How national action plans are generally weak was discussed during the Stockholm 1325 conference. Photo: Anna Erlandson

Madeleine Rees, Secretary General of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, WILPF brings up the challenge of making sure that civil women’s voices are not only considered, but also fully understood on a policy level.
She uses experiences from post-war Bosnia concerning the low participation of women in the tribunal of Haag as an example.

Women who had been displaced, without any means to feed their children, simply had no time to worry about policy issues. Pressing charges for having been exposed to sexual violence was no priority for them. Before considering legal actions the first necessary steps were to ensure women’s socio-economic rights. Madeleine Rees states that, while there is no actual need to “reclaim 1325”, neither nations nor civil society use the resolution efficiently enough.

“NAPs are Generally Very Weak”
Onstage is also Jan Fritz, “the seminar’s reality checker” as moderator Petra Tötterman Andorff  calls the sociology professor from the University of Cincinnati. Fritz has done research on the National Action Plans (NAP) with two of her graduate students. They went through heavy UN paperwork to produce a useful document for people wanting to launch a creation or revision of their NAPs. They point out ideas, weaknesses and left-out details. The NAPs are generally very weak. If you say you should do something without stating when or how much, you have a problem.

“The NAPs are generally very weak. If you say you should do something without stating when or how much, you have a problem.”
(Jan Fritz researcher from the University of Cincinnati, who has revised most of the worlds’ national action plans for implementing resolution 1325.)

When the conference participants take part in the discussion, the actual need of NAPs is questioned. The concern that the NAPs might become alibis for states to hide behind and take energy from practical work is voiced. Another participant completely disagrees: It is very important for civil society to have something written in their own language by their own government. It enforces the possibility to say “you said this”.

Exclusion is Never Protection
Another important issue is that of what the 1325 resolution should cover. One conference participant argues that in some countries the participation of women is obstructed by their lack of education, and such issues should therefore be included. Another participant means that if stretched too wide the resolution will be dangerously weakened. The discussion lands in an agreement that 1325 cannot stand on its own but must be complemented.

An Amnesty representative directs some self-criticism to the weak language sometimes used in the discussion. The real answer to why participation of women is such a hard part is that it is, when it comes down to it, a change of the power structures. We do not say that often enough. Iraq, where women were told by international troops to stay home for safety, is used as a way to start discussions.
”The troops thought it was a good method to keep the women safe. To point out how that is wrong may open for discussion. We must show that exclusion of women never may be equal to protection.”

Elin Andersson

Lars Jalmert and Bakhtyar Salih discussed the relevance of that men get involved in realising resolution 1325 - that men live better lives in an equal world. Photo: Anna Erlandson

Moderator Mikael Olsson, host of the radio show “Conflict”, National Swedish Radio, opened the seminar underlining very few men visited the conference. He then asked the three seminar participants what first came to their mind when they heard of the theme of the seminar.

Krister Eduards from Men for Gender Equality said engaging men in gender issues is what they do in his organisation. It started about 20 years ago and is a daughter organisation to Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, a Swedish organisation. It has about 350 members and works to engage men fighting male violence.

The Privileged Must Change
Lars Jalmert, professor at Stockholm University said the participation of men is a prerequisite for the success of implementing the resolution.

“The privileged ones do not see their own privileges, therefore they do not understand that they must change to be able to get a better life,”  he added.

1325 is Dismissed as a Woman IssueWhen Bakhtyar Salih from Iraq was studying law at the university he saw the two different worlds women and men live in and started to engage in gender issues. He sees as a problem that 1325 often is dismissed as a woman issue.

“Iraq is now filled with war and violence. Before the war there were many projects focusing on women’s rights. Now there are other forces in Iraq which do not work to decrease violence against women. How could we convince men to participate in the work?” Bakhtyar Salih asked.

Before the war there were many projects focusing on women’s rights. Now there are other forces in Iraq which do not work to decrease violence against women.
(Bakhtyar Salih Project Coordinator, Civil Development Organization, Iraq)

The number of men interested in gender issues has increased, but it is still very hard to get more people engaged in the issue, said  Lars Jalmert. At the university he said he teaches about gender structures.

Sometimes men listen, but often they tend to individualise and claim that women and men are equal since they themselves do not violate women, Lars Jalmert said.

“We have to enlighten people about norms and standards still existing in society – so that they may change. We have to show these men that they will get better lives in an equal society.”

Focus has Shifted from Macho men to Young Men
Krister Eduards informed one of the members of the audience that Kvinna till Kvinna and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, WILPF welcome men to participate as members.

As far as his own organisation is concerned he said the focus has changed a bit over time, to become more effective.
“I have given up trying to change macho men’s attitudes. Instead I focus on young men.”

He also said Sweden is a peaceful culture, but that men here lack willingness to accept true gender justice. For instance, Krister Eduards said, it is easy for men to oppose violence but hard to accept equal salaries.
Bakhtyar Salih said that in Iraq he works with changing typical gender roles and focuses on conservative forces in the country. The best strategy is to strengthen NGOs in their work towards the government. It is important that men engage in active and strong organisations.

