|
Policy and advocacy
The unanimous adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security was the first time that the United Nations Security Council acknowledged that women have a key role in promoting sustainable peace. With its partners in civil society, governments and international organisations, International Alert played an important role in advocating for SCR 1325. Since the resolution was passed in 2000, we have worked to advocate for its coherent implementation by the UN system, member states and other international actors.
Download Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
Read more on Key International Policies and Legal Mechanisms: Women’s Rights in the Context of Peace and Security
Despite the progress made towards implementing SCR 1325, gender has still not been effectively mainstreamed in peace and security processes. Alert’s advocacy will be targeted at key policymakers and will seek to have an impact through influencing them to make peace and security policy more responsive to peacebuilding priorities identified by women operating at a local level. In addition to incorporating a gender perspective into their policies, Alert will also provide guidance and strategies focused on practical implementation.
Alert does this in several ways:
- Monitoring peacebuilding policy and practice from a gender perspective, at various levels including the UN, the EU, the UK and conflict affected countries.
- Communicating the findings and recommendations from the consultations and workshops that we hold with women in conflict-affected countries to policy makers at regional and global levels so that grassroots perspectives are taken into consideration when policy is formulated.
- Conducting issue-based and context-specific policy research on themes central to the implementation of SCR 1325, such as economic insecurity, gender-based violence and transitional justice, and the role these issues play in women’s ability to participate in peacebuilding
- Facilitating and accompanying women from conflict-affected regions to present key peacebuilding issues and needs to international policy makers and practitioners.
There are mechanisms for implementing SCR 1325 at local, national, regional and
international levels, and civil society is an active resource from local to global, linking
policy to practice at every level. Alert is involved in bridging the disconnect between the realities women are facing on the ground and those of policymakers from the UN
Security Council to the European Commission and the Peacebuilding Commission, as well as individual governments.Our policy and advocacy work is largely conducted through partnerships and networks with other civil society actors.
- At the UN, we work through the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, which promotes a gender perspective and respect for human rights in all peace and security, conflict prevention and management and peacebuilding initiatives of the United Nations.
- At the EU level, Alert works in collaboration with the Gender, Peace and Security working group of the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office.
- In the UK, International Alert works with Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS), to promote gender mainstreaming in the UK government’s peacebuilding policies.
Some examples of recent advocacy events that Alert has been involved in include:
- March 2008: In conjuction with Members of the European Parliament, EPLO organised a roundtable to bring national experts and civil society representatives together to share their experiences and expertise on developing National Action Plans (NAPs) on the implementation of SCR 1325. A key aim of the event was to provide valuable lessons learned for countries currently or imminently engaging in the process of developing or updating their NAPs as well as set the stage for future discussions on how to more effectively involve women and integrate their priorities into peacebuilding. Click here to access the event report
- June 2007: International Alert and the NGO Working Group organised a roundtable focused on the gender dimension of peacebuilding in Sierra Leone and Burundi, with the aim of influencing the members of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), as well as UN agencies and the national government in those countries. Participants heard directly from leading Burundian and Sierra Leonean women peacebuilders as part of a wider effort to enhance communication between local women’s organisations and decision-makers. Click here to access the event report.
- March 2007: Alert participated in and helped to organize a panel discussion with GAPS and the High Commission for Canada on involving men in the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325. It focused on how and why SCR 1325 is relevant to men, as well as broader efforts to build sustainable peace. The event also explored strategies to increase men’s engagement with work around SCR 1325 at the UK and international levels. Click here to access the event report.
Links (these links will open in a new window)
For more information
contact Karen Barnes
Back to top
Last updated: February 2006
|
