REPORT FROM THE STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OPERATION 1325 from a Y-WILPFer’s Perspective

Maureen Saduwa

As my flight taxied from Boston Logan International Airport via London Heathrow to Arlanda International Airport in Sweden, I began to review the program of events for the Y-WILPF meeting in Stockholm (October 20-24, 2010). As excited as I was to meet the other participants from different regions of the world, I was also enthusiastic about the Stockholm International Conference on United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, which took place during the week of the Y-WILPF meeting. The conference was organized by the Swedish Organization 1325, a nonprofit partnership of five women and peace organizations. The tenth anniversary of UNSCR 1325 provided a central theme around which the 160 participants from
20 countries could examine the work to date. The delegation included government officials, researchers, policy makers, journalists, and representatives from NGOs. Together, they examined the key challenges and solutions, as well as good and bad practices in the implementation of UNSCR 1325 at community, regional, national, and global levels. Through dialogue, open space, and most especially the use of anecdotes, conference organizers created a participatory environment for everyone to brainstorm on pressing issues. As the conference kicked off, deliberations focused on bridging the gap between policy and practice, the need for benchmarks in charting roadmaps and measuring impact, the need for gender experts in the development arena, advocating UNSCR 1325 at the grassroots level, engaging men to foster the implementation UNSCR 1325, and promoting women as change agents.

Advocates from Sudan, India, and Israel shared their stories of grassroots activism. Rita Martin, from Sudan, works for EVE, a civil society organization based in Juba with the goal of developing educational opportunities for women. She noted that expanding women’s education will likely yield exponential dividends, especially in the political landscape of the war-torn country. With women accounting for approximately 65 percent of the population, it is probable that the huge number of women voters made the landslide victory for secession by the South possible during the referendum. Yet, despite increased literacy levels among women in Sudan, limitations still exist. One example is the area of household labor, which is seen as the sole responsibility of women. This has made it practically impossible for Sudanese women to attend meetings and participate in literacy workshops, as they spend long hours acquiring food, water and fuel for their households.

Beena Sebastian, from India, is the Founder of the Cultural Academy for Peace, in Kerala. She highlighted the effects of the ongoing conflict in the disputed Kashmir region, especially on women and girls. Her story described the ineffectiveness of the judicial system to address injustices faced by victims. Despite the many challenges in India, Beena’s organization is committed to training youth in justice and peace building. The Cultural Academy also works to engage men in the peace building process. I strongly support this strategy, because, as a native of the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria, I easily empathize with Beena. The ongoing conflicts in the Niger-Delta region produce an outstanding number of victims—mainly women and girls. In spite of this, women remain largely underrepresented at the key national institutions that shape conflict prevention and management. To successfully address issues of gender, peace, and security, it is pertinent that all actors, irrespective of belief or gender, participate in decision and policy creation, program implementation and evaluation, and knowledge sharing.

Aliyah Strauss, President of WILPF Israel, took us on a journey to Israel and Palestine. She titled her story, “Better to Laugh than to Cry” and stressed that using humor is an effective method to challenge conflict situations. She gave an example of how the ‘Raging Grannies’ sang at the gates of an Israeli police station to protest the arrest of a fellow advocate, which eventually led to the release of the advocate. The police personnel were amused by their song and found it difficult to hide their amusement. Yet, just like Rita and Beena, Aliyah argued that women in Israel are underrepresented at the peace table, even though research has shown that the participation of women ultimately results in addressing key issues normally considered insignificant by male negotiators. Perhaps that’s why after 20 years of negotiations, the peace process between Israel and Palestine is still in gridlock. Most likely, the inclusion of women peace negotiators would result in a win-win situation for all stakeholders, as argued in one of the parallel sessions. A number of parallel sessions took place in the course of the conference. One of these sessions was organized by WILPF Sweden, titled “Participation is Protection – Time to Reclaim 1325,” featured Secretary General of WILPF Madeleine Rees, who highlighted the need for grassroots women to be heard at the global policy level. She emphasized that women’s socio-economic rights must be addressed to enable them to fully participate at policy levels. Drawing from her experience, she observed that women, especially in post-war situations, are often unable to participate in policy matters, because they face such immediate dangers as food shortages, inadequate shelter, and poor health.

In the course of deliberations, Ximena Correal (a fellow Y-WILPer representing Columbia) and I reviewed the current political situation in Columbia. She acknowledged that women’s underrepresentation in politics has not only worsened their social and economic rights, but has further exacerbated gender inequalities. Currently, WILPF Columbia, in collaboration with other peace activists and organizations, advocates for policy reforms that address gender inequality and women’s political participation. Following this presentation, Ada Joy Onyesoh, the President of WILPF Nigeria, explicitly stated that UNSRC 1325 is still at the global policy stage and yet to be implemented at the grassroots level in Nigeria. Accordingly, she stated that national plans and initiatives do not take UNSCR 1325 into account and women who are supposed to be the beneficiaries are unaware that such tools even exist. Through this conference Ximena and Ada are working towards building their advocacy networks and organizing workshops on UNSCR 1325 in their respective countries.

Without a doubt, ten years after the existence of UNSCR 1325, the role of women in the global peace and conflict resolution arena is still at a disappointing level. This drawback may be related to the male dominated institutions that shape regional, national, and global policies and practices. In line with this, Mavic Cabreea-Balleza, the International Coordinator of the Global Network of Women Peace Builders (GNWP), stated that, despite the important role women play at local peace processes, they make up only 7 percent of the global peace negotiators. Reflecting on these stories and deliberations on my return flight to Boston, I came to the conclusion that, ten years later, UNSCR 1325 is yet to achieve its objective. Though keeping the issue on the global development agenda is making progress, it has yet to translate into tangible outcomes, especially in the lives of grassroots women in conflict areas. The need for a strategic framework with measurable indicators is imperative in bridging the gap between policy and practice.

As a Y-WILPFer, this conference has further built my resolve to passionately pursue my work in gender and human security, to expand existing advocacy networks, and to initiate programs and projects that enhance women’s economic empowerment and political participation at grassroots levels.

Maureen Saduwa is member of YWILPF. She is a recent graduate of the Master of Arts Sustainable International Development program at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

She is presently the Director, Programs SEEED/TSF.

*This article was first published in the Spring 2011 edition of the Magazine of the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom.

Citation: Saduwa, M. 2011. Report from the Stockholm International Conference Operation 1325 from a Y-WILPFer’s Perspective. WILPF: Working for Women: Local to Global. Magazine of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom 7(1):9, 11. Available at http://wilpf.org/files/PeaceAndFreedom/sPeaceAndFreedom2011Spring.pdf (accessed 04/09/2014).