SCR 1325, 1820, 1888, and 1889

About Resolution 1325

UN Security Council resolution 1325 was unanimously adopted during the Namibian presidency of the UN Security Council in October 2000. It is a landmark legal and political framework that acknowledges the importance of the participation of women and the inclusion of gender perspectives in peace negotiations, humanitarian planning, peacekeeping operations, post-conflict peacebuilding and governance.

In particular, resolution 1325 calls for:

The participation of women at all levels of decision-making, including:

in national, regional and international institutions;
in mechanisms for the prevention, management and resolution of conflict;
in peace negotiations;
in peace operations, as soldiers, police and civilians;
as Special Representatives of the UN Secretary-General.

The protection of women and girls from sexual and gender-based violence, including:

in emergency and humanitarian situations, such as in refugee camps;
through developing and delivering pre-deployment and in-theatre training to peace operations personnel on the rights of women and girls and effective protection measures.

The prevention of violence again women through the promotion of women’s rights, accountability and law enforcement, including by:

prosecuting those responsible for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and other violations of international law;
respecting the civilian and humanitarian nature of refugee camps;
excluding sexual violence crimes from amnesty agreements, as they may amount to crimes against humanity, war crimes or genocide;
strengthening women’s rights under national law;
supporting local women’s peace initiatives and conflict resolution processes.

The mainstreaming of gender perspectives in peace operations, including by:

appointing Gender Advisors to all UN peace operations;
considering the specific needs of women and girls in the development and design of policy in all areas;
incorporating the perspectives, contributions and experience of women’s organizations in policy and programme development.

In addition to resolution 1325, the UN Security Council subsequently adopted three resolutions on women, peace and security. Taken together, the four resolutions represent a critical framework for improving the situation of women in conflict-affected countries.

Subsequent Resolutions

Resolution 1820 (2008) was the first Security Council resolution (SCR) to recognize conflict-related sexual violence as a matter of international peace and security. It calls for armed actors to end the practice of using sexual violence against civilians to achieve political or military ends, and for all parties to conflict to counter impunity for sexual violence and provide effective protection for civilians. It also calls on the United Nations and peace operations to develop mechanisms to prevent and respond to sexual violence, including through the training of personnel, the deployment of more women to peace operations, the enforcement of zero-tolerance policies and strengthening the capacities of national institutions.

Resolution 1888 (2009) strengthens the implementation of SCR 1820 through assigning leadership and establishing effective support mechanisms. It calls for the appointment of a Special Representative of the Secretary-General to coordinate UN efforts to address conflict-related sexual violence, as well as for the rapid deployment of teams of experts and advisors to situations of concern. SCR 1888 also calls for the inclusion of the issue of sexual violence in peace negotiations, the development of approaches to address the effects of sexual violence, and improved monitoring and reporting on conflict trends and perpetrators.
Resolution 1889 (2009) addresses obstacles to women’s participation in peace processes and peacebuilding, as prescribed in SCR 1325. It calls for the UN Secretary-General to submit to the Security Council a set of indicators for use at the global level to track implementation of SCR 1325. It also calls for the strengthening of national and international responses to the needs of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict settings.

Helpful Information sourced from www.unifem.org/campaigns/1325plus10/about-resolution-1325/