This statement is a result of a Nordic civil society cooperation and project by Operation 1325, 1325 Forum Norway, 1325 Network Finland and WILPF Denmark funded by The Nordic Council of Ministers. These demands are based on strategies and recommendations formulated by the Nordic civil society when meeting at Nordiskt Forum Malmö 2014 and endorsed by a number of participating organisation and networks. For more information please contact Disa Kammars. Larsson at disa.kammars-larsson@operation1325.se.
«To the governments of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland: Joint statement by Nordic civil society actors working for Women, Peace and Security and the implementation of United Nation’s Security Council Resolution 1325 in the Nordic countries «
Nordiskt Forum Malmö 15th June, 2014
The United Nation’s Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on Women, Peace and Security in 2000. It addresses not only the impact of war on women, but recognizes the central role that women play in conflict prevention, resolution, and recovery. Yet today, women’s participation in peace processes is strikingly low and at the peace table they are conspicuously underrepresented. The resolutions following resolution 13251 have primarily emphasized the issue of women as victims of sexual violence in conflicts. As a result, the awareness around these issues has grown, however, much at the expense of a focus on women’s participation.
All the UN member states are obliged to implement UNSCR 1325 and the Nordic countries were among the first to develop national action plans as a way to achieve coherent implementation. However, according to a new study2 the Nordic action plans lack systematic implementation. Many of the action plans lack adequate human and financial resource and their objectives are at a rather abstract level. The civil society should have a central role as partner to governments and function as a watchdog for the national implementation. Yet, in several of the Nordic countries, civil society organisations are underfinanced and not included in the government’s work in an adequate way. In order to remain at the forefront, it is time to step up our efforts and unite for new and more decisive actions.
We, Nordic civil society organisations working on UNSCR 1325, call upon the Nordic governments to:
- Revise and strengthen the national action plans in a transparent process that includes input from the civil society and implementing actors. The action plans must be evidence-based and include clear objectives and activities, defined time frames, earmarked funding and result-driven mechanisms for evaluation. Moreover, in order to capture progress towards the achievement of the stated goals, each action plan should include SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) indicators.
- Share the responsibility of implementation between the different government departments and make sure that the ministries have clear responsibilities, division of labor and adequate human resources.
- Require all relevant agencies, including ministries, to annually report their efforts to implement UNSCR 1325 and set up a civil society-government task force to review and monitor the implementation of the national action plans.
- Appoint an ambassador for UNSCR 1325 within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, responsible for coordinating the implementation of the national action plans.
- Make sure Nordic delegations and Ministries for Foreign Affairs in diplomatic relations, including within the UN and the EU, actively raise the importance of UNSCR 1325 and demand women’s participation in all peace negotiations and peace processes.
- Lead by example to ensure women’s equal representation at all levels of diplomatic and peacekeeping operations. Such a policy requires governmental agencies to intensify efforts to recruit and train women for international peacekeeping operations, so that women are equally represented at all levels, including at the senior and management level.
- Put pressure on the United Nations to appoint a special representative with an earmarked budget for the implementation of the whole UNSCR 1325 agenda, ensuring that the need for women’s participation in peace and security is emphasized alongside the important work of the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict.
- Increase long term and core funding of civil society organizations, national and international, working on UNSCR 1325.
Endorsed by:
Operation 1325
Forum Norway 1325
1325 Network Finland
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Denmark
The Icelandic Coordination group on 1325
The PDF file Joint statement from Nordic civil society organisations on UNSCR1325
1 Resolution 1820, 1888, 1889, 1960, 2106, 2122
2 Jukarainen, P. & Puumala, E. The Nordic Implementation of UNSCR 1325 – A comparative Evalutaion (2014). Acaide Oy & 1325 Network Finland
Only in Norwegian, her er Svarbrev fra Utenriksminister Brende til Forum 1325 – 18. august 2014 .