“In the end it is men’s engagement in gender issues which is important. Everyone has to come together and make the change,” Bakhtyar Salih said.

Start Early to Teach about Gender Equality
At the end of the seminar conference participants joined a discussion about concrete solutions and how to argue against those who do not believe at all in engaging men in gender issues.

To start early in school with teaching about gender equality was one idea. Several conference participants thought it would be a good idea to establish a special prize similar to that of which Beena Sebastian, Founder of the Cultural Academy for Peace, Kerala, India, talked about earlier during the conference: To give an award to men who had made something special for equality. In India one prize winner had become gender conscious in his work.

Josefine Malm

Participants at the men Seminar

• Bakhtyar Salih, Project Coordinator, Civil Development Organization, Iraq
• Krister Eduards, Board Member, Men for Gender Equality, Sweden
• Lars Jalmert, Professor at Stockholm University

Carolyn Hannan is sceptical about all the time-consuming work done around indicators to follow resolution-1325 work. Photo: Anna Erlandson

In a very critical talk at the Stockholm International Conference on resolution 1325, Carolyn Hannan, a former UN official, highlighted the dynamics of the UN Security Council’s gender-related policies.

“For every good example at the Security Council, there is always a ‘but’,” said Hannan.

Carolyn Hannan is the Former Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women at the UN and has worked widely in the areas of advocacy and policy development for gender equality, especially with regard to the UN.

It is clear that gender issues, especially women and security risks, are very much infant in the security council agenda, according to the former UN official. It was only recognised in the mid 1970s and then at a very low level. In fact, it was only realised thanks to pressure from women’s movements across the globe.

On October 31^st 2000, the security council passed a historical resolution on women, peace and security. It reaffirmed “the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and stressed the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security.”

Despite Numerous Gender Debates Implementation has Failed
Carolyn Hannan emphasised the achievements of the security council 10 years on passing resolution 1325.

“There has been an increase of attention to Gender Equality in the security council,” she said.
The council has arranged numerous debates, meetings with NGOs, statements and most importantly three additional resolutions that deal with women and gender issues.  However, the security council and member states have failed to implement resolution 1325. Carolyn Hannan argued that the problem especially lies with the “lack of commitments from the leadership and member states. They need to be more creative in implementing 1325.”

Similarly, there is a need for effective policies that would lead to actions on the ground.

“The reports on what needs to be done are becoming poorer and are not good enough,” said Carolyn Hannan, Former Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women at the UN.

Create mechanisms to evaluate the implementation
The member states need to put pressure on the security council to create a sustainable mechanism of evaluating the implementation of 1325. Some of these mechanisms include the National Action Plans to implement 1325 for countries which have ratified the resolution.

Sceptical about Indicators
There has also been work done to create a set of indicators.
“I am sceptical about indicators as means of making sure 1325 is implemented because they are time consuming,” Carolyn Hannan stated.

As a passionate and experienced policy-maker, Carolyn Hannan sees the best
way to combat the challenges facing implementing 1325 as “reclaiming the resolution”.

Senia Bachir Abderahman

Hannan: Previously with OECD/DAC Working Party on Gender Equality
1992-1998: Senior Policy Advisor on Gender Equality in the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
1995-1997: Chair of the OECD/DAC Working Party on Gender Equality
Past two years: Principal Officer for Gender Mainstreaming in the Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues at the United Nations in New York

“Women are still there more as a matter of form than in substance, especially in peace negotiations," says Mavic Cabrera-Balleza of the Global Network of Women Peace Builders. Photo: Anna Erlandson

The Global Network of Women Peace Builders, GNWP is an international network working for the implementation of resolution 1325.
Its international coordinator, Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, participated in the Stockholm International Conference on 1325 and presented her reflections on the resolution.

GNWP is a coalition of NGOs and women groups from all over the world. The range of their work is broad; they provide medical services, maintain shelters and work with psychosocial issues and legal matters. By using media, they are also raising awareness on women related issues.

Members Work on Implementing all Resolutions Concerning Women
The uniting theme for all members is the advocacy of the full implementation of resolution 1325, 1820 and other security council resolutions concerning women. One of their aims is the development of national action plans. In this regard, they have done much work in countries like Sierra Leone, Burundi and Sri Lanka.

Mavic Cabrera-Balleza highlights some of the global network’s positive achievements, for example regional progress in Africa like the African Protocol on Human Rights. The protocol was created by the African Union, and now includes a chapter on women in armed conflicts. West African countries have also made a declaration on the implementation of resolution 1325. In Asia Pacific representatives have been assigned to look at the actions on this issue.

“There is still more to be done in bridging the gap between policy-talking and policy-doing,”    Mavic Cabrera-Balleza states.

Women Make up Seven Percent of Peace Negotiations
Women are still a very small part of official peace negotiation, only seven percent of the participants are women, according to Cabrera-Balleza.

This is despite the fact that women play an important role locally. It is when negotiations come to a higher level women disappear.

“Women are still there more as a matter of form than in substance, especially in peace negotiations”, Mavic Cabrera-Balleza says.

