There is currently a very significant process underway at the United Nations and among the Member States with the aim of reaching agreement and operationalizing the proposed global indicators to measure implementation of SCR 1325 on women, peace and security. The mandate for these global indicators to track and monitor the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 is derived directly from paragraph 17 of Security Council Resolution 1889 - the fourth, and most recent, Security Council Resolution addressing issues related to Women Peace and Security.

Security Council Resolution 1889, OP 17 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”

Latest Official Developments

On October 26 2010, the Security Council held an Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security. The Security Council took action on the Secretary-General’s 26 indicators (contained in the annex of the Secretary-General Report S/2010/498). The adopted Presidential Statement (S/PRST/2010/22), a non-binding political statement), expressed support for taking forward the Secretary-General’s 26 indicators. They were not expressly “endorsed” as was both recommended in the Secretary-General Report and strongly called for at the Arria Formula (Civil society briefing to Council Members held on 19 October 2010). A product of political compromise, such lukewarm language reminds us that full support for moving the Women, peace and security agenda can never assured even with sustained pressure. Nevertheless the adopted statement is sufficient for the UN and relevant actors to operationalize the Security-General’s proposed indicators.

 

The Global Indicators

The list of 26 indicators presented to the Security Council are list on page 15-21 of the Secretary General’s Report (S/2010/498).  They are also found below:

Number
 Indicator
1a Prevalence of Sexual Violence
1b Patterns of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations
Text of recommendations section to report on:
• Types of measures (proposed vs. implemented)
• Types of violations
• Type of perpetrator
• Specific groups affected (ethnicity, geographical location, age)
2 Extent to which United Nations Peacekeeping and Special Political Missions include information on violations of women and girls’ human rights in their periodic reporting to the Security Council
3a Extent to which violations of women’s and girls’ human rights are reported, referred and investigated by human rights bodies
Report on:
• Number and types of cases reported, referred and investigated
• Account of actions taken / recommended to address violations
3b Number and percentage share of women in governance bodies of National Human Right Bodies (NHRB)
4 Percentage of reported cases of sexual exploitation and abuse allegedly perpetrated by uniformed, civilian peacekeepers and/or humanitarian workers that are acted upon out of the total number of referred cases
5a Extent to which measures to protect women’s and girls’ human rights are included in Peacekeeper Heads of Military Components and Heads of Police Components Directives
5b Extent to which measures to protect women’s and girls’ human rights are included in national security policy frameworks. Existing and new gender-specific language to report on:
• Type of document
• Context analysis of security threats to women and girls
• Types of measures
6 Number and type of actions taken by the Security Council related to resolution 1325 (2000) Report on:
• Count of actions
• Types of actions: request inquiry, setup a specific mechanism, mandate peace
keeping operations, impose sanctions, authorize the use of force, establish an
international tribunal, refer a situation to ICC
• Type of document (i.e. resolution, PRST)
7 Number and percentage share of women in the Executive leadership of relevant regional and sub-regional organizations involved in preventing conflict Regional and sub-regional organizations will include those identified in A/RES/55/285.
8 Percentage of peace agreements with specific provisions to improve the
security and status of women and girls
9 Women’s share of senior UN positions in field missions
10 Percentage of field missions with senior level gender experts
11a Representation of women among mediators, negotiators and technical experts in formal peace negotiations
11b Women’s participation in an official observer status at the beginning and the end of formal peace negotiations
12a Women’s political participation in parliaments and ministerial positions. Report on women’s share of:
• Seats in parliament
• Ministerial positions
12b Women’s political participation as voters and candidates. Report on women’s share of:
• Persons registered to vote
• Persons who actually vote
• Parliamentary candidates
13 Extent to which Security Council missions address specific issues affecting women and girls in the Terms of Reference and Mission Reports
14 Index of women’s and girls’ physical security. Survey-based indicator to measure three dimensions:
• Perceptions of physical security of women and girls (by location, time of day)
• Proxy variables measuring how women’s and girls’ ability to participate in public
life has been affected
• Proxy variables measuring how women’s and girls’ regular activities have been
affected
15 Extent to which national laws to protect women’s and girls’ human rights are in line with international standards
16 Level of women’s participation in the justice and security sector
17 Existence of national mechanisms for control of illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (SA/LW).  This indicator reports on:
• Existence of a national coordination agency on SA/LW or National Focal Point
(paragraphs 4 and 5 of Section II of the POA)
• Record keeping on holdings and transfers of SA/LW (para 9 in section II of the
POA)
18 Percentage of (monetary equivalent, estimate) benefits from temporary employment in the context of early economic recovery programmes received by women and girls
19 Percentage of referred cases of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls that are reported, investigated and sentenced

