Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Tackles its Role in the Implementation of SCR 1325

1. 1325 PEACEWOMEN E-NEWSLETTER EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE

The PeaceWomen Project is conducting a brief review of its 1325 PeaceWomen E-Newsletter. Findings of the evaluation will serve to provide us with feedback to strengthen future issues of the newsletter based on the insights and lessons gained from our readership.

We would be very grateful if you could assist us in this effort by responding to the questions below. We estimate that it will take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

Please note that the information you provide will be kept in confidence and will be presented only as aggregate data in an anonymous fashion.

Please send us your responses by 14 July 2005 in order that we can present our findings in the next issue of the 1325 PeaceWomen E-Newsletter, scheduled for 19 July 2005.

1. What is your purpose in reading the 1325 PeaceWomen E-Newsletter? Mark all that apply.
a. Information updates about SCR 1325
b. Information updates about a specific geographic region
c. Information updates about specific women, peace and security issues (peacekeeping, conflict prevention, gender-based violence, elections, DDR etc). If so, please identify which issues: _____
d. Opportunities for action
e. Other _____

2. How do you use the information featured in the 1325 PeaceWomen E-Newsletter? Mark all that apply.
a. In my own research and writing
b. To forward to my own lists
c. As a basis for political discussion
d. As a basis for political action
e. As a basis for humanitarian action
f. Other ____

3. Do you use SCR 1325 in your work?
a. Yes
b. No

4. Do you (choose one):
a. Read the newsletter from beginning to end when it arrives?
b. Skim it from beginning to end when it arrives?
c. Leave it until there is time but generally read it carefully?
d. Read only about the issues or geographical regions where you work
e. Read it sometimes?
f. Read it seldom?

5. What sections of the newsletter do you find most useful? Please select the 3 most useful sections.
a. Women, Peace and Security News
b. Feature Event/s, Feature Initiatives
c. Feature Resource/s, Statement/s, Report/s, and Analysis/es
d. NGOWG Update
e. Update from the NGOWG On Women, Peace and Security
f. Feature Contact
g. Gender and Peacekeeping Update
h. Listening to Peacewomen Voices from the Past
i. Women, Peace and Security Calendar

6. Would you like more information about a particular issue?
a. Yes, ______
b. No, the issues I follow are well covered.

7. Please comment if there is any way in which you think the PeaceWomen team could improve the 1325 PeaceWomen E-Newsletter.

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2. WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY NEWS

2005 WORLD SUMMIT MUST CONSIDER WAYS TO PROTECT, PROMOTE WOMEN'S RIGHTS – UN OFFICIAL
July 5, 2005 – (UN News) With many competing interests and expectations vying for attention in the run up to the 2005 World Summit, world leaders must make sure that any decisions they take in September will ultimately promote and protect the rights of women, the top United Nations adviser on women's issues said today.

IRAQ: INSURGENTS IMPOSE CURBS ON WOMEN
July 5, 2005 – (IWPR'S IRAQI CRISIS REPORT) Those who put on makeup or choose not to wear the veil fall victim to militants.

INDIA WAKES UP TO ITS BATTERED WOMEN
July 5, 2005 – (Reuters) Squatting on the floor of a women's shelter, 33-year-old Swati lifts her blue cotton sari to reveal blackish scars on her disfigured feet.

RECOGNISING THE FEMALE PEACEMAKERS: THE NOBEL CAUSE
June 30, 2005 – (The Independent) It has been around since 1901, but only 12 women have won the Nobel Peace Prize. Now a campaign aims to award it to 1,000 of them. Kate Finnigan reports.

For coverage of this initiative by IWTC Women's GlobalNet, visit: http://www.iwtc.org/globalnet.html

For a list of the WILPF women who were nominated, visit: http://www.wilpf.int.ch/1000pw.html

THE WAR ON BURMA'S WOMEN
June 28, 2005 - (Boston Globe) It has been three years since the report ''License to Rape" exposed to the world how troops of the Burmese military regime have been committing systematic sexual violence against women in Shan state, one of the ethnic regions of Burma where civil war has been continuing for more than four decades. The report, by the Shan Human Rights Foundation and the Shan Women's Action Network, documented the rape of more than 600 women by Burmese troops.

