While the passage of Resolution 1325 and the four subsequent resolutions repr...

While the passage of Resolution 1325 and the four subsequent resolutions represented a paradigm shift in relation to women and conflict, there remains a striking reluctance in many quarters to include women as full and equal partners in peace efforts. Of the nine peace agreements signed during the course of 2010, only two had provisions ensuring women's rights. There is a basic design flaw that needs to be addressed. Peace processes in general are not set up to engage non-traditional actors like women's groups or other civil society organisations. That must change. Processes need to be structured from the outset to draw more fully on non-formal and non-traditional influences where women, woven into the social fabric of societies, have so much to offer. The mediation phase, when things remain in flux, presents a good opportunity to empower and include such groups. As the Secretary-General points out in his report, it is critical that women peace-builders and mediators are engaged as early as possible in the conflict prevention/resolution cycle.