The Imperative of UNSCR 1325 and Beyond
Women and girls have historically faced systemic barriers to their full participation in society, exacerbated in conflict zones where they are disproportionately affected by violence, displacement, and deprivation of basic rights. This year, global security is expected to deteriorate further due to increased conflict, instability, and violence. According to recent estimates, over 600 million women—15 percent of all women worldwide—lived within 50 kilometers of armed conflict in 2022, more than double the levels seen in the 1990s. (Georgetown Institute for Women's Peace and Security, 2023). These trends underscore the urgent need for initiatives like UNSCR 1325 to address systemic inequalities and promote gender mainstreaming in all aspects of governance and development.
The origins of this resolution can be traced back to a convoluted journey of political and historical developments. Its inception emerged from a series of efforts aimed at embedding gender mainstreaming within specific contextual frameworks, which will be further explored in this essay to elucidate implementation mechanisms and state accountabilities. It is important to recall that the origins of this resolution date back to 1945, coinciding with the adoption of the United Nations Charter, envisaging parity in rights for both genders. After the United Nations General Assembly's proclamation of the "UN Decade for Women" (1975–1985), the quest for women's rights and gender parity has progressively intertwined with international peace and security imperatives. Thus, it has been more than 20 years since the Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 and more than 25 years since the Beijing Declaration, so it becomes essential to undertake a thorough examination of current trends, processes, and initiatives relating to women, peace and security. For instance, recent data reveals that as of July 2023, a notable thirteen regional and sub-regional organizations have formulated action plans and strategies aimed at increasing the implementation of women, peace, and security measures, coupled with diligent monitoring mechanisms involving member countries (United Nations, 2023).
In addition to this collaboration and monitoring mechanism with regional organizations, there are also National Action Plans, which outline the goals and activities that countries undertake, both domestically and internationally, to protect the human rights of women and girls in conflict situations; prevent armed conflict and violence, including against women and girls; and ensure women's meaningful participation in peace and security. Currently, more than 100 countries have developed NAPs for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and associated resolutions on women, peace, and security, including UNSCR 1820 (Women's International League of Peace and Freedom, 2023). This underscores that this resolution requires governments, international organizations, civil society, and grassroots movements to work together to support the implementation of the resolution to achieve the integration of a gender perspective into all peace and security initiatives, emphasizing the importance of women's leadership and decision-making roles in these processes.
More specifically, gender mainstreaming, as emphasized in UNSCR 1325, is crucial for ensuring that the needs, experiences, and perspectives of both women and men are taken into account in policymaking and programming. In this context, Resolution 1325 stands as a comprehensive framework, encompassing prevention, participation, protection, and peacebuilding and recovery. It addresses the complex challenges faced by women during times of conflict, emphasizing their needs and roles in peacekeeping efforts, and promoting transformative justice.
Due to the reference to the needs and concerns of women in specific situations of conflict, by the resolution and its implementation mechanisms the 'local' must be the most important factor in our analyses. And the thing is, the normalization of violence at the local, national, and international levels must cease. For this, networks of women peacebuilders and peacemakers must be expanded and supported to come to the fore.
On the other hand, reference is also made to the construction of inclusive and peaceful societies in the aftermath of conflict since post-conflict contexts are characterized by rapid rebuilding of national economic structures; and too often, the focus of this rebuilding has been on the liberalization of the economy and market reform, forgetting the inclusion of women in the transformation processes. Nevertheless, the economic empowerment of women greatly contributes to the effectiveness of post-conflict economic activities and economic growth and leads to improving the quality and social outcomes of economic recovery measures and policies as well as to sustainable development (United Nations General Assembly, 2013). In this context of reconstruction of societies affected by conflict, it is worth mentioning that the resolution calls for including a gender perspective in peace negotiations and increasing women's participation in peace negotiations, with particular attention to supporting local women's peace initiatives. In fact, there is a call to increase the participation of women at all levels of decision-making in national, regional, and international institutions.
Another specialized focus of UNSCR 1325 is transformative justice, which emphasizes the responsibility of all States to put an end to impunity and prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, including those relating to sexual and other violence against women and girls, and in this regard emphasizes the need to exclude these crimes, where possible, from amnesty provisions. This fact reminds us that the implementation of UNSCR 1325 requires a multi-faceted approach involving national governments, international organizations, civil society, and other stakeholders. International treaty bodies such as CEDAW enrich resolution 1325 by providing substantive normative guidance on 1325-related interventions. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is often described as an international bill of rights for women. With 189 States parties, it is one of the most-ratified treaties in the world, and in addition to its substantive rights guarantees, CEDAW contains a periodic reporting and review process under its Article 18, which requires all States parties to report on measures they have adopted to give effect to the provisions of the Convention including in conflict prevention, conflict, and post-conflict situations.
