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UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1325 ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 was passed unanimously on 31 October 2000. Resolution (S/RES/1325) is the first resolution ever passed by the Security Council that specifically addresses the impact of war on women, and women's contributions to conflict resolution and sustainable peace.

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Towards Coherent and Effective Implementation of

Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000)

Statement by Joanne Sandler, Executive Director, a.i.

United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

to the

Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security

23 October 2007

Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, members of the Security Council:

On behalf of UNIFEM, I am honoured to address the Security Council on the important issue of implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 on women and peace and security.

We have been promoting and supporting implementation of this ground-breaking resolution now for seven years, and it is clear that our collective commitment to moving this resolution forward requires significant strengthening.

There is progress upon which to build. Gender advisors have been placed in most integrated missions; mission mandates are designed to secure women’s participation and address violations against women and girls; gender-sensitive action plans have been formulated in security and humanitarian areas of UN work. Security Council members now regularly meet with women’s groups and networks on their trips to conflict-affected countries. Member States are making efforts to increase numbers of women amongst peacekeepers and police – most notably the all-woman police unit contributed by India to Liberia this year. The verdicts announced by the Special Court for Sierra Leone in July showed that war crimes against women and girls could be successfully and fully prosecuted.

But the real measure of effective implementation is not the setting up of systems, plans and processes. The measure is women’s participation in and contribution to more sustainable peace agreements and post-conflict reconstruction strategies. The measure is better protection of women and girls in today’s conflict zones. The measure is women and men being secure enough to bring cases of wartime atrocities against women and girls to transitional justice mechanisms.

We have a long way to go. UNIFEM supports implementation of SCR 1325 in over 30 countries, building on a vast range of partnerships with Member States, UN organizations, NGOs and women’s networks. Let me present some insights from our experience.

Peace agreements:

Women’s access to peace processes has been highly uneven. In the past year UNIFEM – in partnership with many UN and non-governmental organizations – has supported women’s networks in Uganda, Kosovo, Nepal and in the Middle East conflict to build capacities and intensify their lobbying for inclusion in peace negotiations. In many cases, women are building dialogue across lines of conflict and have much to contribute about aspects of sustainable peace that would otherwise be neglected. But there remain few examples of structured access for women to peace talks. Despite the promises of 1325, peace tables remain the province of those who made the conflict rather than those who have the greatest motivation for ending it.

Post-conflict reconstruction:

In countries emerging from conflict, numbers of women participating in elections are high – a remarkable testament to women’s eagerness to participate in post-conflict decision-making, in spite of the gender-based violence that so many women encounter in daring to run for office. Numbers of women winning these contests vary according to whether electoral systems embrace special temporary measures, as mandated by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The strongest examples of the positive impact of these measures come from Rwanda, where women won 49 per cent of Assembly seats in the 2003 election, and Burundi, where they won 30.5 per cent in the 2005 elections. Where such measures have not been adopted or have been inconsistently applied, proportions of national assembly seats won by women have been disappointing: for instance, after the recent elections in Sierra Leone this share reached only 14.3 per cent, a slight decrease from the previous election.

Better protection for women and girls:

Perhaps our greatest collective challenge, however, is our ability to use Resolution 1325 to meaningfully address sexual violence as a method of warfare. Current media reports highlight the horrific extent of sexual violence in conflicts around the world. Even so, what gets reported is only the tip of the iceberg, Mr. President, as you and your colleagues recently heard directly from the Emergency Relief Coordinator Mr. John Holmes.

Resolution 1325 calls on us to take action against sexual violence in conflict. UNIFEM has joined with 11 other UN entities in setting up UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict Situations. UN Action is providing strategic and technical support to UN Integrated Missions and UN Country Teams to step up their response. It is seeking to build global awareness of the extent and impact of sexual violence in present day conflicts and advocating for more effective responses from international and regional security institutions in conflict situations.

Few other methods of warfare are so socially destructive as systematic sexual violence. Vigilance and action are needed to send an irrevocable message that sexual violence must be prevented, that impunity for perpetrators is unacceptable, and that providing services to survivors of such violence is the highest priority.

Moving from commemoration to implementation

Mr. President, the days in October that the Security Council turns its full attention to the issue of women, peace and security and the Presidential Statements that the Security Council issues, all add up to a message of hope for women whose unique experience of war and armed conflict had for too long been ignored.

