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

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