AFGHANISTAN: Women, Peace and Security in Afghanistan Focus of Tallinn Event

More than 100 women and men gathered on 11 and 12 November 2010 in Tallinn, Estonia, to discuss the implications of United Nations Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325) for Afghanistan. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet opened the conference that his ministry co-organized with the Estonian Atlantic Treaty Association, stressing the importance his government attaches to UNSCR 1325.

Palwashar Karkar, Deputy Minister of Women's Affairs, Gulab Mangal, Governor of the Helmand Povince, and Palwashar Hasan from the Afghan Women's Network were among the Afghan participants. Together with senior representatives from the UN, EU, NGOs and human rights groups, they engaged in a lively debate about the situation of women in Afghanistan and how UNSCR 1325 had helped to initiate change in the country.

“While much has already been done to improve the situation of Afghan women, we need to do more. We need more training opportunities and to reach out to the women in the regions, because they need to be supported most,” Mrs Karkar said.

NATO's Acting Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, Dr Stefanie Babst, underlined that the Alliance, together with many Partner countries, had made UNSCR 1325 a key priority. “In my experience, the NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan has acted as a catalyst for NATO's approach to implementing 1325. As a result of our engagement in Afghanistan, we have moved from an organization talking about how to deliver 1325, to one that is actually implementing it.”

Dr Babst pointed out the advantages of deploying Female Engagement Teams and NATO's support for training female Afghan police and security officers. Referring to the still existing problems for many Afghan women to assume political positions, she said: “One thing should be very clear. As Afghanistan – with our help – strives for stability, reconciliation and political stability, NATO will not support any process that takes place at the expense of women, their rights, and their security.”

She invited the Afghan Deputy Minister for a dedicated meeting in Brussels in early 2011 to further discuss how NATO could help implement Afghanistan's national Action Plan on UNSCR 1325.