Domesticating Security Council Resolution 1325

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The Women’s Peace Table was created in the spirit U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325. Expanding on the Platform for Action that was established in Beijing in 1995, our goal is to link the efforts of WILPF to spearhead a mass effort where women can come together and determine their own priorities and blueprints for governing our country. Throughout the history of the organization, the women behind WILPF have created an environment of political, economic, social and psychological freedom for all members of the human community, so that true peace can be enjoyed by all. It is important for our efforts to be combined so that we can develop a movement that extends beyond WILPF and to other organizations.

For WILPERs around the world, October 31, 2000 is a date of historical significance marking the unanimous adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. WILPF staff based at the United Nation New York office did much of the planning and advocacy for this important document and following its adoption, WILPF played a major role in publicizing and popularizing the innovative strategies outlined in SCR1325.

However, six years later, a review of the research on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 reveals that neither the U.S. government nor its citizens are doing much to implement its provisions in their own county. In addition, very few people in the U.S. have not even heard of it. People from countries across the world have been implementing SCR1325 in their own villages or developing national action plans for their government to implement. While, in the U.S., many of us do not even know what the United Nations does.

Realizing that people in the U.S. have little knowledge of SCR 1325, members of WILPF US should take leadership in filling the need for education. The purpose this webpage is to provide WILPF members and their allies with the tools necessary to educate their communities, friends, family, and elected representatives about the importance of SCR 1325. Developing a knowledge base and encouraging communication is key to operationalizing of SCR1325 in the U.S.

The full text of UN SCR1325 can be found here.
UN SCR1325 was passed on October 31, 2000.
It calls for:

Protection of women and girls and respect for their rights;
Participation of women in peace processes;
Gender training for all involved in peacekeeping operations; and
Gender mainstreaming in the reporting and implementation systems of the United Nations relating to conflict, peace and security.

It is important because:

Women make up more than half the world’s population of the world.
Women typically care for the survival of the family.
Civilian populations are targets in times of war, which are primarily made up of women, children, and elderly.
In refugee camps, women are vulnerable and abuse against them is common.
Women’s voices are rarely heard in times of war but they have different perspectives on conflicts than the men in power have.

We, as U.S. citizens, can advocate in a number of ways to promote 1325 in the U.S. Some action ideas are:

Influence Policy

Write to United Nations Security Council members, all fifteen. Remind them of their commitments to women made in Resolution 1325.
Contact the State Department. Call or email Ms. Charlie Ponticelli, the State Department's Senior Coordinator for International Women's Issues. Phone: (202) 312-9670. Email: PonticelliCM@state.gov
Contact your US representatives and senators, as well as aspiring candidates. Educate them on Resolution 1325 and other existing UN conventions, treaties and resolutions, remind them of their responsibility for implementation, and request information about their ongoing and future actions with regard to Resolution 1325. The contact information for US representatives and senators can be found at: http://www.vote-smart.org
Organize to pass legislation on UNSC Resolution 1325 (2000) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, or CEDAW, (1979) in your city council.

Network and Share Information

Build networks with women's organizations/groups living and working in situations of armed conflict and post-conflict. Visit them and bring the media with you. Hold press conferences, send out reports, and make presentations to policy-makers and the general public upon your return. To contact women’s organizations/groups engaged in this type of work, visit PeaceWomen’s organization database. Support women's peace initiatives with your time and finances. For a country-specific compilation of women’s peace and security initiatives, click here.
Contact groups and organizations that have used Resolution 1325 in their own communities to share strategies and models for action. For more information about other groups using or interested in UNSC Resolution 1325, contact the PeaceWomen team in the WILPF UN Office and we will be happy to try to help facilitate the connection. Contact us at: (212) 682-1265, or email info@peacewomen.org.

Generate Awareness

Organize workshops in your community for local journalists, politicians, community organizations, academia, students, and others to raise awareness about Resolution 1325 and other related UN tools, such as CEDAW.
Teach/take a course on women, peace and security issues, including Resolution 1325.
Organize a media letter-writing group and send weekly/monthly letters to newspaper editors to highlight media coverage of women, peace and security issues.
Develop a Resolution 1325 pamphlet or postcard campaign and circulate it in your community.
Translate Resolution 1325 into your local languages. Send your translation to PeaceWomen for its 1325 Translation Initiative. For more information about this initiative, click here.

Resources on 1325 can be found here (www.peacewomen.org).
If you are interested in doing more work on 1325 in the U.S. contact Kristi at kristi@riseup.net for the UN SCR1325 Workshop for U.S. Activists.