January 12, 2012

The International Civil society Action Network and the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders condemn the election-related violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UK newspaper, The Guardian reported that at least 20 people have [...]]]> Women from Around the World Condemn the Election- related Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

January 12, 2012

The International Civil society Action Network and the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders condemn the election-related violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UK newspaper, The Guardian reported that at least 20 people have already been killed in election-related violence. Various groups have documented election irregularities from different provinces in the DRC including insufficient ballots, lack of security, destructions of polling stations and last minute replacement of electoral personnel. International election observers have questioned the credibility of the results while the two main candidates, incumbent Joseph Kabila and rival Etienne Tshisekedi both declare themselves winners. Congolese police have launched a crackdown in Kinshasa, forcing the people of Kinshasa and in particular  Congolese youth to remain in their homes.  More recently, members of President Kabila’s Republican Guard beat women who were demonstrating in front of the US embassy against the election irregularities.

Some women peace activists have been receiving phone treats and are verbally abused on the streets. This is a clear attempt to intimidate women’s organizations and civil society groups who are working to build peace and promote human rights and justice.

We stand in support of all women’s groups and civil society organizations demanding a peaceful resolution of the election–related conflict. We support the Cadre Permanent de Concertation de la Femme Congolaise (CAFCO)’s calls for:

• The Independent National Electoral Commission to publish the election results in detail and ensure transparency of the elections;
• The Candidates and political parties to resort to legal means to settle election disputes;
• The Congolese population to demonstrate maturity and good citizens’ behavior and practice a culture of respect, peace and justice; and
• The National Police to carry out their duty of protecting citizens with professionalism and accountability.

We call on regional institutions such as the African Union and the international community to assist the DRC in preventing post-election conflicts and provide all possible forms of support to ensure a fully democratic process. In accordance with UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions we also call on all international actors including the United Nations, European Union and others, to send envoys in order to keep tensions between the opposing political parties from escalating  and assist them in creating opportunities for negotiation, help create peace accords, and possibly bring the two conflicting groups together. We also strongly urge that all envoys or missions dispatched to the DRC have structured and systematic interaction with women and civil society organizations to benefit from the perspectives we offer and ensure that our concerns are addressed and we are included in the resolution of this crisis.

Organizations

1. Afghan Women’s Network – Afghanistan
2. African Women’s Active Nonviolence Initiatives for Social Change (AWANICh) – Ghana
3. Asia Pacific Women’s Watch – Regional
4. Asian Circle 1325 – Philippines
5. Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) – International
6. Center for Women in Governance (CEWIGO) – Uganda
7. Centro de Education e Investigacion para la Paz (CEIPAZ) – Spain
8. Corporación de Investigación y Acción Social y Económica (CIASE) – Colombia
9. Democracy  FAFI(Federation des Associations des Femmes Ivoiriennes aux USA) – USA
10. FemLINKPacific – Fiji
11. Feminist Scholar Activists for Demilitarization – USA/International
12. Fokus – Norway
13. Fountain ISOKO for Good Governance and integrated Development – Burundi
14. Global Action to Prevent War
15. Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (Netherlands/International)
16. IMPACT – Nigeria
17. International Institute on Peace Education
18. Institute for International Women’s Rights at the University of Winnipeg Global College – Canada
19. International Peace Research Association
20. Kenya Human Rights Commission
21. Kitgum Women’s Peace Initiative – Uganda
22. Kvinna till Kvinna – Sweden
23. Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas – Colombia
24. Lira Rural Women & Children Development Initiative Survivors’ Shelter (LIRWOCDI) – Uganda
25. Middle East and North Africa Partnership for Preventing of Armed Conflict (MENAPPAC)
26. Miriam College Center for Peace Education – Philippines
27. MOSIFA (Motherland Sisters Islamic Foundation in America) – New York, USA
28. Mothers for Active Nonviolence – Ghana
29. National African Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Network (NAIRWN) – USA
30. National Organization of Women (NOW) – Sierra Leone
31. National Peace Academy – USA
32. Observatorio Género Democracia y Derechos Humanos – Colombia
33. Peace Women Partners – Philippines
34. Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy
35. Permanent Peace Movement – Lebanon
36. Red Nacional de Mujeres – Colombia
37. Rural Women Peace Link – Kenya
38. Rwanda Women’s Network (RWN) – Rwanda
39. Saathi – Nepal
40. SAMANATA-Institute for Social and Gender Equality – Nepal
41. Terah Against Terror
42. Teso Women Peace Activists (TEWPA) – Uganda
43. The 1325 Network of Finland
44. The Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice – USA
45. Ulu Women Economic Development and Globalization (GWED-G) – Northern Uganda
46. United to End Genocide – USA
47. United Women for Peace and Social Promotion
48. Voice of the Voiceless – Liberia
49. WO=MEN Dutch Gender Platform
50. Women Allies Peacebuilders Network – Burundi
51. Women in Black – Belgrade, Serbia
52. Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET) – Liberia
53. Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET) – Nigeria
54. Women Integrated Initiative For Development (WIIDE) Kapchorwa – Uganda
55. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom – International
56. Women Peace Initiatives (WOPI-U) – Uganda
57. Women’s Peace Centre – Burundi

Please note that the names of the Congolese organizations endorsing this statement have been left out for safety reasons

Individuals

1. Cerue Garlo – Liberia
2. Betsy Kawamura, Women4NonViolence – Norway
3. Maud Edgren-Schori – Sweden
4. Mahima Achuthan – USA
5. Renee Black – Canada
6. Lindora Howard-Diawara – Liberia
7. Aude Plassard – France
8. Shirley Randall; Director, Centre for Gender Culture and Development,  Kigali – Rwanda
9. Mama Koite; Vice President du Conceil Economique  Social et Culturel de L’Union Africaine /ECOSOCC/UA
10. Solange Woodson – United States

The International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) and its partner programme, the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) applaud the Government of the United States for the adoption of the 2011 National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and related [...]]]> Statement on the US National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security
December 20 2011

The International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) and its partner programme, the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) applaud the Government of the United States for the adoption of the 2011 National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and related Executive Order. We congratulate the United States for joining the family of nations that have embraced and adopted this agenda, and look forward to comprehensive US action across national and multilateral entities.

