict situation opens up real opportunities to remove threats to women’s dignity. Moreover, Japan is convinced that empowering women is one of the most effective means for peace-building in post conflict situations. Successful peace-building will lead to the prevention of the recurrence of conflict, thus reducing the risk of gender-based violence spreading again.

Tanzania
Implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) will also require raising the awareness of the conflicting factions and all the players involved in peace processes to enable them to understand the provisions of the text and thus to build consensus on its implementation requirements. Here we also need to build the capacity of local communities, including women’s groups, to explain the terms of the resolution in order for them to advocate on its behalf.

One challenge before us is how to achieve the effective participation of women at all levels and stages of peace processes. We urge that the role of women in these processes should be built into peace agreements from the very beginning and urge Member States to increase the number of women participating in police forces and the military and to increase the number of women in civilian decision-making positions. In this regard, we applaud the Secretary-General’s efforts to increase the number of women and to mainstream gender in peacekeeping operations and we request continued efforts in that area.

A full compilation of excerpts from statements made at this 2004 Open Debate was prepared by The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security and is available at: http://www.peacewomen.org/un/UN1325/SCOpenDebate04Compilation.pdf

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Joint Statement to the 59th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights – 31 March 2003
Delivered by Bineta Diop (FAS) on behalf of Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom and others

[T]he conflicts that are occurring presently violate women’s political, civil, economic and cultural rights, and the violation of women’s rights anywhere is the violation of women’s right everywhere. For this reason, these violations are at the forefront of women’s global agenda. Despite our call in October 2002 to the Security Council and in March 2003 to the Commission on the Status of Women, yet the voices of women in present conflicts are not heard and there has been insufficient or no consultations with women’s groups in those conflicts. Learning lessons from recent situations where women were called upon to participate in the process of nation building, where they bear the burden of reconstruction and reconciliation of their societies, it has to be said that they have not been given the favourable environment to realize their human rights and their empowerment.

The 2002 study of the Secretary-General to the Security Council on Women, Peace and Security by the Division for the Advancement of Women issued on the second anniversary of Resolution 1325 as well as the UNIFEM experts’ assessments in 2002 on Women, War and Peace have provided further recommendations for the implementation of the Resolution and thereby the realization of women’s political and effective participation in peace and security processes. We therefore strongly urge this body to ensure that article 1 of resolution 1325 referring to women’s participation in decision-making is fully implemented.

For more WILPF Resolutions and Statements CLICK HERE

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“Gender Mainstreaming in Conflict Transformation: Building Sustainable Peace”
Commonwealth Secretariat Publication
This is the latest title in the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Gender Mainstreaming Series, which highlights Commonwealth Secretariat and partners’ work in the area of peace and conflict management. Issues of socio-economic development, democracy and peace are inextricably linked to gender equality. Gender Mainstreaming in Conflict Transformation: Building Sustainable Peace brings together a body of work into an advocacy, capacity-building and policy tool to contribute to gender mainstreaming in all processes of conflict transformation and in building sustainable peace. It argues that gender equality needs to be placed on the policy and programme agenda of the entire spectrum of peace and conflict-related initiatives and activities in order to achieve conflict transformation. This includes conflict prevention, early warning mechanisms; peace negotiations and agreements; peacekeeping, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration; truth and reconciliation commissions; post-conflict reconstruction; peace building and peace education.

For more on this resource visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/resources/1325/1325index.html

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United Nations 2005 World Summit Outcomes: Gains on Gender Equality, Mixed Results on Poverty, Peace and Human Rights
Report of the Gender Monitoring Group of the World Summit

The 2005 World Summit Outcome document is of special significance to women’s rights advocates because it includes, for the first time in a UN agreement at the level of Heads of State, particularly detailed language on gender equality. World leaders also promised to end impunity for violence against women and to eradicate policies and practices that discriminate against women; recommitted to the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325; and reaffirmed the Cairo Programme of Action goal of universal access to reproductive health. A detailed analysis of the Outcome document, including notes on the current geo-political context and feminist advocacy, compiled by Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL), Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), Family Care International, United Methodist UN Office, and Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO).

For this analysis visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/un/September_Summit/Outcomes_Gender_Monitor.html

For the World Summit Final Outcome Document and an official UN summary of the World Summit achievements CLICK HERE

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Report from OSCE Expert Seminar on Women in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management
Organized by the Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)

Held in Hofburg in Vienna, Austria, 20 June 2005, this seminar was organized by the Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in co-operation with Folke Bernadotte Academy, and with the support of the Slovenian OSCE Chairman-in-Office. The objective of the seminar was to promote the implementation in the OSCE of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security. There is a clear role for the OSCE in implementing the Resolution, as manifested in the 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality. In this context, the aim of the seminar was to discuss and identify possible actions in order to fully implement UNSCR 1325 in the OSCE. A further purpose of the seminar was to exchange information about women’s participation in conflict prevention and crisis management and to exchange experience and lessons learned from participation in conflict prevention and international missions.

For more on this report visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/resources/1325/1325index.html#gov

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For NGO and civil society reports, papers and statements, UN and government reports, and books, journals and articles on women, peace and security issues, please visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/resources/resourcesindex.html

Rwandese PeaceBaskets
This fall, Macy’s Department Stores are carrying Rwandese Peace Baskets manufactured by the AVEGA Association of Genocide Widows. Following the genocide, Rwandese women returned to the ancient art of basket weaving in order to secure livelihoods for themselves and promote peace in their communities. After a visit to Rwanda by UNIFEM Executive Director Noeleen Heyzer, UNIFEM assisted AVEGA in finding international markets for their beautiful baskets. In July 2005, Macy’s Department Store representatives visited Rwanda and met with AVEGA and UNIFEM staff. Subsequently, Macy’s decided to carry a line of baskets and bowls under the Rwanda Path to Peace project. The Peace Baskets can be purchased by clicking on the following link: http://www1.macys.com/campaign/rwanda.jsp?PartnerID=GOOGLE&BannerID=g4310s&bhcp=1

For more information on the impact of conflict on Rwandese women and their peacebuilding activities, please visit http://www.womenwarpeace.org/rwanda/rwanda.htm

Iraq: Establishment of First Independent Women’s Radio Station
Following the 30 January elections, women’s rights advocates in Iraq shifted their focus to ensuring that women’s human rights are included in the new constitution and to prevent a regression from either the provisions included in the interim constitution or the status women have enjoyed for many decades. To extend the reach of women’s advocacy on this issue, UNIFEM supported the international NGO Opportunities for Kids to establish of the first independent women’s radio station in Iraq: Radio Al Mahaba, or the “Voice of Women” (96.02 FM). The station aired its first broadcast from Baghdad on 25 March with a broadcast range of 140 km, devoting half of its broadcast time to the constitutional drafting process and women’s participation in the next election. A clip from 27 April 2005 can be heard at http://www.okiinc.org/vow_radio.html.

For more information on Iraqi women’s participation in the electoral and constitutional process, please visit
http://womenwarpeace.org/iraq/iraq.htm

UNIFEM’s Web Portal on Women, Peace and Security, CLICK HERE

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