FEAR, GRAFT AND SILENCE SHROUD UGANDA SEX ATTACKS
June 23, 2005 - (Reuters) When the young Ugandan realised the woman he had raped in the dark of the refugee camp was his mother, he hung himself from a beam in their hut.

For more country-specific women, peace and security news, CLICK HERE

For more international women, peace and security news, CLICK HERE

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3. FEATURE STATEMENT

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Tackles its Role in the Implementation of SCR 1325

Statement by Mr. Per EJ Carlson, Deputy Director, Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, at the Opening Session of the 2005 Annual Security Review Conference
22 June 2005, Vienna, Austria

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the world's largest regional security organization*, recently held their Annual Security Review Conference (ASRC) in Vienna, Austria, in order to provide “a framework for enhancing security dialogue and for reviewing security work undertaken by the OSCE and its participating States.” At the opening session of the ASRC, Mr. Per EJ Carlson, Deputy Director of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, delivered a statement on the role of the OSCE to implement SCR 1325. Specifically, he spoke about an expert seminar his delegation had hosted two days prior, in co-operation with Folke Bernadotte Academy, to promote the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in the OSCE. Featured below are excerpts from his statement:

… Half a year ago, at the Sofia Ministerial the OSCE Gender Action Plan was unanimously adopted by participating States as a set of solemn norms and as a tool to steer the organization into the future, potentially putting the OSCE as a regional organization on the forefront in terms of gender equality and gender mainstreaming.

The Action Plan specifically points to the UNSCR 1325, urging participating States as well as the OSCE itself to implement the commitments that we have taken upon ourselves.

In this spirit – in order to follow up to our own promises – the Swedish delegation together with the Slovenian Chairmanship yesterday organized an experts seminar on the role of women in conflict prevention and crisis management yesterday, here in the Hofburg.

The purpose was precisely to provide a platform for an exchange of experiences and to look for the way ahead. We believe it proved itself useful.
We got plenty of concrete evidence that crisis management operations, based on a sound gender policy, radically increases the quality of their work.

We got plenty of concrete evidence that much remains to be done in this field. And we got plenty of concrete evidence that the challenge is upon all of us,

- upon the participating States when they send out seconded or contracted personnel,
- upon the Chairman in Office, the Secretary General – when they appoint Heads of Missions, special representatives…
- upon the Heads of Missions, when they set up their staff

However important it is to increase women's participation in numbers our challenge in this field is also about a mindset. That's where this somewhat artificial concept gender mainstreaming comes in.

A gender perspective in conflict prevention and crisis management operations - and when I say “conflict prevention and crisis management” I mean this in the fullest sense of the concept - should be as natural and as self evident as having standards in terms of conduct, rules of engagement or a sound policy of administration.

It is the sincere belief of this delegation that no modern organization can afford not to have such a perspective.

The OSCE's Gender Action Plan is an excellent basis to work from. In particular it gives us clear guidance on how to implement the UNSCR 1325.
It is imperative however, that this plan of ours remains kicking and alive. Not a dead paper in a chest of drawers. It is, as we diplomats so often say, the deed not the words that count…

The Swedish Delegation therefore suggests the work is started as soon as possible on a specific decision by our Ministers to proactively follow up the plan, including concrete suggestions on how this should be done.

To this effect the Swedish Delegation intends to introduce a draft decision to participating States for their consideration. It could be negotiated in the working group on gender issues led by Ambassador Moran with a view for adoption at the Ljubljana Ministerial…

For the full statement, CLICK HERE.

For more governmental statements and other resources on 1325, CLICK HERE.

*For more information about the OSCE, visit: http://www.osce.org/.

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4. FEATURE INITIATIVE

Letter from Government of Canada calling on the UN Security Council for a New Resolution on the Protection of Children Affected by Armed Conflict
23 June 2005
(S/2005/412)
From the Permanent Representative of Canada to the UN, on behalf of the governments of Andorra, Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Sweden and Switzerland, addressed to the President of the Security Council (France)

In its efforts to push forward the 1325 agenda, the women, peace and security community has frequently looked to the efforts of those NGOs and UN Member States who have advocated for advances in the UN Security Council's work, in particular its resolutions, on children and armed conflict.