ICAN/GNWP’s mission – similar to the simple yet profound goal of the US NAP – is to recognize, support and elevate the voices and contributions of women active in the promotion of peace, security, social justice, rights and democracy in countries affected by conflict, transition and closed political space. Our partners are self-empowered, courageous and committed individuals, leaders in civil society, who are often doing the peace work that neither international actors nor their own governments can undertake. In its implementation of the national action plan, we hope that the United States will ensure that mediation, peace making and peacebuilding processes include systematic and structured engagement with such actors, so these processes benefit from the wealth of experience and dedication they offer.

We also hope the potential magnitude of this plan is appreciated across the United States government. The resolution of violent conflict and peaceful transformation away from authoritarianism toward open societies remain the most elusive challenges for the international community. The women, peace and security agenda offers an important roadmap for sustainable peacemaking and preventive work. This agenda is not about making wars safe for women, it is about ending the horrendous practice of warfare entirely.

It offers a framework for the inclusion of active nonviolent positive agents of change on equal footing alongside the spoilers and armed actors, in the critical discussion around peace, security and power. It is a transformative agenda and we look forward to invigorated US leadership at home, and partnership at the United Nations and in other regional bodies where the US is present.

As the process takes shape we hope that bureaucratic markers of progress do not impede or replace actual progress and practice in crisis contexts. We look forward to seeing the US NAP come to life vis-à-vis US engagement in the Middle East, the Arab Spring, across Africa, Asia, Latin America and beyond.

We also offer one poignant thought: Where would we be, if such a plan had been adopted and implemented for the past decade? How many lives could have been saved? What lost opportunities for peacemaking could have been salvaged? This plan must be put into action immediately. In the next decade, its current promise must turn into reality.

ICAN/GNWP for women’s rights, peace and security
technical expertise, capacity development, localized knowledge and – always – independent perspectives

AFGHAN WOMEN’S DECLARATION INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN IN BONN 05 December 2011 PREAMBLE

1. On 23rd November 2011, the Afghan Women’s Network (AWN) consulted 500 women leaders representing 500,000 women from more than 20 provinces of Afghanistan.  Their recommendations and perspectives on issues of national and international [...]]]>

AFGHAN WOMEN’S DECLARATION
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN IN BONN
05 December 2011
PREAMBLE

1. On 23rd November 2011, the Afghan Women’s Network (AWN) consulted 500 women
leaders representing 500,000 women from more than 20 provinces of Afghanistan.  Their
recommendations and perspectives on issues of national and international interest are
incorporated in this Declaration. This Consultation was the culmination of AWN’s year-
long mobilization and advocacy campaign for women’s inclusion during the Bonn
process and beyond.

2. The Afghan women who participated in this consultation reaffirmed their support for the
international community’s long term engagement in Afghanistan, and emphasized that
Afghan women’s achievements of the past 10 years should be promoted and
strengthened through the commitments of Afghan government and the international
community at the Bonn Conference.

3. Afghan women are not where we were in 2001. Over the past ten years, we have
struggled, fought and earned our achievements with the support of the Afghan
government and its international allies.  From a position of virtual oblivion in 2001, over
4 million young girls are attending schools and higher education institutes today.
Seventeen percent of civil servants across the country are women, who actively
contribute to national reconstruction and economic development. The women who hold
over 25% of seats in parliament daily assert the need for accountability and transparency
mechanisms in a reformed governance structure and hundreds of women organizations
are striving to end violence and discrimination against women and girls in the most
remote valleys of the country1.

4. Afghan women affirm that our future can and must evolve in a different Afghanistan
from the past, in which our daughters and their daughters will be able to actively engage
in peace building and nation building in an equitable environment. This optimism,
expressed by most of the women during this consultation and particularly from South
and South Western regions, is the source of our strength, perseverance, and pride.   This
declaration is our testament to that belief.

5. The women who participated in the consultation process stated their appreciation for
the leadership and mobilization of women activists and groups under the Afghan
Women’s Network (AWN).  They expressed their strong support for the
recommendations outlined in the Afghan Women Position Paper, launched by AWN in
October 2011.  They stand in solidarity with their sisters, who will be participating on
their behalf at the International Conference on Afghanistan in Bonn on 05 December,
2011.

The Women’s Declaration
6. We, the women of Afghanistan, demand from our elected government a confirmation
of its plans and commitments in protecting and promoting women’s human rights
during the transition and post-transition processes. We expect to see more practical
measures implemented by the government to comply with its human rights obligations as
enshrined in the Afghan Constitution.
WOMEN & GOOD GOVERNANCE

7. Afghan women call upon our government and its international allies to strengthen
measures against the widespread corruption and embezzlement within the
government system.  This corruption is the one of the main obstacles working against
women’s inclusion and participation in leadership and decision making. Our experiences
reveal that the lack of transparency and accountability in national flagship programs, and
processes such as peace and reintegration, have obstructed our inclusion and participation
in governance at the national and provincial levels.

8. The focus of the Afghan government has been much on the political aspects of peace
and transition processes with little on governance reform and service delivery. Tribal
commanders and middlemen peace brokers mainly control provincial government
functions. These elements have previous records of women’s rights violations.
Communities fearing these elements don’t allow their daughters to continue their
education and work.  We call for a dedicated and forthright effort by our Government
to end these abuses.

WOMEN & TRANSITION
9. Afghan women demand that women’s security become a measurable indicator of
transition monitoring and evaluation. Women from the first round of transition
provinces confirm that their mobility has been impacted – in particular, in provinces such
as Laghman. In some areas, female government employees have been threatened.  We
fear that women in provinces yet more debilitated by conflict will experience these trends
more acutely as transition progresses across the country.

10. Afghan women call for a systematic approach to consultation with women in
communities and women groups before and during the transition process, to ensure our
voices and perspectives are part of the implementation and monitoring of transition.

11. Afghan women firmly believe that a strong rule of law and accountable justice
system will provide the best remedy for the increasing lack of trust among Afghan
citizens and their government.  We believe that widespread corruption has paralyzed the
rule of law, mostly in provincial government functions. Afghan women should be given
the chance to participate in leading a concerted effort to strengthen the rule of law, with
more women in the judiciary and in the Supreme Court Executive Council.

