NIGERIA: Nigeria Launches UN's Action Plan on Women, Peace, Security

NIGERIA is set to launch national action plan for full implementation of the United Nations' Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women, peace and security. The event, which will take place on Tuesday, at the National Women for Development Centre, Abuja, is expected to bring together various stakeholders from the 36 states of the country, international donor agencies, civil society organisations, United Nations, with Ministry of Women Affairs as key driver.

Nigerian Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP), a programme funded by the Department For International Development (DFID), is supporting the Nigerian government on drafting, implementation and monitoring of UNSCR Resolution 1325.

The United Nations (UN) Security Council, on October 31, 2000, unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security (SCR 1325), which was historical and unprecedented. It marked the first time the security council addressed the disproportionate, as well as the unique impact of armed conflict on women, by recognising the under-valued or under-utilised contributions women make to conflict prevention, peacekeeping, conflict resolution and peace-building; it stressed the importance of women's equal and full participation as active agents of peace and security.

NSRP's objectives also included bringing about peace through increased participation of women and girls in peace initiatives and reduction of prevalence and impact of violence against women and girls. It is in this light that NSRP is partnering with the Ministry of Women Affairs to launch the Nigeria's national action plan on women, peace and security.

The initiative represents an important opportunity to make significant progress on the issues of women and seeks to ensure that women participate actively in preventing conflict and peace building in Nigeria.