Resolution 1325 in 2020: Looking Forward…Looking Back

A high-level Seminar entitled “Resolution 1325 in 2020: Looking Forward…Looking Back” is being jointly hosted by ACCORD and the African Union Peace and Security Commission on 8-9 October 2010 at the ICC in Durban, South Africa.

The Seminar brings together eminent participants and speakers from around the globe to advance an Africa-wide strategy for women in Peace and Security for the next decade (2010-2020).

Graca Machel, Chairperson of ACCORD Board of Trustees, will open the event with a keynote address, followed by opening remarks from Amb GS Kudjoe, DDG Africa Multilateral (DIRCO) and Amb. Hawa Ahmed Youssouf, Special Representative of the Chairperson of AU.

Ms. Litha Musyimi-Ogana, Director: Women, Gender and Development Directorate (AUC), and Ms Florence Butegwa (UNIFEM representative to AU) will also address the opening.

On the second day, women from Kenya, Darfur, Liberia and Burundi will share their ‘Experiences in Peace Processes' in a panel discussion.

The Seminar compliments the many international initiatives currently underway on the tenth anniversary of UN Resolution 1325, and seeks to:

Envision what the African Women in Peace and Security agenda must look like in 2020;
Assess the decade since the adoption of UNSCR 1325, and the subsequent related UN Resolutions 1820, 1888 and 1889 with a view to identify the lessons learned, and the gaps that still exist for Africa; and
Evolve an Africa-wide Strategy for Women in Peace and Security to ensure that we reach that vision.
The outcomes of the Seminar will be presented at the African Union launch of the Decade for African Women in Kenya during the second week of October 2010.

The Seminar takes place in the context of the African Union's (AU) declaration of 2010 as the Year of Peace and Security, coupled with the Make Peace Happen Campaign; the declaration by the AU of 2010-2020 as the Decade of the African Women; and the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325

For further information or to confirm attendance please contact Charles Scott, ACCORD Communications, charles@accord.org.za