July 2010 Update: Civil Society Advisory Group to the UN on Women, Peace, and Security

Also see the July 2010 CSAG Working Paper on Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence Against Women Displaced by Conflict.

In 2000, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 called on all member states and the UN system to empower and protect the rights of women in the context of armed conflict and to ensure their full participation in conflict prevention, peace building, and post-conflict reconstruction. October 2010 marks the tenth anniversary of UNSCR 1325 and provides an opportunity to evaluate progress in meeting the commitments in the resolution, and to renew demands that those commitments be met. The anniversary also serves to remind member states, the UN, and civil society that they will need to work together to take additional concrete, measurable, and positive actions.

The Civil Society Advisory Group to the UN on Women, Peace, and Security (CSAG) advises the High-Level Steering Committee comprising the heads of UN agencies and entities to encourage the UN to coordinate implementation of UNSCR 1325 across the UN and member states. CSAG also advocates for the full participation of women’s groups and civil society in the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda. CSAG is co-chaired by Mary Robinson, president of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative and former president of Ireland, and Bineta Diop, executive director and founder of Femmes Africa Solidarité.

Members of CSAG include Ambassador Swanee Hunt, chair of The Institute for Inclusive Security as well as Sanam Anderlini; Thelma Awori; Sharon Bhagwan Rolls; Lakhdar Brahimi; Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda; Hina Jilani; Elisabeth Rehn; Zainab Salbi; Salim Ahmed Salim; Donald Steinberg; and Susana Villarán de la Puente. The following organizations act jointly as CSAG’s secretariat: The Institute for Inclusive Security; the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security; and Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative.

Following CSAG’s first meeting on March 6, 2010, Inclusive Security hosted CSAG’s second meeting at its Washington, DC office on June 8, 2010. Participants reported on their activities around the globe, calling on member states and the UN system to take urgent action to meet their commitments. For example, CSAG member Don Steinberg, along with Inclusive Security staff, attended meetings with EU officials and convened a roundtable discussion with civil society to advance the women, peace, and security agenda in Europe. In addition, Mary Robinson led a delegation of African women leaders to Zimbabwe, including CSAG members Thelma Awori and Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, herself a Zimbabwean, to foster local women’s initiatives to promote human rights, democracy, and UNSCR 1325.

CSAG also reasserted its recommendation that the following three events be held in fall 2010 to leverage the resolution’s tenth anniversary to accelerate change within the UN:
• A high-level Commitment to Action, convened by the UN secretary general, at which member states will announce new commitments to results-based, time-bound, and measurable action to implement aspects of the UNSCR 1325 agenda;
• An Arria Formula meeting of Security Council member states to hear directly from civil society actors living and working in conflict areas about the urgent action needed to protect the rights and participation of women in conflict prevention, peace negotiations, and reconstruction; and
• A Security Council ministerial-level open debate on women, peace, and security on the tenth anniversary of UNSCR 1325 to enable the Security Council to reaffirm and reinvigorate its commitment to empowering women in the context of war and its aftermath.

In the evening, following the June 8 meeting, Swanee Hunt, together with Mary Robinson and Bineta Diop, hosted a reception at Inclusive Security’s office. CSAG members met with Washington, DC’s diplomatic, congressional, philanthropic, governmental, and non-governmental community to develop strategic partnerships for accelerating UNSCR 1325’s implementation.

CSAG will next meet on July 20 in Kampala, Uganda, which will coincide with the 15th African Union Summit July 19–27, 2010. CSAG members will meet with African Union officials to discuss ways in which UNSCR 1325 can be more effectively implemented on that continent.

Also see the July 2010 CSAG Working Paper on Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence Against Women Displaced by Conflict.

For more information on the Civil Society Advisory Group or Inclusive Security’s work with the UN, please contact Travis Wheeler.