UNIFEM and leading women and civil society organisations in Pakistan organised “Open Day 1325” here the other day to mark the 10th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. The resolution, unanimously adopted on October 31, 2000, has a special significance that stresses the necessity to involve women in conflict prevention, peace building and post-conflict reconstruction. It provides a watershed political framework that makes women – and a gender perspective – relevant to negotiating peace agreements, planning refugee camps and peacekeeping operations and reconstructing war-torn societies.
Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Assistance to Pakistan, Jean Maurice Ripert, met with women peace groups to build dialogue on women, peace and security that will contribute to better implementation of this important resolution. The Open Day was organised in 20 countries simultaneously. The outcomes of the meetings will be communicated to the Security Council in October 2010 so that it could be informed about the needs and concerns of women in conflict and crisis.
“This anniversary is an opportunity to reaffirm the core message of that landmark text: sustainable peace is possible only with women's full participation — their perspectives, their leadership, their daily, equal presence wherever we seek to make and keep the peace,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in a message. The UNSCR 1325 includes a number of requests for action to the United Nations in general and the Security Council and its member states, such as Pakistan, in particular, as well as to parties to armed conflict.