Furthermore, another mechanism to assess the applicability of the resolution in each member state is the Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council. In turn, regional and sub-regional human rights mechanisms also play a key role in advancing the implementation of the Women and Peace and Security agenda and holding States accountable to commitments for gender equality in conflict-affected contexts. The Inter-American System provides a good example of accountability for State violations through regional mechanisms such as the Belen do Pará Convention, which formalizes initiatives in the region to prevent, punish, and eradicate violence against women, particularly by reinforcing norms of women's human rights and advancing innovative ideas for gender justice.
In this line of compliance and monitoring mechanisms, we must recognize the work of women's rights defenders, who face gender-specific threats and violence, such as rape and sexual violence, and additional resistance from family or community members who want to enforce traditional gender norms (United Nations General Assembly, 2010). Their focus becomes specifically relevant due to their work building community networks for solidarity and protection; Within these networks, they have called for international attention to violence against them and demanded that those responsible be prosecuted. In some cases, they have also raised funds for legal assistance, medical assistance, and security. This clearly reflects the precepts of resolution 1325, recognizing that women's participation becomes essential in peace processes due to their type of involvement in communities that has a constructivist approach where the different types of stakeholders and structural factors are recognized, thereby achieving that peacemaking and peacebuilding processes produce lasting stability.
Given these particularities and cases of application of resolution 1325, it can be said that this initiative of the UN Security Council demonstrates the complexity of the international system and the enforcement mechanisms, recognizing the urgent need to address the systemic inequalities and injustices that perpetuate conflict and undermine peace and security globally. More specifically, it makes us recognize the fact that crises increase existing prejudice against women and girls, making it less likely that they will have access to even the most basic of human rights, such as health care, education, food, housing, and even nationality. In fact, women are the first to suffer from movement restrictions and the closure of schools, medical facilities, and markets. They struggle to feed their families, care for the ill, and educate their daughters and sons. Therefore, this exploration of the specific programs and initiatives implemented after the UNSC Resolution on Women, Peace, and Security challenges us to critically examine the structures of power and privilege that have historically excluded women from decision-making processes and to work towards building more inclusive and equitable societies.
An example of these structural conditions that exacerbate inequality and violence against women is what happens with the youth gangs in Central America, where women and girls suffer horrific abuses as initiates between and members of these groups. These circumstances reflect the links between conflict, criminal activity, gender-related economic and social exclusion, and sexual and gender-based violence. Understanding the confluence of these structural conditions and the external factors that intensify the disparate conditions that women face is essential to making resolution 1325 operational across a range of contexts such as organized crime and gang violence. Thus, gender mainstreaming should be a key component of the government programs of all nations in the world under the concept of the need for positive peace that addresses structural causes of violence and that seeks change from the root causes engaging all the actors involved. going to form the government to civil society, from international organizations to human rights defenders.
For instance, countries such as Costa Rica should actively engage in initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality and peacebuilding, including providing financial, technical, and political support for educational and leadership training programs for both men and women, boys and girls, that emphasize nonviolent and non-militarized expressions of masculinity. Additionally, states should devise educational strategies fostering a culture of nonviolent conflict resolution both in private and public spheres. Furthermore, efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goals 5, 10, and 16, should prioritize the equitable participation and consultation of women and girls, ensuring they benefit from and contribute to the sustainable development agenda. Finally, adopting gender-responsive budgeting practices, in consultation with civil society, can help address and mitigate the impact of militarized state budgets on international peace, security, and women's rights.
References:
United Nations (2023). Women and peace and security: Report of the Secretary-General (S/2023/725). Retrieved from https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n23/279/08/pdf/n2327908.pdf United Nations
General Assembly. (2013). Report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Margaret Sekaggya. Retrieved from https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g11/115/73/pdf/g1111573.pdf Women's
International League of Peace and Freedom. (2023). National Action Plans: at a glance. Retrieved from https://1325naps.peacewomen.org/
About the author:
Andrea Eunice Vásquez is a queer human rights activist and intersectional feminist from Honduras, dedicated to reclaiming spaces for youth, women, and marginalized communities. She co-founded the Human Rights Commission at ULACIT and is a Global Youth Ambassador for Theirworld. Currently, she is part of Amnesty International’s Youth Advisory Board, the Global Youth Collective, and the Reference Panel for the Governance Review, where she works to amplify youth voices in decision-making spaces.