Featured below is a recent governmental initiative urging the Security Council to advance the children and armed conflict agenda by adopting a new resolution:

We write to convey to you, on behalf of the governments of Andorra, Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Sweden and Switzerland, our interest in and concern about the process involving the adoption of a new resolution on the protection of children affected by armed conflict.

At the time of the open debate in February 2005, our governments were genuinely encouraged to hear the many statements of commitment to build upon the positive steps set forth in the Security Council's five existing resolutions on this subject. Since that time, however, we have been troubled by the fact that the Council has yet to adopt a new resolution on this critical issue.

Given how far the Council's resolutions have come to make the protection of children in armed conflict a priority for member States, and the UN system as a whole, we have high expectations for this year's resolution. In particular, we would hope that the new resolution will establish a robust mechanism for monitoring and reporting on serious international crimes against children in all conflict settings. It is apparent to all that such a mechanism is long overdue.

The resolution should also include provisions for effectively implementing existing Security Council resolutions, particularly 1460 and 1539. In this regard, we support the development of a working group on children and armed conflict that would be tasked to identify appropriate steps to take against parties that continue to use or recruit child soldiers in violation of international law, thereby flouting Security Council calls to stop such violations.

We understand that these are among the points on which agreement has eluded the Council over the past 18 weeks. We would therefore urge the Council to renew efforts to reach agreement on these elements, and to hold the interests of children paramount in the negotiation process so that their protection takes priority.

We believe this is a crucial moment for all of us in preserving the significant gains already made on this issue and in translating those gains into lasting improvements for the millions of children who suffer the horrific affects of armed conflict. We strongly encourage the Council to adopt a bold new resolution without delay.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of our highest consideration. We would be grateful if you would circulate the present letter as a document of the Security Council.

Allan Rock
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations

The letter will be posted shortly at: http://www.un.int/canada/.

For more information, contact: Michael Kovrig, Media and Communications Officer, Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, Tel: 212-848-1110, Fax: 212-848-1128, E-mail: michael.kovrig@international.gc.ca.

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5. FEATURE RESOURCES

Research Profiles: Feminist Antimilitarism
Cynthia Cockburn

Cynthia Cockburn, a feminist researcher and writer, and a member of Women in Black against War, has developed a series of feminist antimilitarist country profiles, based on her research visits. Her profiles include:

‘Violence Came Here Yesterday': The Women's Movement Against War in Colombia
http://cynthiacockburn.typepad.com//ColombiaEngblog.pdf
Spanish: http://cynthiacockburn.typepad.com//ColombiaSpanblog.pdf

India 1: War against Women: A Feminist Response to Genocide in Gujarat
http://cynthiacockburn.typepad.com//Gujaratblog.pdf

India 2: Violence as Indivisible: Women in Black, Vimochana, and the AWHRC – Bangalore, India
http://cynthiacockburn.typepad.com//Bangaloreblog.pdf

India 3: Insider/outsider Feminists in India Addressing the State's Wars
http://cynthiacockburn.typepad.com//NorthIndiablog.pdf

Spain: Sketches of Feminist Antimilitarism
http://cynthiacockburn.typepad.com//SpainEngblog.pdf
Spanish: http://cynthiacockburn.typepad.com//SpainSpanblog.pdf

The above country profiles and more are available on her website at: http://www.cynthiacockburn.org/

For more information about Cynthia Cockburn, visit: http://www.cynthiacockburn.org/about.html

For NGO and civil society reports, papers and statements, UN and government reports, and books, journals and articles on women, peace and security issues, CLICK HERE.

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6. Listening to Peacewomen Voices from the Past

26th Congress, Helsinki, Finland, 1995

…UN Security Council Reform

The 26th International WILPF Congress is deeply concerned about the Security Council's future structure and scope now under discussion. This is the opportunity to democratize the Security Council. We urge you to increase the number of members by adding at least 10 more non-permanent members all to be elected by the General Assembly.

Adding new permanent members as is proposed by some would be a retrogression and an insult to the overwhelming majority of smaller states who have significantly contributed to the UN peace efforts over the years.

