INITIATIVE: Amid tensions in the Korean peninsula, GPPAC members in South Korea are contributing to the process to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security

* all names mentioned in this article are written in East Asian style, with the first name following the family name.

While recent news have predominantly focused on rising tensions in the Korean Peninsula, members of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) have been involved in developments that might soon lead to the country's adoption of a National Action Plan (NAP) on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) related to Women Peace and Security.

The South Korean National Assembly adopted a resolution on 27 February 2012, urging the government to adopt a National Action Plan on UN SCR 1325. Following this, a NAP was drafted by the government, and subsequent reviews by civil society leaders were organized in January and March 2013.

As part of this process, a Civil Society 1325 Network was formed on 16 January 2013, in order to promote the adoption of a National Action Plan on 1325 in South Korea, to promote related recommendations from civil society groups to the public and the government, and to ask the South Korean government for good governance with civil society on implementation of UNSCR 1325. As of 20 April 2013 the Network includes ten womens' and civil society groups including Korean Women's Association United, Women Making Peace, Korea Women's Hot Line, YWCA of Korea, and Korea Women's Political Solidarity. The Network is coordinated by Women Making Peace, a founding member of GPPAC Northeast Asia, corepresented by GPPAC Northeast Asia Gender Focal Point Jung Gyunglan. Jung has been active in GPPAC gender related activities, with the exchange of experiences relating to implementation of 1325 and introduction of National Action Plans in other regions around the world giving important insight and advice to be fed into the process now ongoing in South Korea.

Through its network of Gender Focal Points, GPPAC enhances national, regional and global advocacy for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security, with strong emphasis on the need to recognize the active roles women are playing in conflict prevention initiatives around the world. To this end, GPPAC organizes an annual round of events every October in New York, in order to connect local experiences from conflict settings with New York-based stakeholders, civilsociety partners and global media.

Jung Gyunglan has shared her analysis of South Korea's recent developments to implement women peace and security commitments in October 2012 events in New York facilitated by GPPAC, and GPPAC is continuing to facilitate exchange and cooperation between actors around the world involved in such processes.

The Civil Society 1325 Network in South Korea co-organized on 10 April 2013 the first ever forum gathering members of Parliament, national government officials and civil society to discuss potential collaboration on a 1325 National Action Plan (NAP). The event offered a space for participatory discussion, including raising questions and concerns on the latest draftof a 1325 NAP from March 2013. Further collaboration will also potentially be organized through a joint Working Group on the Action Plan, also involving civil society.

This public event, titled “Forum for Implementing UN SCR 1325 and Adopting a ROK National Action Plan on UN SCR 1325” was co-organized by the 1325 Network, the Parliamentarian Research Forum for Democracy and WelfareCountry. Chaired by MP Namyoon Insoon, presenters at the event included Second Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lee Joowon, who presented the meaning and process of developing a South Korean National Action Plan on UN SCR 1325, and GPPAC member Jung Gyunglan, who presented civil society recommendations on a South Korean NAP on UN SCR 1325. Other discussants included representatives from the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Unification, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and academia.

Videos on the event (in Korean) are available here:
http://maroni.co/xe/34975