ARRIA FORMULA MEETING on Women, peace and security
United Nations, New York, 21 October 2004

On 21 October 2004, the government of Benin, as a member of the Security Council, hosted an Arria Formula meeting, an informal, off-the-record meeting, on women, peace and security in order to mark the anniversary of UNSC Resolution 1325. All 15 members of the Council attended the meeting, and there was significant attendance by Permanent Representatives and Deputy Permanent Representatives from the Missions.

The Council heard from the following presenters:

• Saran Daraba Kaba, Founding President, Mano River Women's Peace Network (MARWOPNET)
Click here for her statement

• Gerry Martone, International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Click here for his statement

• Espérance Kanani, President, Ndabaga Association, Rwanda
Click here for her statement (French)
Background and analysis on demobolization, disarmament and reintegration in Rwanda (French)

• Shqipe Malushi, Executive Director, Albanian American Women's Organization
Click here for her statement

• Suzanne Samson Jambo, NGO Coordinator, New Sudanese Indigenous Network
Click here for her statement

• Ian Martin, Vice President, International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Click here for his statement

• Cora True-Frost, Coordinator, NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security
Click here for her statement


Profiles

Saran Daraba Kaba
Dr Kaba is the founding president of the Mano River Women’s Peace Network (MARWOPNET), which was a signatory member of the Liberian Peace accords signed in Accra, Ghana in June 2003. From its inception in 2000, MARWOPNET has played a critical role in promoting women’s participation in the prevention and management of armed conflict and restoring peace in the Mano River subregion- Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The Network won the United Nations Prize for Human Rights in 2003.

Gerald Martone
At the International Rescue Committee, Mr. Martone is responsible for implementing emergency start-up operations, maintaining the agency’s readiness to respond rapidly, and conducting assessments of complex humanitarian emergencies. During the past eleven years at IRC, Mr. Martone has overseen emergency operations and assessments in Burundi, Liberia, Kosovo, Chechnya/Ingushetia, DR Congo, Sierra Leone, Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda, East Timor, Aceh, Mulukas Islands, Northern Uganda, Albania, Macedonia, Angola, Ethiopia, Cote de Ivoire, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Espérance Kanani
A founder of the Ndabaga Association, Ms. Kanani is responsible for development projects, including assistance to co-operatives and support for small-scale enterprise projects for former combatants and other women in their community, as well as assistance for HIV/AIDS-affected members of the association. Ms. Kanani is also developing programmes in agriculture, animal husbandry and micro-credit revolving funds. Ndagaba is in the process of establishing an Information Communications and Technology (ICT) centre to support the work of the organization. Ndagaba is an association of 443 women spread throughout the 12 provinces of the country. The organization's motto is: Bravery, Peace and Development.

Shqipe Malushi
Ms Malushi first came to the United States from Kosovo in 1980 where she was granted political asylum. Ms Malushi is now executive director of the Albanian American Women's Organization “Motrat Qiriazi,” a nongovernmental organization based in New York City. The organization serves the Albanian American community, with particular attention paid to the needs of women and children.

Suzanne Samson Jambo
The New Sudanese Indigenous Network (NSIN) comprises 42 southern indigenous Sudanese non-governmental organizations and acts as a forum for southern Sudanese civil society groups to address issues such as human rights, participatory governance, socio-development matters, and post-conflict strategies and advocacy. Ms. Jambo helps indigenous Sudanese women’s NGOs integrate international, regional, and local human rights provisions that are gender-sensitive into their programs. She is the author of “Overcoming Gender Conflict and Bias: The Case of New Sudan Women,” published in October 2001. She has worked with international organizations such as Amnesty International, the UN Children’s Fund, and the UN World Food Programme.

Ian Martin
Mr. Martin has some 30 years of experience in the field of human rights, both with nongovernmental organizations and as a representative of the United Nations. He served as the Secretary General of Amnesty International from 1986 to 1992 and went on to play a central role in several international missions. He was the human rights director of the UN/OAS Mission to Haiti in 1993 and 1995, and served as Chief to the Human Rights Field Operation in Rwanda from 1995 to 1996. He was the Deputy High Representative for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1998 to 1999. Most recently, he served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Mission in East Timor in 1999, and from 2000 to 2001 as the Deputy Special Representative to the Secretary-General for the UN Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Cora True Frost
Ms. True-Frost is the Coordinator of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (NGOWG) and has considerable experience related to women’s rights and international law. For more information on the NGOWG, see http://www.peacewomen.org/un/ngo/wg.html. Before joining the NGOWG, she worked in Dili, East Timor to devise, implement and coordinate the Women’s Justice Unit at Judicial Systems Monitoring Programme (JSMP). At JSMP, Ms True Frost collaborated closely with a network of women advocacy groups in Timor, UN bodies, local NGOs, and representatives of churches and universities to implement recommendations aimed at increasing women’s access to justice in this post-conflict society.