Working Paper on Civil Society Participation in Peacemaking and Peacebuilding

In 2000, UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 called on all member states and the United Nations (UN) system to protect the rights of women in the context of armed conflict and to ensure women's full participation in all conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and post-conflict reconstruction processes. The Civil Society Advisory Group on Women, Peace, and Security (CSAG) advises the High-Level Steering Committee of the heads of UN agencies and entities on ensuring a coherent and coordinated approach to implementing UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions on women, peace, and security within the UN system. CSAG's co-chairs are Mary Robinson and Bineta Diop, and its members are Sanam Anderlini, Thelma Awori, Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls, Lakhdar Brahimi, Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Swanee Hunt, Hina Jilani, Elisabeth Rehn, Zainab Salbi, Salim Ahmed Salim, Donald Steinberg, and Susana Villarán de la Puente. In addition to recommending priorities for commemorating the 10th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 in October, 2010, CSAG advocates for the full participation of women's groups and civil society in the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda.

In consultation with civil society, CSAG has prepared a series of working papers with concrete recommendations for action by the UN, member states, and civil society on the following topics:

• Civil Society Participation in Peacemaking and Peacebuilding;
  
• Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence against Women Displaced by Conflict; and
  
• Advancing National Action Plans, Regional Action Plans, and Twinning on Women, Peace and Security.
  

This Working Paper on Civil Society Participation in Peacemaking and Peacebuilding examines the critical role that civil society - particularly women's groups - play in ensuring the success and sustainability of peacebuilding processes. The paper is based on consultations with women peacebuilders globally, including a consultation in New York and a one-day consultation with 25 activists in Washington DC1, as well as discussions with CSAG members, and publications of affiliated organizations. The first part of this paper examines constraints to women's organizations' participation in peace making and peacebuilding and recommends ways to overcome them. The second part offers recommendations to the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) on how it can partner with civil society organizations to lead the women, peace, and security agenda in the next decade.