Given the enormity of the 1325 agenda and the need to step up implementation visibly to contribute to greater security and protection for those who are most in need of it, I would end with two points that we hope the Council will give due consideration:

• Firstly, that the Security Council consider calling for more concerted action by Member States, with UN system support, to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly sexual violence. This means stepping up the global response in three key areas: 1) expansion of services for survivors, including provision of health services to treat fistula, HIV infection, and the many forms of physical and psychological trauma that women and girls endure; 2) focusing on transitional justice systems to build capacity to prosecute perpetrators; and above all, 3) finding means to prevent sexual violence from being perpetrated by ensuring that peacekeeping operations make life safe for women and girls.
• Secondly, that the Council consider calling for more detailed reporting on implementation of 1325 and that it enhance its own capacity to monitor gaps and achievements in implementation. We reiterate the Secretary-General’s call for Member States to establish a Security Council mechanism to monitor national implementation.

Before ending, I would like to express sincere appreciation for the designation by the Secretary-General of Ms. Ellen Margrethe Loj as his Special Representative for Liberia and Ms. Bintou Keita as Deputy Special Representative for Burundi.

Mr. President and members of the Council, the issue of women, peace and security is one for which there is a huge constituency. We at UNIFEM are at your disposal to assist you to turn the tide of history to meet the implementation challenge. Security and peace for women remains a necessary pre-requisite to security and peace for all.

Security Council Open Debate on Resolution 1325:  October 23 2007

Yesterday the UN Security Council held an Open Debate on ensuring coherent and effective implementation of SCR 1325.  Ghana, the president of the Council, presided over the day-long session.  Fifty-two Member States, including Council members, made interventions. The UN speakers included Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Jean-Marie Guehenno (DPKO), Rachel Mayanja (OSAGI) and Joanne Sandler (UNIFEM, statement above).  Gina Torry spoke on behalf of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security.

The majority of the 52 governmental speakers addressed the existence of pervasive sexual violence in situations of armed conflict, and in particular, in the DRC and Sudan.  Some governments framed sexual violence in legal terms, noting that the use of sexual violence is a war crime and where it is widespread and systematic, it is a crime against humanity.  A number of the OECD governments indicated that there is political will for more effective action to prevent sexual violence, to improve judicial response and end impunity, and to improve provision of services to survivors. A few countries (UK, EU and others) urged the Council to request a consolidated report on the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war from the Secretary-General (SG).  This is one of the advocacy goals of UN Action.  In contrast a few insisted that this would take the SC beyond its mandate (e.g. Russia and China).

In terms of integrating 1325 into the work of the Council, some governments noted that truly effective implementation would require the Council establishing a monitoring mechanism to track performance in implementing 1325 and to raise the alert about gaps in implementation.  This has long been a UNIFEM concern and advocacy point, specifically that a Working Group of the Council be formed, with a focal point for 1325 to chair this group – a focal point that would ideally be one of the permanent members of the Council.  This Working Group could review performance much more regularly than the once a year Open Debate, measuring performance against agreed impact or results indicators (e.g.: increased numbers of women in delegations to peace talks, increased numbers of women candidates and representatives in post conflict elections). Fourteen countries urged the Security Council to set up a monitoring mechanism to improve implementation of 1325. 

Regrettably, the Presidential Statement (PRST), the outcome document of the Debate, did not reflect the recommendations on (1) the delivery of a consolidated report on sexual violence to the Council or (2) the establishment of a monitoring mechanism in the Council on the implementation of SCR 1325.  However, the PRST does contain a request for the SG to include data on the security situation of women and girls in his regular country situation reports to the Council.  Further, the PRST also contains a provision for the SG to open up discussions of implementation of 1325 at other times of the year besides October.  This paves the way for Security Council members to raise concerns about implementation of SCR 1325 at less busy times of the year, when Member States can devote more time to the question.

Of the 52 national statements, 27 acknowledged UNIFEM, and of these, 17 spoke specifically about UNIFEM’s work in the field, notably on organizing women’s peace coalitions.  Several countries recognized UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict as a step forward.  Fourteen countries urged the Security Council to set up a monitoring mechanism to improve implementation of 1325.  Many countries urged the Council to secure a consolidated report on the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.   A comprehensive report on the Open Debate is in preparation and will be circulated with the October GPS Monthly Update.

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