CONFERENCES: Report Release and International Conference on Women, Peace and Security in Afghanistan

Report release 9th of November

Missing the Target - A report on the Swedish commitment for women, peace and security in Afghanistan

The protection of women's human rights was used to legitimize the military intervention in Afghanistan 2001. Sweden, among other countries, has emphasized the importance of women's rights and participation in order to reach a sustainable peace in the country. Next year Afghanistan will become the largest recipient of Swedish bilateral development aid.

Does Sweden have a vision and strategies to stick to its commitments towards Afghan women in the changing military setting? Or do we risk seeing another sell-out of women's rights in change for other priorities in the international arena?

Three Swedish NGOs are launching a unique, extensive study on the impact of Sweden's efforts to implement UN resolution 1325 on women, peace and security in Afghanistan. Participating at the launch conference are Afghan women rights advocates, representatives from Sida, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swedish Armed Forces, as well as Swedish parliamentarians.

Time: 9th of November 2012, 9am – 3pm.

Please see the attached program here

Place: Hilton Stockholm Slussen Hotel, Guldgränd 8

About the Report: The report has been commissioned by a consortium of Swedish NGOs consisting of Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA), the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation and Operation 1325. The objective is to analyse Sweden's role in Afghanistan, based on its National Action Plan (NAP) for the implementation of UNSCR 1325.

About the author: Ann Wilkens is former Swedish ambassador to Pakistan and Afghanistan (2003-07) and former chair of SCA (2007-09). She is also a member of the Advisory Panel of the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) and has published a number of papers and reports on the Pakistan/Afghanistan region.

International guest speakers: Jamila Omar, director of Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium (HRRAC) and Mahbouba Seraj, founder and director of the Organization for Research in Peace and Solidarity, and president of Afghan Women's Network (AWN).

For registration, please e-mail your name, title, organization and address to: seminar@sak.se

You will receive a confirmation email. The registration and seminar is free of charge, although a fee of 200 SEK will be charged in case of no show.

For questions please contact:

Charlotte Pruth, Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation charlotte.pruth@kvinnatillkvinna.se, tel. +46 (0)70 672 4009

Disa Kammars Larsson, Operation 1325 disa.kammars-larsson@operation1325.se, tel. +46 (0) 73 091 8850

Daniel Palin, Swedish Committee for Afghanistan daniel.palin@sak.se, tel. +46 (0)8 545 818 54