General Women, Peace and Security

In December 2004, when the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, women died, in part, because they could not swim, because they put the needs of their children first, and most tragically of all, they drowned in their homes because they would not flee after debris had torn off their clothes.

Liberia is leading the way on the UN's first ever law on women peace and security. The law, UN security council resolution 1325, was passed a decade ago and Liberia is the first country in Africa to complete a national action plan to implement the law. 1325 seeks to have women participate in every security force, to stop sexual violence and involve women in peace building.

This year 2010 marks the celebration of 15 years of the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action; 10 years since the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and 20 years of the global campaign for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence. Despite women's progress on the political front and their centrally placing structural and physical violence against women in the public sphere, the insecurity of women has escalated.

AMBASSADOR ZHARBUSSYNOVA: Ladies and gentlemen, today I am truly honored to welcome the Secretary of State Madam Hillary Clinton. Madam, all of us present here today are grateful that despite the challenging schedule and the long flight, you were willing to have this meeting with representative of the civil society and other organizations and students of the university.

On Wednesday, October 20, 2010, the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna hosted and celebrated the tenth Anniversary of UN-Security Council Resolution 1325. Resolution 1325 was adopted unanimously on October 31, 2000.

Despite the fanfare in New York and around the world surrounding the 10th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, is there anything worth celebrating? In short, the answer is “Yes, but…”

What actually is security? Pot-bellied generals with a big pair of binoculars, missile bases, fully stocked weapons warehouses. These images come to mind upon hearing this question. This is how we are used to thinking about this concept.

When mainstream media failed to cover a week of events at the United Nations in October marking the 10-year anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which aimed to give women a stronger voice in preventing and ending conflict, one thing became clear: 10 years later, women's contributions to peace remain sidelined.

Organizations from around the world gathered at the Peace Fair, a space for civil society to showcase their work on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women and peace and security and to share strategies and lessons learned on implementing the resolution. Running from October 25th to October 29th 2010, the Peace Fair was held at the UN Church Center in New York City.

A week after Hillary Clinton announced that the U.S. would be developing a national action plan for the implementation of UN SCR 1325 and providing $44 million in funding, more than a thousand women attended the “Women and War" conference in Washington DC. Kathleen Kuehnast of the U.S.