The Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Assistance to Pakistan, Jean-Maurice Ripert, met with representatives from women's peace organizations in Islamabad on 15 June, on the occasion of the Global Open Day for Women and Peace. The meeting aimed to build dialogue on the implementation in Pakistan of Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, as its 10th anniversary is coming up in October.
Prior to the Open Day event, a preparatory meeting was held in Islamabad with women's civil society organizations to identify the main concerns regarding women and peacebuilding in Pakistan. The women peace activists formulated a set of recommendations, which they presented to the Special Envoy at their meeting.
The Pakistani women's key messages included that women must be equitably represented at all levels and stages in processes of negotiating and sustaining peace; a policy of zero tolerance to sexual and gender-based violence must be enacted and victims provided with adequate support and protection; and women's needs should be taken into account and budgeted for in all recovery processes.
The women called on the Government of Pakistan to give priority attention to women's social, political and economic well-being in the phase of rehabilitation. They further stressed the importance of developing a comprehensive national action plan on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325, as well as provincial action plans with sound monitoring and reporting mechanisms.
For more information, please contact Alice Harding Shackelford, Country Programme Director, UNIFEM Pakistan, alice.shackelford@unifem.org.