WOMEN & PEACE AND REINTEGRATION

12. Afghan women consider peace and reconciliation to be a critical means to end
violence and instability. A long lasting peace in Afghanistan requires national dialogue
and national consensus building, and our contributions in household and community
conflict resolution put us in a strong position to lead and manage a national dialogue
towards national reconciliation. If the legacies of civil war and internal unrest are
addressed through an inclusive, Afghan-led process, we believe Afghans will become
more united to confront insurgency.

13. Afghan women call for a high standard of transparency in the reintegration
process. Our experiences indicate that insurgents who are reintegrated in our
communities take advantage of reintegration packages and power sharing deals while
their families are far away in the neighboring countries. Therefore, the reintegration
process should become a community-based initiative in which insurgents reintegrate
together with their families. This way, community members will monitor their post-
reintegration activities as well.

14. Afghan women demand a 25% quota of women on the High Peace Council and
Provincial Peace Councils. In most provinces, the only female representative is a
government employee.

WOMEN & THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENT TO AFGHANISTAN

15. Afghan women appeal to the international community to strengthen and continue
supporting women’s groups and civil society organizations during the transition
process and beyond. Women’s groups and civil society organizations are the main agents
of change and inclusive democracy in Afghanistan.

16. Afghan women believe that Afghanistan urgently needs national security forces
whose capabilities and qualifications extend beyond counter-insurgency to include
law and order, community safety, and safeguarding women and children from abuse.
Significant investments should be made to strengthen these aspects of their training and
overall responsibilities.

17. Women’s Rights Defenders and Human Rights Activists are at an increasing level of
threat as political settlements take shape in Afghanistan.  Afghan women call on the
United Nations and International Human Rights Organizations to formulate
emergency and long-term protection strategies to support Women’s Rights
Defenders at risk.

18. Afghan Women further appeal to Islamic countries to promote improvements in
Afghan women’s skills and expertise in Islamic law and jurisprudence in their
development and diplomatic engagements in Afghanistan. These skills and qualifications
are necessary for Afghan women to work in high level positions in the judiciary.

For more information, please contact: awn.kabul@gmail.com, +93 (0) 700 286 598

1 These figures are based on estimates from the government and Afghanistan Independent Civil Service Commission.

GNWP Presents Outcomes of Civil Society Monitoring of UN Security Council Resolution 1325

New York City, November 17, 2011

“The 2011 Women Count: Security Council Resolution 1325 Civil Society Monitoring Report uses locally acceptable and applicable indicators to assess progress in the implementation of Resolution 1325 at the country and community levels. The findings and [...]]]> PRESS RELEASE

GNWP Presents Outcomes of Civil Society Monitoring of UN Security Council Resolution 1325

New York City, November 17, 2011

“The 2011 Women Count: Security Council Resolution 1325 Civil Society Monitoring Report uses locally acceptable and applicable indicators to assess progress in the implementation of Resolution 1325 at the country and community levels. The findings and recommendations compel us to reflect on what has been achieved thus far and strategize on making the implementation a reality in places that matters. Congratulations to GNWP-ICAN on this outstanding initiative!” – Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

The above quote summarizes the importance of the outcomes of the civil society monitoring of 1325 presented by the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), on October 25 and 27, 2011 on the occasion of the 11th anniversary of SCR 1325 in New York.

Overall, there is progress being made in increasing and spreading an understanding of the gender dimensions of conflict and peacebuilding but this progress is slow, uneven and lacks resources and support, according to Mavic-Cabrera-Balleza, GNWP International Coordinator/International Civil society Action Network Program Director. Cabrera-Balleza presented the general findings of the monitoring exercise on October 27th at the Permanent Mission of Canada. She pointed out that there are now 32 national action plans on Resolution 1325 but these still represent the minority of the 193 UN Member States who are mandated to implement the resolution in their countries.

The presentation showcased the findings of the monitoring of 1325 implementation in Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Uganda. Another general finding in all of these countries as well as the others included in the monitoring exercise (Burundi, Canada, Nepal, Netherlands, Philippines, Spain, Sweden) is that there is still a gap in women’s meaningful participation in governance structures particularly at the local level as well as in the security sector. There is also an important implementation gap in terms of gender responsive laws and policies, including National Action Plans (NAP) on SCR 1325. The resources, capacity and political clout of the lead implementing agency of the NAP and where it is located in the government architecture are as significant as its funding and indicators.

The access to health care for women and girls who suffer from sexual and gender-based violence in conflict-affected communities in Burundi and Nepal was the focus of the October 25th presentation that GNWP co-organized with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). In both countries, there are limited facilities and skills to treat such cases. Most cases are either handled as ordinary illness or remain untreated. Medical evidence is not properly collected and women’s capacities and access to justice is hampered.

Although the 2010 report concluded that much progress was made during the first decade after the adoption of SCR 1325, one element of criticism evident at the many anniversary events last year was the need to address the identified accountability gap, which noted that mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the implementation of 1325 and the accompanying resolutions 1820, 1960, 1888, and 1889 at regional, national, and global levels remains lacking.

As part of a response to this and in pursuit of its mission to bridge the gap between policy discussions and implementation and action on the ground regarding women and peace and security issues, GNWP initiated a process which would build capacity amongst civil society, especially women’s organizations to conduct effective monitoring of policy implementation; support effective implementation of SCR 1325 particularly at the national level; provide a global perspective of the status of SCR 1325 implementation, which would be enriched by being built over time; and bolstering Member State accountability in a series of ways, which go beyond SCR 1325.

GNWP also found that major data gaps on women and peace and security persist across all areas, but especially on SGBV. Data collection practices are weak, leading to unreliable analysis and sex-disaggregated data is still the exception rather than the rule.

Another key finding is that funding for civil society’s women and peace and security work remains meager; donors privilege ‘project or programme’ funding over ‘core’ funding. Funding allocated by donor countries to post conflict countries is not transparently tracked.

The findings of 2011 revealed limited progress since last year. While many of the 2010 findings and recommendations therefore stand, the 2011 report offers specific emphasis and insights on the implementation(s) and their challenges.

GNWP is committed to continue monitoring SCR 1325 implementation to establish a solid baseline data on the Resolution, identify best practices, persistent gaps and challenges; and make recommendations as to where and how energies and resources should be directed to ensure effective implementation on the ground.

“Women Count Security Council Resolution 1325: Civil Society Monitoring Report 2011″ is currently undergoing a revision and will be reprinted in December 2011.