This situation must be changed, and there is also a need for a renewal of the terms peace and security. Currently peace and security usually go together with defense and military.

”Currently peace and security usually go together with defense and military,” says Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, International Coordinator of the Global Network of Women Peace Builders

Anna Hakami

High Level Member of Committee on the Status of Women
– New York
As the International Coordinator of the Global Network of Women Peace Builders, GNWP , Mavic Cabrera-Balleza is responsible for the coordination and implementation of projects and programs developed through direct consultation with GNWP members.

She was the coordinator of the International Women’s Tribune Centre and their Human Security and Peace Building Program.
She is a member of the Executive Committee of the UN NGO Committee on the Status Women – New York.
She is a member of the Coordinating Committee of the Global NGO Forum on Beijing +15.

“Were there any women at all in the peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine? No.” “In Sudan? No.” Yet the UN Security Council is saying nothing about this, Madeleine Rees said. Photo: Anna Erlandson

Resolution 1325 does not say anything we did not know of before, says Madeleine Rees. She asks provocatively “Are we getting more women to the peace tables?” “Were there any women at all in the peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine? No.” “In Sudan? No.” Yet the UN Security Council is saying nothing about this. There is certainly a big gap between the views of the Security Council and the NGOs.

To make resolution 1325 a reality Madeleine Rees offers several ideas of what should be done.

• We must redefine security and separate the humanitarian aid from the military.
• Grassroots organisations that work with the resolution must be better funded.
• We should pinpoint what constitutes security and work towards disarmament.
• We have to work harder at allowing women to actively participate in the processes of prevention of war and protection from violence.

Now 10 years after the adoption of resolution 1325, some think that it is a failure. But something that has strengthened the women’s struggle is that women can use the resolution in practice and say: “We are supposed to be here!” For women in Bosnia the resolution was something to grab a hold of when they demanded their place in the peace negotiations.

Now 10 years after the adoption of 1325 …women can use the resolution in practice and say: “We are supposed to be here!” For women in Bosnia the resolution was something to grab a hold of when they demanded their place in the peace negotiations.
(Madeleine Rees, former Gender Expert at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bosnia-Herzegovina, now President of WILPF.)

One fundamental approach is to make sure that money and resources reach women; women are those who will implement resolution 1325 by using human rights as basis for their work.

Anna Hakami

Ex-Gender Expert in Bosnia-Herzegovina

• Currently the Secretary General of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, WILPF
• Has worked for the Commission for Racial Equality and the Equal Opportunities Commission.
• Has worked as Gender Expert at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Has worked as head of the Women’s Rights and Gender Unit within the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR.

Sudanese Women during Stockholm 1325-Conference

Amel Taha, Rita Martin, Sara Elgieli Alrahim and Wifag Ibrahim represent four different human rights organisations in Sudan. They all have different backgrounds but work for the same main cause, to involve women in the democratic processes in Sudan and to spread awareness to the Sudanese women about their own rights all over their vast nation.

Important to Educate Women about Rights
Rita Martin works for EVE Organization, which is formed by female university students with the purpose of supporting less fortunate women in getting an education.

”Women need to have an education on different levels to be able to take part in governmental issues and decision making. This is really hard to accomplish since Sudanese women have to struggle so hard just to make their everyday life work,” Rita Martin says.
Amel Taha agrees.
”As a lawyer I think that educating women in their legal rights is crucial. Most women are not aware at all of their own human rights.”

”As a lawyer I think that educating women in their legal rights is crucial. Most women are not aware at all of their own human rights.”

Resolution Needs to be Translated and Broadcasted
All four women agree on the fact that spreading information about 1325 is very important, and also very hard because of language difficulties. Sara Elgieli Alrahim thinks that cooperation between different organisations is the key for solving this.
”If we could just have the resolution translated into all different Sudanese languages we could spread it by broadcasting. Many women can’t read, but most people listen to the radio so we could easily reach them that way.”

Poverty – Biggest Hurdle
Sudanese women are also in great need of economic resources; poverty must be defeated before women of Sudan can be educated and take part in the peace process. Sara Elgieli Alrahim tells about a successful project which she has been working on.

”We started a women association in a small and poor society. We provided the women with seed for them to grow in the fields. With money from the harvest the first year they were able to buy tools for increasing next year’s harvest which generated twice as much money as the first one. Now the men want to join as well,” she says and laughs.

All four women agree that projects which generate activity and income are very positive. However, they also share many bad experiences from other projects.
”Sometimes I just get very, very tired. I feel like we are so much behind the rest of the world. We are still struggling with just the basic needs,” says Rita Martin.

So what motivates these women to go on with their work in Sudan?
”The big gap between Sudan and most other countries, we need to move forward,” Rita Martin says.

”Seeing women suffer. This is the same everywhere. And we want to support them,” says Wifag Ibrahim.

Ida Nordén

Four Organisations Participated from Sudan
Amel Taha, Mutawinat
Rita Martin, EVE Organization
Sara Elgieli Alrahim, NIDAA
Wifag Ibrahim, HOPD

http://bit.ly/amnestyreportage