WUNRN
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hibaaq-osman/now-is-a-time-for-action-_b_6077118.html
UN SECURITY COUNCIL RES
1325 – SHORTCOMINGS ON IMPLEMENTATION – CALL FOR GLOBAL PRIORITY FOR WOMEN IN
CONFLICT RESOLUTION & PEACEBUILDING
By Hibaaq Osman, Founder of Karama
10/30/14 - Women
activists from across the world gathered in New York City to mark the
anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. This
agreement is one of the cornerstones of the international women's rights
movement and was rightly described as a landmark when it was passed. But in
choosing to celebrate, are we wasting valuable energy when there is so much
work still left to do?
Since 2000,
Resolution 1325 has formed the basis for how women's rights and needs are taken
into account in countries affected by conflict. Drawing on previous standards
and contemporary discussions, 1325 has set the discourse and practice on this
issue. It highlights the central role that women need to play in "the
prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peace-building,
peacekeeping [and] humanitarian response."
As crucial as
1325 has been in forcing governments to consider the needs and rights of women
on conflict, now is not a time that I wish to look back and celebrate. How many
conflicts have there been since 2000? How many women have suffered as a result
of these conflicts?
The United
Nations' own commitment to the principles of 1325 must also be scrutinised and
called into question. Women have been all but absent from the ongoing peace
efforts in Syria. Male diplomats and envoys still dominate the halls of the
United Nations. What message does this send to UN members about 1325's call for
women to be enjoy "equal participation and full involvement in all efforts
for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security"?
Syria is a
hugely significant case in point. The conflict has displaced millions of
people, with women and children making up a disproportionate number of those
who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Those who have escaped the
violence have found it hugely difficultly to access even basic healthcare and services.
These women are
being failed by the international community and I cannot look back with pride
on 14 years of Resolution 1325 when I think of these women. I am not filled
with joy but anger that so long after we though we had secured progress, the
women of Syria, the women of Iraq, the women of Libya, the women of Somalia,
the women of Sudan still suffer so gravely.
Amid this there
are countries that can show the international community the way to weave the
principles of 1325 into the fabric of conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
Norway, the country that provides the greatest international assistance taken
as a percentage of its national income, is the textbook example of how 1325
should be taken forward. It first presented an action plan for implementation of the principles in 2006 and
has regularly updated it. From the very top of the its government to its agencies and NGOs
on the ground, Norway has a sought to give the needs and rights of
women necessary consideration in conflict and post-conflict.
At the recent
Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, US Secretary of State John
Kerry said that in conflict and post-conflict, "where women are participants, where women are respected, where
women are part of that dialogue, inevitably there is greater stability, greater
progress, faster." Secretary Kerry is right but he and other
leading figures must turn those words and the words of Resolution 1325 into
action.