For further information, please contact

Mavic Cabrera-Balleza

Helena Gronberg

212. 973. 0325 ext. 202

In this issue of the GNWP newsletter Connecting for Peace we report on the launch of “Women Count Security Council Resolution 1325: Civil Society Monitoring Report 2011.” We also feature a story by two young women who spent the summer in Monrovia working on the Liberian monitoring report.

— Mavic and Helena

Hello!

In this issue of the GNWP newsletter Connecting for Peace we report on the launch of “Women Count Security Council Resolution 1325: Civil Society Monitoring Report 2011.” We also feature a story by two young women who spent the summer in Monrovia working on the Liberian monitoring report.

— Mavic and Helena

Global News

On the occasion of the 11th Anniversary of UNSCR 1325 GNWP launches its 2011 report Women Count

By Luis Arrias

On the eleventh anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution (SCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, seven sets of findings and recommendations were presented by the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP). The report “Women Count Security Council Resolution 1325: Civil Society Monitoring Report 2011″, which was launched at two separate events during the anniversary week (October 24-28) assesses the implementation(s) of the resolution and looks at the gains and challenges encountered in the 12 countries that participated in the report this year: Afghanistan, Burundi, Canada, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, Nepal, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Spain, Sweden and Uganda.

“Here is a beautifully presented, thoroughly documented accounting of what is happening to a resolution that came from the grass roots, was vetted by the grass roots and was lobbied for by women for unanimous adoption by the Security Council,” says Cora Weiss, President of Hague Appeal for Peace and one of the drafters of SCR 1325.

Although the 2010 report concluded that much progress was made during the first decade after the adoption of SCR 1325, one criticism evident at the many anniversary events last year was the need to address the accountability gap, which noted that mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the implementation of 1325 and the accompanying resolutions 1820, 1960, 1888, and 1889 at regional, national, and global levels remains lacking.

As part of a response to this and in pursuit of its mission to bridge the gap between policy discussions and implementation and action on the ground regarding women and peace and security issues, GNWP initiated a process which would build capacity amongst civil society, especially women’s organizations to conduct effective monitoring of policy implementation; support effective implementation of SCR 1325 particularly at the national level; provide a global perspective of the status of SCR 1325 implementation, which would be enriched by being built over time; and bolstering Member State accountability in a series of ways, which go beyond the resolution.

The findings of 2011 revealed limited progress since last year. While many of the 2010 findings and recommendations stand, the 2011 report offers specific emphasis and insights on the implementation(s) and their challenges. One major finding reveals progress in understanding and spreading the gender dimensions of conflicts and peace building at the national and global levels. However, this progress is slow and uneven, and needs more resources and support.

Another general finding states that while every inch gained is impressive, institutions still have miles to go to achieve women’s meaningful participation in governance, justice and security sector institutions. Women’s representation in such institutions has direct knock-on effects on women’s participation in formal conflict resolution and peace building systems. There is still a big implementation gap in terms of gender responsive laws and policies, including National Action Plans on SCR 1325. The resources, capacity and political clout of the lead implementing agency of the NAP and where it is located in the government architecture are as significant as its funding and indicators. GNWP also found that rates of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) remain extremely high, especially in areas of conflict and post conflict; impunity is rampant. Conflict-related SGBV against men remains a neglected issue. Major data gaps on women and peace and security persist across all areas, but especially on SGBV. Data collection practices are weak, leading to unreliable analysis; and sex-disaggregated data is still the exception rather than the rule.

GNWP is committed to continue monitoring SCR 1325 implementation to establish a solid baseline data on the Resolution, identify best practices, persistent gaps and challenges; and make recommendations as to where and how energies and resources should be directed to ensure effective implementation on the ground.

“Women Count Security Council Resolution 1325: Civil Society Monitoring Report 2011″ is currently undergoing a revision and will be reprinted in December 2011.

News from the Ground

Come a Long Way, Still a Long Way to Go: Monitoring 1325 in Liberia

By Elana Luppino and Victoria Webbe

We were extremely excited to see Liberia’s report included in the 2011 edition of GNWP’s “Women Count Security Council Resolution 1325: Civil Society Monitoring Report.” Last year, due to resource and capacity constraints, a report could not be submitted in time for publication. In an attempt to address some of these constraints, GNWP partnered with The New School for Public Engagement, and arranged for two graduate students—us—to spend the summer working with GNWP members in Liberia. After meeting with the GNWP coordinating team in New York City and discussing the partnership with the Liberian members, we were invited to go to Liberia to help support the process.

For some brief background, the Liberian civil war began in December 1989, and lasted for over fourteen years. Over 200,000 people died, and many more were wounded or subject to the traumas of famine and sexual assault. Attempts at peace negotiations throughout the war were met with little success. It was within this context of continual violence and conflict that the Liberian women’s peace movement took root. Women became involved in peace efforts as far back as February 1994, initiating peace protests that ultimately would be joined by tens of thousands of women. Identified by their uniform—white T-shirts and head-ties—women held vigils in churches and mosques, protested at Monrovia’s City Hall, UN agencies, Embassies and held daily sit-ins on the Monrovia Airfield as well as in other towns throughout Liberia. When the peace negotiations finally began in Accra, the women mobilized to attend. At one point, the women physically barred party representatives in the building to prevent them from leaving until they reached an agreement.

Liberia is often viewed as a success story for SCR 1325, and with good reason. Liberia currently boasts the first female president in Africa, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who recently shared a Nobel Peace Prize with two other women—including Leymah Gbowee—for their work on women, peace and security. Liberia was also the pilot country for the female UN police force from India.

In 2009, Liberia was one of the first countries to draft a 1325 National Action Plan. Since the creation of the LNAP in 2009, the Ministry of Gender and Development has established a 1325 Secretariat, tasked with implementing and monitoring SCR 1325.

Civil society in Liberia is a vibrant, active part of the peacebuilding process. Women’s groups have been instrumental in educating the population on important legislation, including the Rape Amendment, the Inheritance Law and SCR 1325. Their awareness raising campaigns often place them in a respected position in their communities. WIPNET members, for example, have built 17 peace huts to create space for discussion between neighbors. As the Liberian National Police struggle with personnel and resource constraints, particularly outside of Monrovia, these women use their conflict resolution training to mediate disagreements and conduct evidentiary hearings in the case of crimes. In the past year, the 17 WIPNET peace huts have mediated over 160 cases—including 66 cases related to sexual violence.

