PRESS RELEASE
Kathmandu, February 10, 2011
NEPAL
ADOPTS NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON UN SC RES 1325 & 1820
On February 1, 2011 the
Government of Nepal adopted its National Action Plan (NAP) on United
Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820. Nepal is pleased to
announce it is the first country in South Asia, the second in Asia (the
Philippines being the first), and the 24th country globally to adopt a
NAP for UNSCR 1325.
The development of Nepal's NAP was
a highly consultative and collaborative process and saw the Ministry of
Peace and Reconstruction working closely with the High Level Steering
Committee on UNSCR 1325. This highly regarded committee is chaired by the
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister and includes members from
other line ministries, secretaries and members of civil society
organizations. During the planning, drafting and development of the NAP
the High Level Steering Committee consulted with external parties such as
the UN, foreign embassies and international organizations to ensure that
a fully informed NAP was adopted.
The adoption of UNSCR 1325 and
1820 come at a challenging time of post conflict transition for Nepal.
The 10-year armed conflict between 1996 to 2006, deeply affected the
country and women and girls still bear the brunt of the armed conflict.
Many have been victims of conflict-related sexual violence. Those who
have survived are still suffering from the stigma that society places on
such forms of violence.
The national action plan presents
the contextual framework and analysis of the peace and security situation
in Nepal, as well as provides insight into the impact of conflict on
Nepali women. The NAP aims to contribute to the Nepali people's overall
goal of achieving sustainable peace and establishing a just society. It
is structured around five pillars, each with a corresponding objective.
Pillar
1: Participation; aims to ensure participation of women at all
levels of decision making, conflict transformation and peace processes.
Pillar
2: Protection and Prevention; focuses on ensuring the protection
of women and girls' rights and prevention of violations of these rights in
conflict and post-conflict situations.
Pillar
3: Promotion; the objective is to promote women and girls' rights
and mainstream gender perspective in all aspects of conflict prevention,
conflict resolution and peace building.
Pillar
4: Relief and Recovery; addresses the specific needs of and
ensures participation of women and girls in the design and implementation
of all relief and recovery programs.
Pillar
5: Resource Management and Monitoring and Evaluation; the
objective is to institutionalize
monitoring and evaluation and ensure required resources for the
implementation of the National Action Plan through collaboration and
coordination of all stakeholders.
Each pillar and its objective have
corresponding strategic objectives, specific actions, desired results and
indicators. Moreover, the national action plan identifies the actors
responsible for each objective and a timeframe for each action.
The development of Nepal's NAP was
approached holistically with the intention of ensuring grassroots voices
were heard and included in the consultation process. A series of
consultations with over 3000 women, including survivors of
conflict-related violence, women's organizations, representatives of the
security sector and local district authorities from across Nepal, took
place. The participants contributed more than 1500 action points, which
were clustered under the five pillars of the NAP. These action points
address a broad range of issues that includes but are not limited to the
need to support women's participation in all peace and electoral
processes; representation in political parties and local peace
committees; strengthening the Women and Children Service Centers within
police stations; provision of legal assistance; medical services and
psycho-social counseling for survivors of sexual and gender-based
violence; justice, reparation and compensation for the victims of
conflicts and their families; economic assistance to conflict-affected
women; and a provision of educational scholarships to women and
girls affected by conflict.
The NAP also includes the following
features to ensure its effective adoption in Nepal:
- Training and capacity building provisions for all
stakeholders, which will ensure their informed and meaningful
participation in its implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
- Integration of a media outreach and communication
strategy to facilitate sustained awareness-raising and increased
ownership and participation.
- Monitoring and evaluation system that uses a
combination of activity, result and outcome indicators. The
monitoring and evaluation system builds on the existing government
structures and involves the participation of women's
organizations.
The Government of Nepal and its
various partners in civil society and in the international community are
committed to sustain the momentum on the NAP on SCR 1325 and 1820. The
most critical phase begins now - the full implementation of the NAP.
Women's groups and networks in Nepal believe that the NAP reflects the
aspirations and realities of Nepali people, particularly women, and
is a major step towards the achieving of sustainable peace and
establishing a just society. They look forward to continued
collaboration and participatory engagement in its implementation.
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