Participation

The Participation theme focuses on women’s representation and participation in peace processes, electoral process – as both the candidate and voter – UN decision-making positions, and in the broader social-political sphere.

The Security Council acknowledges the need for strategies to increase women’s participation in all UN missions and appointments to high-level positions in SCR 1325(OP3) and 1889(OP4) and further emphasises the need for women’s participation in peacebuilding processes (1889). 

Specifically, it calls for the mobilisation of resources for advancing gender equality and empowering women (OP14), reporting on the progress of women’s participation in UN missions (OP18), equal access to education for women and girls in post-conflict societies (OP11), and the increase of women’s participation in political and economic decision-making (OP15). Until this language translates into action, the potential for women’s full and equal contribution to international peace and security will remain unrealized.

For more resources on this Critical Issue, visit PeaceWomen Resource Center >>

WORKSHOP: CEMESP Empowers Female Journalists With Computer-Internet Skills

The Center for Media Studies & Peace Building (CEMESP) has concluded a three-week Computer Literacy and Internet Journalism Workshop for female journalists in Liberia. The training provided word processing and presentation skills, as well as use of blogging and social networking platforms.

VIDEO: The Importance of Women's Leadership in Conflict Resolution

At the Club of Madrid's 2008 conference on Global Leadership for Shared Societies, Ambassador Swanee Hunt, chair of the Institute for Inclusive Security, conducted interviews with 15 Club of Madrid members on the importance of womens leadership in politics and peace processes.

Video here.

STATEMENT: 10 years of UN Security Council Resolution 1325: To Celebrate or Not To Celebrate?

October 2010 marks ten years of the existence of the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women, peace and security. A decade after the resolution was unanimously adopted women and women's rights activists across the globe are assessing the level of its implementation, celebrating successes, exchanging ideas and pointing out the challenges, gaps as well as the long road that still lies ahead.

STATEMENT: Presidential Proclamation--Women's Equality Day, 2010

Ninety years ago, on August 26, 1920, the ratification of the 19th Amendment to our Constitution was completed, guaranteeing women the right to vote, renewing our commitment to equality and justice, and marking a turning point in our Nation's history. As we celebrate this important milestone and the achievements and shattered ceilings of the past, we also recognize the inequalities that remain and our charge to overcome them.

VIDEO: Confronting Rape and Other Forms of Violence Against Women in Conflict Zones Spotlight: DRC and Sudan

Testimonies at the congressional hearing on sexual violence in the Congo held on May 19, 2009 before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on African Affairs and the new Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy and Global Womens Issues.

Speakers:

BLOG: At the Kabul Conference: Protecting Women's Rights, and Prospects for Peace and Justice

The July 20, 2010, Kabul Conference, hosted by the Government of Afghanistan and co-chaired by the United Nations, brought more than 70 officials from governments and international organizations around the world together in Kabul for the first time in thirty years.

BLOG: Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls: Keys to a Better Future for Afghanistan

Secretary Clinton is a forceful and effective champion for women's rights. In the case of Afghanistan, the Secretary is dedicated to ensuring that women's rights will not be negotiated away in the name of peace. As she said in Kabul in July, “If women are silenced or marginalized, prospects for peace and justice will be subverted.”

COMMENTARY: Bombs and the Woman

There is something distinctly male in the aura around violence, mass bloodshed, guerrilla warfare and the long-drawn-out struggle for political ends. Perhaps they comprise an imaginary ‘informal sector' in traditional male bastions.

Pages