It is our ardent wish that in the not too distant future all members of the Security Council will be elected, and that there will no longer be a privileged group of permanent members with the right to veto decisions taken by a majority of Member States. It is our conviction that it would be a great disservice to the people of the United Nations, and against the interests of the organization itself, to add to the present number of privileged Permanent Members or establish another category of privileged members of the Security Council.

As women we know what discrimination and domination mean. We oppose them with all our strength, and work for the democratization of society which must include the full participation of women in planning, decision-making, and in all peace and security processes. We will do our utmost to prevent the institutionalizing of further privileges at any level and in all areas of activity.

Action: (a) To send the statement of all UN Member States; and (b) to launch or join in a women's support campaign for the democratization of the Security Council. (Note: A petition with a text based on this resolution has been prepared jointly by ISMUN and WILPF. WILPF sections are asked to collect signatures of women who wish to support the WILPF position).

From: http://www.wilpf.int.ch/statements/1995.htm

For more WILPF history, CLICK HERE.

For a comprehensive index of WILPF's resolutions from its triennial Congresses since 1915, CLICK HERE.

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7. WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY CALENDAR

Women of Afghanistan: A Slide Show of Photographs by Steve McCurry
13 July 2005, 6pm- Reception, 6:30 PM - Slide Show and Presentation, 14 Vesey Street, New York City, USA
8 July: RSVP deadline
Presented by the New York County Lawyers' Association, Sponsored by the NYCLA Women's Rights Committee and Women for Afghan Women, co-sponsored by NYCLA's Cyberspace Law, Foreign & International Law and Pro Bono Committees
Steve McCurry's photo of an Afghan girl first appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic. In 2002, he rediscovered the young woman, who now lives in a remote region in Afghanistan. His coverage of rebel-controlled Afghanistan before the 1980 Russian invasion won the Robert Capa Gold Medal for Best Photographic Reporting from Abroad, an award dedicated to photographers exhibiting exceptional courage and enterprise. Mr. McCurry has covered many areas of international and civil conflict, including the Iran-Iraq war, Beirut, Cambodia, the Philippines, the Gulf War and continuing coverage of Afghanistan. His work has been featured in every major magazine in the world and frequently appears in National Geographic. He is the founder and president of ImagineAsia, a foundation that helps children in rural Asian communities by addressing fundamental education and health care needs. To RSVP, email Dianna Lamb at dlamb@nycla.org.

The Global Consultation on the Ratification and Use of the Optional Protocol to CEDAW (OP-CEDAW)
27-30 August 2005, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
As the OP-CEDAW reaches its fifth year of being in force, it is a crucial time to increase awareness and skills so that the OP-CEDAW may reach its full potential. It is also time to assess and consolidate the various initiatives and strategies employed with regards to ratification and use of the OP-CEDAW. In this regard, the Consultation has the following objectives: to provide information/knowledge on CEDAW and the OP-CEDAW and their uses; to identify strategies for ratification; to identify strategies for access to justice; to create opportunities for regional processes in relation to ratification and use of the OP-CEDAW; and to launch the CEDAW toolkit. For more information, contact: IWRAW Asia Pacific (Janine Moussa or Lee Wei San) at Tel: (603) 2691 3292; F: (603) 2698 4203; Email: op-cedaw@iwraw-ap.org; Website: www.iwraw-ap.org.

Training: Making Governance Gender Responsive (MGGR)
23-29 October 2005, Center for Asia Pacific Women in Politics (CAPWIP), Manila, Philippines
The course is designed for middle and senior level government executives, women and men in local governments, political parties, research and training institutes and civil society organizations who are leading or participating in governance reform initiatives in their respective countries. Specifically, it intends to help participants to: Enhance their understanding of Gender and Development (GAD) and governance concepts; Gain appreciation of gender-related and governance issues and concern; Identifying gender biases in governance; Acquire skills in identifying and analyzing gender biases and concerns through case examples of strategies and practices to address gender biases; Identifying gender biases in the participant's sphere of influence; and formulate Action Plans - Institutional and Individual. The course is composed of three modules developed to enhance participant's understanding of the link between gender and governance as well as increase their awareness of gender biases in governance. The training is being offered and designed for a small group of about 25 to 30 participants. For more information, visit: http://www.capwip.org/training/mggr.htm.

For the complete calendar, CLICK HERE.

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