In addition to awareness raising and service delivery, women’s civil society organizations also take part in advocacy. Women still gather on the Monrovia Airfield to pray and fast, demonstrating their support for legislation designed to promote peace and gender equality. Drawing from their roots as a peace movement, members of organizations like the Women’s NGO Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL) and WIPNET can often be heard saying, “We did it in Accra, we can do it now.”

As research coordinators, our job was to supplement these efforts, working with GNWP Liberia members to create a picture of what was being done throughout the country around SCR 1325.

Unfortunately, initial investigation revealed that many problems still exist. Women’s political representation is still low at the legislative, local and judicial levels, particularly after this most recent round of elections. Rates of sexual gender-based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse remain high. All of this is especially true for rural women, who are significantly less likely to have access to essential services including those related to education and health.

To provide qualitative nuance to this picture, we conducted focus group discussions. The women we spoke to were confident that a lot has changed over the past ten years but there was still a lot more to do. More women were participating in family, community and political life, and more women were aware of their rights. In addition, many of the women said they felt that sexual gender-based violence was increasing in their communities, but several women noted that this was likely in part due to awareness raising campaigns encouraging survivors to come forward.

One of the most memorable conversations we had was with a woman who passionately explained the challenges facing women who suffered physical and psychological trauma during the war. Many of these women, she explained, were unable to address their problems either due to a lack of facilities or because social taboos made such issues difficult to talk about. She wanted to know what we could do to help these women. Unable to provide an answer we were completely satisfied with, we were struck by how directly her question got to the heart of conversations about SCR 1325, and international legal mechanisms more broadly. How can a UN Security Council resolution address the problems facing women in their everyday lives? Sadly, the immediate answer seems to be that it can’t. But maybe that’s not the point. Ultimately, as with any legal mechanism, SCR 1325 is only worth the legwork that is put into its implementation. As our research shows, a great deal more of that needs to be done in Liberia. Documents like SCR 1325 provide the political clout and international attention needed to push the women, peace and security agenda forward. Monitoring frameworks like the GNWP indicators provide a global rubric, which can be used to place individual country progress in an international context. Together, these laws and monitoring reports act as advocacy tools to call attention to the challenges that women face, and encourage that governments take action to address these concerns. More importantly, these international mechanisms draw attention to work already being done, encouraging the state to partner with civil society, ensuring that the organizations already addressing these challenges receive the support they need.

This year, Liberia was included in the GNWP’s publication “Women Count.” We hope that as a result, the organizations we worked with, the peace huts we visited and the women we spoke to have come a little bit closer to reaching the level of participation, protection and promotion that they deserve.

In this issue of the GNWP newsletter Connecting for Peace we report on a number of side-events focusing on women that took place during the United Nations 66th General Assembly in New York. Additionally we report on a recent workshop on civil society monitoring of UNSCR 1325, [...]]]> Hello!

In this issue of the GNWP newsletter Connecting for Peace we report on a number of side-events focusing on women that took place during the United Nations 66th General Assembly in New York. Additionally we report on a recent workshop on civil society monitoring of UNSCR 1325, facilitated by GNWP and women’s groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The featured member this time is Institute of Human Rights Communication-Nepal (IHRICON).

— Mavic and Helena

Global News

Women Make a Strong Impact During the 66th General Assembly

By Luis Arrias

With the opening week focusing strategically on women, the 66th General Assembly (GA) at the United Nations, which kicked off on September 13, 2011 seemed to be a changing of the sands.

September 7-8, prior to the GA, First Ladies, health and finance ministers as well as parliamentarians from Burkina Faso, Haiti, Ethiopia, Laos, Mali, Madagascar, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria and Sierra Leone gathered at the UN Millennium Plaza Hotel to affirm that voluntary family planning, secured by a steady supply of contraceptives, is a national priority for saving women’s lives. According to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), more than 215 million women in developing countries want to avoid or space pregnancies but are not using modern methods of contraception. “As of October 31, the world will have 7 billion people, of which 1.8 billion are young people, and 90 per cent of them live in developing countries. That implies that 1 billion young women are actively seeking the information and service we are talking about here,” said UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, in his opening remarks at the high-level meeting. During the meeting, Dr. Osotimehin called on the 12 countries to put resources in their budget to meet the needs of their women and girls.

The outcome of the meeting was a Call to Action highlighting the participants’ concern that “despite progress, disparities persist in access to sexual and reproductive health information, services and essential supplies, and that the poor and other vulnerable groups, including young people, continue to be underserved and suffer high unmet need.”

The UNFPA initiated event was a build-up to a meeting held on September 19th highlighting the importance of women’s role and political participation in democratic governments. The event, organized by UN Women and the World Food Programme, stressed that women’s participation is fundamental to democracy and essential to the achievement of sustainable development and peace in all contexts; peace, conflict, post-conflict and during political transitions.

The panelists, which included among others H.E. Dilma Roussedd, President of Brazil; Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; Rt. Hon. Baroness Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission; H.E. Roza Otunbayeva, President of the Kyrgyz Republic; Lilia Labidi, Minister of Women’s Affairs, Republic of Tunisia; Helen Clark, Under-Secretary-General and Administrator, UN Development Programme; as well as other high powered women, signed on to a joint statement with concrete recommendations on ways to advance women’s political participation.

Women make up less than 10 percent of world leaders. Globally, less than one in five members of parliament is a woman. These facts were echoed at the open dialogue on Empowering Rural Women and Food Security. The event was moderated by Christiane Amanpour and organized by the World Food Programme and UN Women on September 22. Uri Rosenthal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands spoke on the importance of pushing women into leadership positions, both politically and in the public and private sectors, while Sheikh Hassinah, the Honourable Prime Minister of Bangladesh, delivered the keynote address emphasizing the impact of women on the entrepreneurial market place.

While most of the programme relied heavily on the successes and needs of rural women, issues such as transitioning from rural to urban environments, credit loans, and women owned businesses were raised and addressed during the afternoon interactive dialogue between a deus full of individuals from Anne Itto, a farmer and former Caretaker Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, South Sudan to Paul Polman, the CEO of Unilever, a British-Dutch manufacturer, that has historically partnered with UN Agencies like UNICEF, and owns many of the worlds consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents, and personal care products.