20

 Hours of training per capita of decision-making personnel in security and justice sector institutions to address SGBV cases
21a Maternal mortality rate
21b Net Primary and secondary education enrolment rates, by sex
22a Proportion of budget related to indicators that address gender equality issues in strategic planning frameworks
22b Proportion of budget related to targets that address gender equality issues in strategic planning framework
23a Proportion of total disbursed funding to Civil Society organizations that is allocated to address gender equality issues
23b Proportion of total disbursed funding to support gender equality issues that is
allocated to Civil Society organizations
24a Proportion of disbursed Multi Donor Trust Funds (MDTFs) used to address gender equality issues
24b Proportion of total spending of UN system used to support gender equality issues
25 Extent to which Truth and Reconciliation Commissions include provisions to address the rights and participation of women and girls
26a Percentage of (monetary equivalent, estimate) benefits from DDR programmes received by women and girls
26b Percentage of (monetary equivalent, estimate) benefits from DDR programmes received by women and girls

 

Background

On April 27 2010, the Security Council held an Open Briefing on Women, Peace and Security. The Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Rachel Mayanja, made a statement to the Council and presented the Secretary General’s Report on SCR 1889/OP17 on indicators on behalf of the Secretary-General. Margot Wallström, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence, also briefed the Security Council on her mandate.

Following the submission of the Secretary General’s Report on SCR 1889/OP17, the Security Council made a Presidential Statement (S/PRST/2010/8 of 27 April 2010). In the Presidential Statement (PRST), the Council took note of the indicators and recommendations contained in the Report. Security Council endorsement was not given on April 27, however the Security Council will continue consultations and expresses intention to take action on the indicators on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of its resolution 1325 in October 2010.

The Security Council PRST: "requests the Secretary-General to continue to consult with the Security Council, taking into account views expressed by other relevant stakeholders, including broader United Nations membership, taking into account the need to further develop indicators contained in his report (S/2010/173) and the parallel ongoing work regarding resolution 1888 (2009), in order to include a comprehensive set of indicators in his next report on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000),"
and "expresses its intention to take action on a comprehensive set of indicators on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of its resolution 1325."

In the Secretary General’s Report (S/2010/173), the 26 indicators are organized into 4 Pillars: Prevention, Participation, Protection, and Relief and Recovery. These Pillars reflect the 2008-2009 UN System-wide Action Plan.

  • Prevention: “Reduction in conflict and all forms of structural and physical violence against women, particularly sexual and gender-based violence”
  • Participation: “Inclusion of women and women’s interests in decision-making processes related to the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts”
  • Protection: “Women’s safety, physical and mental health and economic security are assured and their human rights respected”
  • Relief and Recovery: “Women’s specific needs are met in conflict and post-conflict situations”

The indicators are classified further into categories that reflect how quickly they can be put in the field, and information can be collected. Some information can be collected now, while other indicators will require considerable capacity to develop.

There are numerous Indicators that reflect the obligations of other actors, such as Member States, and that reflect the input and oversight of civil society, and it is important to have these indicators available and utilized in relevant fora.

Going forward

Developing a comprehensive set of indicators is not the end goal of this process. The goal of this process is to see action taken and positive results for women in conflict. Therefore, as members of Civil Society, we call for:

  • The Council to endorse and using a strong and representative set of indicators to regularly receive information on the whole women, peace and security agenda;
  • The Council to evaluate the implementation of women, peace and security obligations with these indicators;
  • The Council to take appropriate and effective action on the information received.
  • All relevant actors – member states, UN actors, the UN Security Council members – to be held accountable for their obligations.

Process of Development

To develop the Indicators, the United Nations has established the Technical Working Group on Global Indicators for SCR 1325 (TWGGI 1325), constituted by the United Nations Task Force on Women Peace and Security, coordinated by Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women. The United Nations

Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) served as the technical lead of the 15-entity Working Group. This Technical Working Group (TWGGI 1325) has been tasked to systematically review and prioritize all existing indicators being used to track SCR 1325 and produce a shortlist of indicators, developing new indicators to monitor untracked areas if necessary.

The Technical Working Group (TWGGI 1325) conducted consultation with with Civil Society Organizations, Member States, and the UN agencies.

The United Nations has described Indicators as “signposts of change along the path to development” that can help to understand where we are, where we are going and how far we are from the goal. They indicate trends and allow tracking of progresses towards intended results or targets. Good performance indicators are critical for effective monitoring and evaluation, and help to:

  • Improve decision making for ongoing program and project management
  • Measure progress and achievements as understood by the different stakeholders
  • Clarify consistency between activities, outputs, outcomes and impacts
  • Ensure accountability to all stakeholders by demonstrating progress
  • Assess program, project and staff performance
  • Identify the need for corrective or remedial action