Report of the Government of the Federal Government of Germany on the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325
The adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 ten years ago – on 31 October 2000 – marks a watershed in the approach to security policy issues in the United Nations. Resolution 1325 represented the first internationally legally binding call for the active involvement of women in all phases of conflict resolution and conflict prevention. The Resolution has since been instrumental in shaping foreign and security policy in the Federal Republic of Germany, in the European Union, in NATO, as well as in other international organizations.
Resolution 1325 contains a very wide spectrum of demands addressed at a variety of stakeholders: the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the member states of the United Nations, parties involved in armed conflicts, donors and facilitators in conflict settings. Its demands include the increased involvement of women in national and international institutions of conflict management, the appointment of more women as Special Representatives of the United Nations Secretary-General, strengthening the role of women in UN peace operations as well as the integration of gender perspectives in United Nations peacekeeping operations and in reconstruction and reintegration programmes. Resolution 1325 points out the responsibility of parties to a conflict to involve women in peacebuilding processes, to respect the rights of women and girls in conflicts and to take specific measures to prevent sexual violence. All parties in peace and conflict management processes are called upon to take into account the special needs of women and girls in conflict settings and in reconstruction processes, to put an end to impunity and to promote women's peace initiatives.
Even if we are still a long way from having implemented all the demands of Resolution 1325, significant progress has been made in the decade since its adoption: Today, UN and EU peacekeeping operations must take women's participation and gender equality into account in all planning and recruiting measures. Three follow-up resolutions of the Security Council on the topic of “Women, Peace and Security” (1820, 1888, 1889) emphasize the significance attached to this set of issues. Resolutions 1820 and 1888 address in particular the protection from sexual violence and the ending of impunity, while Resolution 1889 focuses on the role of women in post-conflict peacebuilding processes. During the anniversary year 2010, numerous events in Germany, at EU level and in the United Nations called attention not only to the significance of the issue, but also to the deficits that have yet to be addressed.
The anniversary year of Resolution 1325 also coincides with a series of developments that will be of significance for the area of “Women, Peace and Security”: In 2010, the United Nations decided to establish a new unit for questions of gender equality, which is to be operative as of early 2011. The issue of women, peace and security also plays a central role in the negotiations on the reform of peacekeeping operations and post-conflict peacebuilding measures. The 2010 assessment of the implementation of the decisions of the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women (“Peking+15”) again emphasized the role of women in security policy, post-conflict peacebuilding and sustainable development.
Resolution 1325 has received considerable attention in Germany as well. To mark the occasion of International Women's day in March 2010, the German Bundestag called upon the Federal Government to advance the implementation of Resolution 1325 by bolstering inter-ministerial cooperation while taking into consideration international experiences with the implementation of the Resolution, and to take advantage of the occasion of the ten-year anniversary of Resolution 1325 to raise awareness of the resolution's contents and its significance among the general public.
Against this background, this Third Report of the Federal Government
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provides an overview of the Federal Government's measures taken in implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 for the time period of July 2007 to July 2010.
A description of German activities the implementation of Resolution 1325 must always take into consideration the fact that many demands of Resolution 1325 (as well as its follow-up Resolutions 1820, 1888, 1889) are directed primarily at states or parties involved in a conflict (e.g. OP 8, OP 9, OP 10, OP 12). Here, the Federal Government can exercise influence through bilateral contacts, through dialogue within the framework of the EU or through multilateral frameworks, for example within the United Nations. Some of the demands are also directed at states who themselves are not party to a conflict (OP 1, OP 6, OP 7, OP 11); in these areas, Germany can become active itself. As to other demands, Germany can realize or promote them through cooperation in and collaboration with the European Union, the United Nations and other international organizations (such as those demands regarding the constitution and organization of peacekeeping operations) or in cooperation with partner countries (e.g. OP 4, OP 5, OP 8, OP 11, OP13).
In order to give a clearer view of what could and should be done on the national and multinational levels, this third report makes use of a new structure which shows German involvement nationally and bilaterally, within the European Union, the United Nations and other international organizations.
Numerous federal ministries are involved in the implementation of Resolution 1325 in these different areas of action. Coordination takes place within the framework of an Inter-Ministerial Working Group. Objectives for the future include constant exchange and closer cooperation, as well as a more intensive dialogue with civil society. The Federal Government's policies must be in line with strategies that were laid out in the EU and the UN, for example, with German participation. In 2010, the United Nations Security Council and the European Union decided on indicators for the implementation of Resolution 1325. Thus, concrete implementation targets were set that are meant to serve as guidelines for organizations and member states and to allow verification of implementation. These indicators provide the framework that should also guide Germany's efforts towards implementation.
Resolution 1325 emphasizes the importance of civil society in the implementation of the Resolution's targets. The Federal Government shares this view and is therefore engaged in a wide-ranging dialogue with civil society, in particular with women's organizations, on Resolution 1325's core issues. This dialogue is taking place in various forums, for example in the conference series “Forum on Global Issues”, put on by the Federal Foreign Office, or in the discussion group “Women and Armed Conflict”, organized by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In the context of international conferences and committee meetings, such as the annual meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women, an exchange of information and opinions is taking place between government representatives and civil society, which is to be expanded in the future.
This report identifies – with a scope extending beyond the description of measures during the reporting period – focal points for the Federal Government's future engagement, and proposes medium-range objectives and indicators for implementation in appropriate fields of action.