During the closing remarks, Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director, UN Women, announced a new agreement of action between UN Women and the World Food Programme to “provide income generating opportunities to women through food and nutrition interventions, and support low income and food insecure countries to integrate gender into their food, agriculture and nutrition policies.”

The Clinton Global Initiative, in conjunction with the closing of the GA, hosted a panel, which explored how to better incorporate boys and men into projects focusing on girls and women in order to support and encourage results that benefit all. Participants included Muhammad Yunus, Chairman of the Yunus Centre; Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda; and Gary Thomas Barker, International Director of Instituto Promundo.

The Global Network of Women Peacebuilders welcomes the attention given to the numerous and notable contributions and achievements made by women in spaces of decision making and in leadership positions, business and politics, as well as to the needs of women and girls who continue to be affected by violent conflict and post-conflict environments.

News from the Ground

GNWP Facilitates Data Validation and Writeshop in Kinshasa; DRC

By Helena Grönberg

As part of its project “Civil Society Monitoring of United Nations Security Council Resolution (SCR) 1325” GNWP in partnership with its member Cadre Permanent de Concertation de la Femme Congolaise (CAFCO) facilitated a data validation workshop / writeshop in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on September 27-29 2011. GNWP and CAFCO organized the workshop in collaboration with Centre d’études sur la Justice et la Résolution1325 (CJR 1325) and le Réseau d’Education Civique au Congo (RECIC). The Dutch Development Organization, Cordaid, provided financial support.

GNWP’s monitoring 1325 project aims to build the capacity of women’s organizations around the world to monitor policy implementation at national level and specifically monitor the implementation of SCR 1325 from the perspectives of women’s groups and civil society. The project uses as its base a set of 16 indicators developed by GNWP members in 2010 during the first phase of the project.

The gathering in Kinshasa was the last of a series of in-country workshops held in various countries participating in the second phase of GNWP’s monitoring project. Other workshops were held in Burundi, Colombia and Nepal earlier this year. The Kinshasa workshop specifically aimed to validate, collate and analyze data gathered by women’s groups in the 11 provinces of the DRC, namely Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasaï-Occidental, Kasaï-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa, Maniema, North Kivu, Oriental and South Kivu.

The GNWP members in DRC chose to focus on three of the 16 indicators and gathered data on women’s participation in governance; women’s participation in the justice and security sector; and percentage of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) cases reported, investigated, referred, prosecuted, and penalized. The upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections on November 28th, 2011 made the decision to examine more closely the indicators on women’s participation quite timely. The decision to focus on the SGBV indicator stemmed from the high rates of sexual violence in many parts of the country, including but not limited to North and South Kivu. An issue that was repeatedly emphasized during the workshop was the high rates of all kinds of brutal violence against women in the provinces of Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasaï and North Katanga, regions that are rarely mentioned in international media when reporting from what has come to be known as the “rape capital of the world.”

“Unsurprisingly perhaps, the major focus for these CSO activists was on SGBV, and it was dispiriting to see that even here in the DRC where SGBV is in some ways the ‘question du jour’, the data that’s available is so patchy, and the obstacles to reporting, investigating, prosecuting and penalizing so extensive. I hope GNWP’s research and recommendations can help to close the data gap and even more importantly, the glaring impunity gap,” says Antonia Potter Prentice, GNWP’s consultant for the project, the findings and recommendations of which will be presented in New York during the 11th anniversary of SCR 1325 in the end of October. “However,” adds Potter Prentice, “the ‘mamans’ from across the 11 provinces brought alive the real life challenges not only of collecting research data under such difficult circumstances, but also of achieving greater female participation in governance and the security sector.”

GNWP hopes to build upon the data gathered the past two years in DRC and to mobilize resources as well as to build the capacity of its members to conduct a more comprehensive monitoring exercise next year.

Featured Member

Institute of Human Rights Communication (IHRICON)

By Shobha Gautam and Helena Grönberg

Institute of Human Rights Communication-Nepal (IHRICON) is an organization that has actively been working on human rights advocacy, monitoring and reporting since its inception in 2002. IHRICON’s work includes attempts to reduce the effects of violence and abuse on children and women; raising awareness on the fact that women and children are unseen casualties of the long war, awareness on UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820; peace education; security sector reform, increasing women’s participation in politics, access to knowledge, economic resources and political power. Additionally, IHRICON is involved in media monitoring of women’s issues: rape; domestic violence and the impact of small arms; and the rights of children. IHRICON also publishes a monthly child rights violation bulletin and mobilizes youth to bring change to their own communities.

Years of armed conflict has had a tremendous impact on the lives of women and children in Nepal. Political instability, power oriented politics and lack of common understanding between political parties continues to be a struggle. Almost 10 years ago IHRICON visited the conflict affected areas of Rukum and Rolpa Districts. At the time visiting Maoist affected areas was seen as a very positive and bold decision. With the release of its report “Women and Children at the Periphery of People’s War,” IHRICON established itself as a strong human rights organization.

The specific objectives of IHRICON are:

NEW YORK — In October 2000, the UN Security Council passed its landmark Resolution 1325 as the first international agreement to specifically recognize the impact of armed conflict on women and their role as builders of peace. While many achievements have been made [...]]]> For original article click here

NEW YORK — In October 2000, the UN Security Council passed its landmark Resolution 1325 as the first international agreement to specifically recognize the impact of armed conflict on women and their role as builders of peace. While many achievements have been made across the globe as a result of the Resolution, the persistent lack of an accountability mechanism at the global, national and local level has hindered progress.

UNFPA is working to fill this gap by partnering with the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), which brings together 55 women’s organizations and networks working on peace and security across the world. As a lead agency on implementation of Resolution 1325 in Burundi and Nepal, UNFPA has provided technical and financial support to develop the capacity of civil society to monitor the impact of the resolution. Both countries had experienced years of internal conflicts that took a huge toll on women.

A High-level event hosted by UNFPA and GNWP this week on the 11th anniversary of Resolution 1325 celebrated the monitoring efforts of grassroots women activists, particularly in Nepal and Burundi. The event, which took place as part of the larger Security Council debate on Resolution 1325, attracted over 80 participants, including H.E. Ambassador Mr. Gyan Chandra Acharya of Nepal, H.E. Ambassador Mr. Herménégilde Niyonzima of Burundi and Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury (former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations).

