Implementing Resolution 1325 in Liberia: Reflections of women’s associations
This report is based on a small study on women’s organisations in Liberia, which sought to document the impact of Resolution 1325 on the strategies and activities of women’s organisations in Liberia.
‘Long before Resolution 1325 came into being, we were already doing 1325.’
With the launching of its Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2009, Liberia became the first post-conflict country with a National Action Plan (NAP) to implement Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. The significance of the resolution is that it urges the international community and UN Member States to enhance women’s participation in peace processes. Liberia’s NAP is expected to sustain and enhance women’s peacebuilding efforts and take decisive steps towards gender equality and sustainable peace in Liberia. At the same time, women activists in Liberia are quick to point out that long before Resolution 1325 was adopted women’s activism played an important and visible role in bringing an end to Liberia’s civil war.
The direct involvement of women in peacebuilding activities raised awareness of their own capacities and potential to build a sustainable and peaceful society that is inclusive to women. As such, Liberia’s women’s organisations and networks embody a significant amount of practical peacebuilding knowledge and experience. In a sense, Liberia’s women’s organisations are leading the way with respect to working with Resolution 1325 within a challenging post-conflict environment. The question is whether, and to what extent, Resolution 1325 is strengthening or facilitating women’s peacebuilding efforts in Liberia.
Under the auspices of the Initiative for Peacebuilding, International Alert conducted a relatively small study on women’s organisations in Liberia to address this question. The primary focus of the research was to generate a tentative assessment of how and to what extent women’s organisations are utilising Resolution 1325 in their work and how the resolution is shaping their strategies and activities.
