resolution 1325: does it make any difference?

As women in Armenia renew efforts to secure their role in politics, Seda Muradyan examines the challenges they confront, from flowers in place of debate, to systemic corruption.

Twenty-two parties recently signed a document making proposals for Armenia's electoral code, to broaden women's access to politics. It suggests a 25 percent quota for women in party lists, up from the current provision of only 3 percent. But the chances of any real change emerging may be slim, given lack of support from two of the largest factions in government.

Lily Thapa is campaigning for a seat at the peace table, on behalf of the widows and wives of the missing, who make up many of the surviving victims of a conflict which has claimed over thirteen thousand lives in the last decade (first published on 8 June 2006)

Since the first two years following the invasion of Iraq, when many women attained positions of political power and recognition, Iraqi women have seen a dramatic reversal in their fortunes. For a recent high-level international conference at Wilton Park on women's participation in peace-building and decision-making, Iraq is a crucial case where United Nations Resolution 1325 should be making a difference to women's involvement in security and politics. But Hanaa Edwar Busha, one of the founders of the Iraqi Women's Network (IWN), describes a constant struggle on the ground, from obstruction at the highest political levels to violence and intimidation in the streets.

One of a dozen or so grassroots activists who have flown in to bring firsthand expertise, Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls has travelled twenty hours from Fiji to Sussex for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office's historic conference on UN Resolution 1325 for women's participation in conflict resolution and decision-making – the first event of its kind the Foreign Office has hosted on gender issues. Currently secretary of Fiji's National Council of Women, Sharon has worked with many organisations over the years, to include women in Fiji's political life and tap their contribution to peace.

Maysoon al-Damluji returned to her homeland for a week in May 2003, and stayed for two and a half years. She tells Rosemary Bechler about why she stayed, and her work with Iraq’s women’s movement.

Shortly after 11 September 2001, George Bush urged US citizens to watch Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s film, Kandahar, set in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Why? Cynthia Weber investigates the president’s and the filmmaker’s visions of Afghanistan and Afghan women.

After monitoring September’s elections in Afghanistan, Emma Bonino remains hopeful about the country’s future, if women can share in it as equal partners.

Adopted in 1979 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) – the most far-reaching international commitment of governments working for gender equality – was the first international human-rights instrument to explicitly define all forms of discrimination against women as fundamental human-rights violations. As of April 2005, 180 states have ratified CEDAW, interpreting their treaty obligations in diverse ways ranging from reluctance to active incorporation.

In part one, ‘The birth of gender vision’, Susanne Zwingel told the story of CEDAW’s development and its interpretation by different countries.

Adopted in 1979 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) – the most far-reaching international commitment of governments working for gender equality – was the first international human-rights instrument to explicitly define all forms of discrimination against women as fundamental human-rights violations. As of April 2005, 180 states have ratified CEDAW, interpreting their treaty obligations in diverse ways ranging from reluctance to active incorporation.

The birth of a Convention

UN Resolution 1325 on women and peace-building presents a complex challenge for the international community. It identifies two distinct groups of women with a role to play in peace-building and reconstruction: those on the ground in areas of insecurity and those in global discussions on security issues, in positions of influence and who are peace-builders from the outside.

Women from around the world are meeting at the UN in New York to lobby for the full implementation of UN SCR 1325. Our Women Making a Difference bloggers make their proposals for the UN and EU.

Sexual violence is not merely a “by-product” but an integral and widespread part of conflict. Nicola Dahrendorf reports from the Democratic Republic of Congo, on a major humanitarian challenge.

In 1999, International Alert with the support of over 200 organisations worldwide, launched a global campaign – Women Building Peace: From the Village Council to the Negotiating Table – to raise international awareness and secure a resolution from the UN Security Council highlighting women’s peace-building roles and contributions. Through the joint efforts of NGOs, UNIFEM and supporting member states, the push for the adoption of UNSC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security succeeded in October 2000. Rosemary Bechler talks to International Alert’s Senior Policy Advisor, Nicola Johnston-Coeterier.

openDemocracy: Why is UN Resolution 1325 worth working on?

Five years ago, two important events occurred. The UN Security Council adopted resolution 1325, demanding that member states increase the representation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional and international institutions and mechanisms for the prevention, management and resolution of conflict.

And the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on the participation of women in peaceful conflict resolution, demanding that member states include at least 40% women in all reconciliation, peace-keeping, peace-enforcement, peace-building and conflict preventive posts – including fact-finding and observer missions.

Can women make a difference to peace and security?

Yes, if the rhetoric about including women is translated into reality. Before suggesting how, I must make three qualifications. First, I am Australian and have worked in Northern Ireland during 1990, from 1994-1999 and since 2004. Personally, it is not possible to live in a divided society that is inherently violent and where patriarchal attitudes and values pervade everyday living (despite progressive equality legislation) without feeling committed to working toward change. Yet in a place where identity markers define both exclusion and inclusion, it is not easy to work as an ‘inside-outsider’, living in the culture, aware of its limitations and possibilities, yet always being conscious of being different in a culture where diversity is not yet celebrated.

As one of the sponsors of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000, I am glad openDemocracy is taking the fifth anniversary of its adoption to assess its value, examine how well it has been implemented and discuss its implications for the role women must come to play in the national sphere and in global society.

The UN Security Council is not responsible for social issues. It is strictly responsible only for matters of international peace and security. As the UN’s most effective and most politically active intergovernmental institution, it both has enormous influence and raises hackles in various places. In introducing a wide-ranging text on gender issues, we were taking something of a risk. But the events of the 1990s produced volumes of evidence of the suffering caused to women and families by the breakdown of law and order, especially in the developing world, and pointed to the potential of women in resolving conflict and in turning round social and economic chaos. There were intakes of breath from the more traditional corners of the UN when they saw what we were attempting, but the UK Mission, bolstered by a gender issues expert from the UK’s Department for International Development, gained invaluable support from Security Council colleagues such as Canada and the Netherlands; and the United States and France also came on board to strengthen the work.

Why are women absent and warlords present when conflict-torn societies sit down for talks and rebuilding after war? Lesley Abdela charts the progress of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and calls for more action to involve women in politics.

Women must reassess their political progress and achievements if they are to transform mainstream politics. Srilatha Batliwala sizes up the challenge.