At the event, civil society representatives from Burundi and Nepal shared their findings from the initiative. The presentations were supported by their ambassadors, who expressed their respective country’s commitment to reducing the number of incidents of gender violence and encouraged women’s participation in decision making roles.

Taking steps to implement and monitor Resolution 1325

Jeanne Bitsure from the Women and Allies Peacebuilders Network in Burundi reported that although Burundi’s penal code criminalizes sexual and gender-based violence, underreporting remains a serious challenge. In part, this is due to a lack of adequate health care facilities and impunity for perpetrators. For example, of the 3,715 cases reported in 2009, only 1.6 per cent of the cases were prosecuted. The government has been working to address these issues. Most notably, the 2005 law requiring a quota of 30 per cent women in parliament has been largely successful with 32.8 per cent of key ministerial positions held by women, the highest percentage in Africa.

Bandana Rana from Saathi, a nonprofit organization in Nepal, echoed similar challenges. Although data on sexual and gender-based violence is limited, the country has seen an increase in the number of reported cases, particularly among minors. The judicial and legal mechanisms for prosecuting such cases are weak, and health care providers are ill-equipped to recognize, and often treat, survivors. The government has actively recognized gender-based violence as a major concern and is conducting sensitization trainings for police and judicial prosecutors. Nepal’s prime minister also declared 2010 as the year to combat the problem.

National action plans adopted

Both countries have also adopted National Action Plans on Resolution 1325, a critical step in building accountability. Ambassador Chowdhury emphasized the importance of these initiatives as it energizes all partners, particularly civil society, and serves as a new resource for monitoring country-level implementation and in soliciting resultant accountability. UNFPA has supported the adaption of National Action Plans in Burundi, Nepal and many other countries. This work is part of a larger effort in working with Member States and civil society partners to ensure that all women and girls have access to safe sexual and reproductive health services at all phases of a crisis, including post-conflict relief and recovery.

A forthcoming report, Women Count, Security Council Resolution 1325: Civil Society Monitoring Report 2011, will provide additional details.

“Recognize the capacity of civil society to facilitate and manage funds for 1325 implementation and explore partnerships with the private sector,” are but a few of the recommendations of the recently revised study “Costing and Financing [...]]]>

PRESS RELEASE

Doing Business, Making Peace: Financing the Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325

New York City, August 30, 2011

“Recognize the capacity of civil society to facilitate and manage funds for 1325 implementation and explore partnerships with the private sector,” are but a few of the recommendations of the recently revised study “Costing and Financing 1325,” jointly commissioned by the Dutch Development Aid Organization, Cordaid and the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), a coalition of women’s groups and other civil society organizations working towards the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution (SCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

Close to eleven years after the adoption of the groundbreaking SCR 1325 , the required funding for its full implementation is all but explicit. The study “Costing and Financing 1325: Examining the Resources Needed to Implement Women, Peace and Security Resolutions at the National Level” analyses resources available and required to implement the resolution, as well as the complicated funding landscape for women and peace and security programs. The study presents eight concrete recommendations on how to make resource allocation for SCR 1325 implementation efficient and effective:

1. Encourage and support local ownership of national action plans and alternative mechanisms for implementation of SCR 1325
2. Establish a transparent and inclusive financial management platform for 1325 implementation composed of donors, governments, civil society, private sector and multi-lateral organizations including the UN
3. Improve coordination and promote collaboration among different actors involved in women and peace and security advocacy and programming
4. Conduct a comprehensive and accurate assessment of needs, resources and capacities; plan and mobilize resources accordingly
5. Explore partnerships with the private sector
6. Earmark 1325 Funds, review military and other government budgets and identify windows upon which 1325 implementation could be funded
7. Recognize and enhance civil society’s capacity to generate and manage financial resources dedicated to 1325 implementation
8. Allocate adequate resources for independent monitoring and evaluation of 1325 implementation and other women and peace and security initiative

Sara Lulo, Executive Director of the Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell Law School explains the premise behind the need to create more spaces for the private sector to participate in women and peace and security advocacy and programming: “The private sector has a responsibility to uphold human rights, including women’s rights. In my view, private sector actors that are operating or doing business in post-conflict areas have a particular responsibility to uphold Resolution 1325 in their own practices. However, not all aspects of 1325 are necessarily appropriate for direct private sector involvement. For this reason, it’s important to identify relevant entry points where the private sector can be meaningfully engaged…More broadly, we should think creatively about how to finance the goals of 1325 and National Action Plans — not just underwriting the costs of initiatives, but effective implementation with resources available. Corporations, for example, are increasingly interested in not simply funding an initiative, but leveraging their other resources to have a higher impact and be more directly involved. That goes to the point of in-kind support and tapping into the relevant expertise of people in the private sector – for example, through the development of training programs or by providing a relevant product or service.”

Yassine Fall, former INSTRAW Executive Director has also highlighted the importance of the study itself, stating that it is “the missing link in the chain of knowledge needed to build and improve upon the different methods of costing and bring it into the context of 1325.”

Some of the recommendations of the study are currently being implemented through a pilot project jointly carried out by Burundi’s Ministry of National Solidarity, Human Rights and Gender; Burundian civil society organizations; international NGOs, UN agencies, foreign government donors; and the private sector to support the implementation of Burundi’s SCR 1325 National Action Plan (NAP). Cordaid and GNWP are committed to support this initiative as part of the organizations’ ongoing facilitation of multi-stakeholder financing of 1325 NAPs.

Jeanne Bitsure of the Women Allies Peacebuilders Network (WAP) and Catherine Mabobori, of the Office of the 1st Vice President, which holds the vice presidency of the steering commitee on SCR 1325, emphasize the importance of the initiative to Burundian women: “If such a framework is created, it will facilitate the implementation of the women’s agenda, especially related to peace and security issues. It will serve as a platform of collaboration, mobilization and management of resources.”

Cordaid and GNWP welcome participation from various sectors in supporting multi-stakeholder efforts to ensure effective financing of National Action Plans in conflict-affected countries.

