The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (NGOWG) was formed in May
2000 to advocate for a United Nations Security Council resolution on women,
peace and security. Following the unanimous adoption of SCR 1325 in October
2000, the group began the work of pressing for its full implementation. The NGO
Working Group believes that a peaceful future depends on the full participation
of women in all decision making to prevent violent conflict and to protect
women and girls. A broad and positive impact on the lives of all people
experiencing conflict will result from the full implementation of SCR 1325 and
promotion of the Beijing Platform for Action and CEDAW. Adherence to SCR 1325
is a necessary tool for the prevention of armed conflict and for the inclusion
of gender in the ongoing peace and security discourse taking place within the
United Nations and the international community.
Core Documents
Security Council
resolution 1325
The full text of the resolution.
Five Years
On Report—From Local to Global: Making Peace Work for Women
This report examines how SCR 1325 has been operationalized
at the international, national and local levels.
Checklist for integrating 1325 into Security Council
resolutions.
Urgent Appeal to
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Women in the Democratic
Republic of Congo
24 November 2008
On 24th November, the NGOWG sent a letter to the Secretary-General urging
him to take several specific steps to protect women from violence in the
current crisis in the DRC, and to use his office to provide women with a
substantive role in any negotiations that take place. The letter also included
a declaration by Congolese women at the recent AWID conference in South Africa.
Download
the Letter to the UN Secretary-General [PDF]
On behalf of the NGOWG, Coordinator Sarah Taylor addresses the Security Council during the Open Debate on women, peace and security. UN Photo/Ryan Brown
NGOWG Addresses UN
Security Council on Improving Women's Participation in all Aspects of
Peacemaking, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
29 October 2008
The United Nations invited the NGOWG to deliver a statement at the October
2008 Open Debate entitled "Women's equal participation and full
involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and
security." The NGOWG raised concerns and presented recommendations to the
Council regarding women's participation in all aspects of conflict
transformation.
Download
the Statement to UN Security Council [PDF]
View
Archived Video of the Statement
(NGOWG Statement, presented by Sarah Taylor, starts at minute 37:44)
Open Letter to
Ambassadors on Improving Women's Participation in all Aspects of Peacemaking,
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
21 October 2008
In preparation for the Security Council Open Debate on women, peace and
security on October 29th, the NGOWG urged a critical assessment of efforts to
improve women's participation in all aspects of peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding,
particularly in the work of the Security Council. In the eight years since the
adoption of SCR 1325, implementation has been uneven, and concrete advancements
in the equal inclusion of women in peace talks, justice processes, and
peacekeeping are still woefully inadequate. There is an urgent need for the UN
and Member States to show strong leadership on this issue, and to address the
many structural and institutional impediments to women's full participation.
Download
the Open Letter to Ambassadors [PDF]
Sexual Violence in
Conflict Zones at Last Recognized as a Matter of International Peace and
Security
19 June 2008
Reacting to the timely decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen UN
action against sexual violence in conflict, Gina Torry of the NGO Working Group
on Women Peace and Security said "we are glad that the UN's most powerful
body has now recognized what many women worldwide have argued for so long:
stopping sexual violence in conflict zones is important to the maintenance of
international peace and security." Security Council Resolution 1820 (2008)
paves the way for improving the UN's response to the high levels of sexual
violence in conflict-affected situations. The NGO Working Group welcomes the
Council's renewed emphasis on the need for women's equal and full participation
in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and post-conflict peacebuilding.
Also important is that Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon and UN agencies ensure
that women and women-led organizations actively participate in developing
mechanisms to protect women and girls from sexual violence. This has not been
consistent UN practice to date. The NGO Working Group welcomes also the
Council's decision to ask the Secretary-General to provide an in-depth report
by 30 June 2009 on ways to reduce sexual violence against women and girls. The
Council also reinforced its request to the Secretary-General to systematically
include recommendations on the protection of women and girls in his reports to
the Council on country-specific situations. Despite these positive aspects
however, the resolution could have been stronger. "The Council should have
implemented the Secretary-General's earlier recommendation that it establish a
dedicated mechanism to monitor violence against women within the framework of
the landmark Resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security, adopted in
2000", said Gina Torry.
Download
the Full Press Release [PDF]
Open Letter to
Ambassadors on Sexual Violence in Situations of Armed Conflict
17 June 2008
In advance of the Security Council Open Debate on 19 June 2008 on the theme:
"Women, Peace and Security: Sexual Violence in Situations of Armed
Conflict", the NGO Working Group has urged the United Nations Security
Council to consider several key recommendations including recognizing that
sexual and gender-based violence in conflict-affected situations is relevant to
the maintenance of international peace and security; requiring that the
Secretary-General systematically include comprehensive information on acts of
sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls in all of his reports
on conflict-affected situations and to demand an end to impunity for
perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence. It is particularly important
that women, as active agents of change, are empowered by any new Security
Council resolution on sexual and gender-based violence and are not reflected as
passive victims and mere recipients of assistance. It is also crucial to ensure
that sexual violence not be seen as an isolated issue, but as integral to the
issue of women's full and equal participation at all levels of decision-making
on peace and security issues.
Download
the Letter to Ambassadors [PDF]
An Effective Place
at the Table: Women's Equal Participation in Peace Processes &
Peacebuilding
29 February 2008
During the 52nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, Gina
Torry, Coordinator of the NGO Working Group addressed Member States in an
interactive dialogue on "Women's equal participation in conflict
prevention, management and conflict resolution in post-conflict
peacebuilding."
Download
Speech [PDF]
Gina Torry addresses UN Security Council on behalf of the NGO Working Group. UN Photo/Evan Schneider
NGOWG Addresses UN Security
Council Urging Greater Accountability
23 October 2007
The United Nations invited the NGOWG to deliver a statement at the October
2007 Open Debate entitled "Towards a Coherent and Effective
Implementation of Security Council resolution 1325". On behalf of the
coalition, Gina Torry raised concerns and presented recommendations to the
Council regarding accountability to SCR 1325.
Download
Speech [PDF]
View
Archived Video Webcast
Original Language: 3 hours and 17 minutes
(Gina Torry's speech begins at minute 42:31)
Accountability
Needed for SCR 1325
16 October 2007
In advocacy efforts leading up to the October Security Council Open Debate,
NGO Working Group members, led by the PeaceWomen project, prepared an issue
brief on accountability. The brief discusses critical gaps and challenges in
implementing SCR 1325 and provides recommendations for stronger implementing
mechanisms.
Download
Issue Brief [PDF]
Open Letter to
Ambassadors on Need for Accountability to SCR 1325
16 October 2007
In a letter to Member States, the NGO Working Group urged a critical
assessment of concrete and specific efforts to implement SCR 1325 at all levels
and, in particular, the role of the Security Council in such efforts.
Persistent challenges to the implementation of SCR 1325 require urgent
attention. These range from a lack of awareness of the importance of a gender
perspective to peace and security and the gender dimensions of conflict, to
problems around limited capacity, resources and information provision.
Download
letter [PDF]
SCR 1325 and the
Peacebuilding Commission
25 October 2006
This NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security report examines the
recent establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission (a body intended to advise
and propose integrated peacebuilding, development and reconstruction strategies
for countries emerging from violent conflict), its structure, mandate and
obligation to implement SCR 1325 in the achievement of durable peace and
development.
Download
Report [PDF]