Please contact: Dewi Suralaga (Cordaid) Dewi.Suralaga@cordaid.nl and Mavic Cabrera Ballleza (GNWP) maviccabreraballeza@gmail.com

You can read more about the study and download it here ]]> http://www.gnwp.org/press-release-doing-business-making-peace/feed 0 http://www.gnwp.org/connecting-for-peace-issue-12 http://www.gnwp.org/connecting-for-peace-issue-12#comments Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:28:36 +0000 admin http://www.gnwp.org/?p=1709 Global News

CEDAW Committee Holds Consultation on GR on Women in Conflict and Post-conflict Situations

By Selamawit Tesfaye

The 49th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was held from 11-29 July 2011 at the United Nations Headquarters in New [...]]]> Global News

CEDAW Committee Holds Consultation on GR on Women in Conflict and Post-conflict Situations

By Selamawit Tesfaye

The 49th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was held from 11-29 July 2011 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. In addition to the usual hearing of country reports on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the session included a general discussion on a General Recommendation (GR) on Women in Conflict and Post-conflict situations.

The purpose of the general discussion, which was held on July 18th, was mainly to begin the Committee’s process of elaborating the proposed GR on Women in Conflict and Post-conflict Situations. When adopted, the GR will provide appropriate and authoritative guidance to State Parties on the measures to be adopted to ensure full compliance with their obligations to protect, respect and fulfill women’s human rights during times of armed conflict and in all peace-building processes, which includes the immediate aftermath of conflict and long-term post-conflict reconstruction. Additionally, a GR on Women in Conflict and Post-conflict Situations would require Member States that have ratified CEDAW to report on their implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1325 and 1820. GNWP together with a number of other NGOs and academic institutions* has been actively involved in lobbying for the GR as a way to institute a complementary mechanism to promote accountability to UNSCR 1325 and 1820.

The discussion was well attended by United Nations specialized entities and bodies, non-governmental organizations and other interested organizations and individuals. A number of keynote speakers and civil society groups also addressed the Committee. Among them were Ms. Margot Wallström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict. In addition, a number of other United Nations agencies and civil society groups addressed the Committee through oral statement and put forward a range of persuasive arguments and issues to be considered in the GR. Over thirty-five written statements were also submitted to the Committee, including one from GNWP, which emphasized women’s participation in peace negotiations and decision-making. (Click here to access GNWP’s statement.)

The main issues highlighted in the oral and written statements included the root causes of sexual violence against women; the issue of stigma; single-headed households; access to justice for women victims of violence; the prevention of conflict; the transfer of reparations; ending impunity; the scope and applicability of “discrimination” as it is set out in the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); the impact of conflict on various groups of minority women (including persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, widows, and stateless women and refugees/internally displaced persons); the extra-territorial applicability of CEDAW; the reintegration of female combatants and ex-combatants including a gendered dimension to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs (DDR); obligations of non-state actors during conflict and post-conflict settings; ensuring the participation of women during all faces of post-conflict reconstruction; and ensuring a holistic approach to women’s human rights in conflict.

The discussion was a successful forum for various stakeholders to put forward their main concerns for the Committee’s consideration. This was acknowledged by Ms. Pramila Patten, Member and Chair of CEDAW Working Group on women in conflict and post-conflict situations who thanked everyone for their remarks and noted that the CEDAW Committee would continue to hold more consultations at all levels, including in the regions before the adoption of the General Recommendation. GNWP will continue to actively engage in the discussions.

*International Women’s Rights Action Watch – Asia-Pacific; Women’s Media Collective – Sri Lanka; Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; International Alliance of Women, Amnesty International, Global Justice Center, Human Rights Watch, Peace Women, and WILD for Human Rights- UC Berkeley Law School

News from the Ground

GNWP and Colombian members facilitate Civil Society 1325 Monitoring Workshop

By Mavic Cabrera-Balleza

As part of its project “Civil Society Monitoring of United Nations Security Council Resolution (SCR) 1325″ GNWP facilitated a workshop in Bogota, Colombia on August 11-12, 2011. The workshop was supported by Cordaid and Red Nacional de Mujeres, one of GNWP’s members in Colombia coordinated the workshop.

Workshop participants consisted of indigenous women, Afro descendants, women peace activists and women’s human rights defenders. The participants examined the relevance of the indicators being used by GNWP members in different countries to monitor the implementation of SCR 1325 to the context of Colombia. They selected the following indicators to prioritize and examine more deeply. These indicators will also be the focus of their advocacy for the next few years:

The priority indicators were selected based on their relevance to the ongoing drafting of Colombia’s national public policy on gender. A number of women’s groups are advocating for the integration of a National Action Plan on SCR 1325 in the national public policy on gender.Some of the groups that are contributing to GNWP’s civil society monitoring of SCR 1325 project in Colombia are Corporación de Investigación y Acción Social y Económica (CIASE); Iniciativa de Mujeres Colombianas por la Paz; Liga Mujeres Desplazadas; Observatorio Género Democracia y Derechos Humanos; Dejusticia; Movimiento de Mujeres de Cartagena; Departmental de Organizaciones de Mujeres Valle de Cauca; Corporacion Humanas; and Fokus.

The civil society monitoring workshop was held back-to-back with a Philippine-Colombia Women’s Peace Exchange program that facilitated exchange of experiences and strategies in peacebuilding initiatives among women from the two countries.

Indigenous women from different conflict-affected areas of Colombia expressed appreciation for the opportunity to attend the civil society 1325 monitoring workshop and the Philippine-Colombia Women’s Peace Exchange. Most of them had not previously participated in discussions on SCR 1325, 1820 and the other women and peace and security resolutions. They stressed the relevance of such international laws as instruments in the demand for peace in their respective communities.

GNWP and its members thank Cordaid and UN Women for supporting the monitoring project in Colombia.

Featured Member

Lira Rural Women & Children Development Initiative Shelter (LIRWOCDI)

By Michelle Huang and Hellen Alyek

Founded in 2003, with the goal of preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Northern Uganda, Lira Rural Women & Children Development Initiative Shelter was created by a group of women survivors of SGBV from the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps of the Lira District in Northern Uganda.

The initiatives of the LIRWOCDI are motivated by the consequences of a 20-year insurgency in Northern Uganda that displaced and encamped women and children, resulting in crowded, uncontrolled environments in lieu of respectable communities. Children born into Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps suffer from low levels of education; high risk of being orphaned; poverty due to economic dependence on insufficient hand-outs; and a lack of understanding of the law.

LIRWOCDI’s objectives are to: