Report Back from Working Sessions

1. Report Back from Working Sessions

2. Working Session: 1325 and Displacement: The Protection and Participation of Displaced women Number of delegates in attendance: 19 Number of countries represented:10

3. Recommendations • 1 – Look to technology as a tool for mobilizing and hearing women’s voices • 2 – The role of women peacemakers is significant (should have a solely woman unit) • 3 – Modes of empowerment (looking toward strong female presence/characters in order to enable)

4. Recommendations • 4 – Strengthen education (literacy) • 5 – Hold NGOs accountable • 6 – Reintegration programs into own and host countries • 7 – Truth and reconciliation (story telling; listen to the women so that they can heal) 8 - Creating IDP-specific indicators

5. Working Session: Burden of Proof: Is Indicator Reporting Realistic for Countries in Conflict Number of delegates in attendance: 24 Number of countries represented: 10

6. Recommendations • 1 – Consideration of whether indicators should be developed in pilot phases in non-conflict affected communities; building capacity before implementing in conflict-affected countries. • 2 – Greater consideration of conditions permissive of violence against women; cultural, historical, patriarchal cultures and systems that contribute to make VAW an effective weapon of war. • 3 – Participation means all categories of women – create and adjust conducive conditions for women (rural, poor, disabled, linguistic minority, displaced, indigenous, etc. women) to participate.

7. Recommendations • 4 – Increase the accessibility of women to participate through resources (financial, creative in-kind, security, childcare, etc.) • 5 – Focus on accessing rural areas for data collection, services, participation and protection. • 6 - ALL projected programs, grants, and budgets should include a gender marking system (rating 0-3). • 7 – Strategic planning needs to engage larger donors in PRSPs to facilitate government buy-in. • 8 – Funding: Allow for meaningful participation of CSOs.

8. Working Session: Bridging Interpretations and Implementations: Islamic Law and 1325 Number of delegates in attendance: 24 Number of countries represented: 10

9. Recommendations • Establish a national action plan for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in Afghanistan, Iraq and many other Islamic countries • Increase knowledge of Islam and technical expertise in interpretations of Islamic law concerning women's rights for international, national and local actors. • Translate UN Resolution 1325 into local languages. • Enable women parliamentarians to unite across party lines to form women Caucasus to be able to represent a broad-based powerful political force to help forward the agenda of women development and to promote 1325. • Provide training to enable Islamic women to advocate for and protect themselves at a household and community level.

10. Recommendations 6. The participation of men in increasing women's rights and women's participation in the public sphere is essential. There is a need for greater examination of the role of men in supporting women’s empowerment. These men have been and can continue to be powerful allies. 7. There is a need to engage with powerful religious councils in order to tackle a variety of challenges to women’s human rights. 8. The Mullahs and religious scholars should be sensitized to women’s human rights and gender issues so that mentally and spiritually they themselves accept and understand the rights of women. They can then play a role as reformers in helping communities broaden their views and making them understand the existing differences between the traditions and religious beliefs and towards eliminating tradition based on neglecting and denial of rights of Muslim women and girls.

11. Working Session: Missing Links: Engaging Men in 1325 Number of delegates in attendance: 35 Number of countries represented: 15

12. Recommendations 1 – Acknowledge that men, like women, are not a homogeneous category of actors 2 – Motivate and mobilize men to become active partners in the implementation of the WPS agenda 3 – Include “grooming of champions” and targeting of gatekeepers as part of strategic engagement with institutions

13. Recommendations 4 – Utilise entry points such as sport, media and life skills provision to work with young men and women 5 – Explore how Resolution 1325 can speak to and resonate with men 6 – Consider and address the risk of resource diversion

14. Working Session: Advancing the Responsibility to Protect Agenda: What do women’s rights have to do with R2P? Number of delegates in attendance: 30 Number of countries represented:11

15. Recommendations • 1 – Recognize the complementary nature of the Responsibility to Protect and Women, Peace and Security agendas. RtoP can bring the timely action that is need to respond to massive rapes and other gender-based mass violence crimes that occur in conflict situations. RtoP can certainly benefit from UNSCR 1325 provision on women’s participation in ALL decision making peace processes (peace making/keeping/building, negotiations, mediations…) • 2 – Encourage the sharing of analysis and information between early warning mechanisms and ensure the integration of gender sensitive indicators at all levels (international, national, regional and local actors)

16. Recommendations • 3 – Continue raising awareness of the Responsibility to Protect by highlighting the centrality of prevention of atrocities including systematic attacks against women inherent in its framework to dispel certain myths about RtoP. • 4 – Harmonize advocacy efforts with civil society organizations and movements working on RtoP related agendas such as gender justice including under the ICC framework, women , peace and security (UNSCR 1325, 1820, 1888, 1889), disarmament, peace keeping/making/ building… • 5 – Create opportunities for governments and organizations at all levels to work together on related agendas. • 6 – Incorporate the prevention of mass atrocities in National Action Plans for Human Rights

17. Working Session: Agenda 2010 and Beyond for 1325 and Disarmament Number of delegates in attendance: 18 Number of countries represented:11

18. Recommendations • 1 –Commitment to fully implement disarmament and arms control instruments, in particular in relation SALW • 2- Commitment to fully implement gender related norms and instruments • 3 – National security policies must promote the participation and representation of women in the security sector • 4 - Specific training must be given to the top level officials and decision makers in government to explain why the contribution of women will make them more successful. • 5 - Training by female trainers must be promoted in the security center.

19. Recommendations • 6 – Regional and national monitoring mechanisms and observatories must include at least 30% women • 7 – Traditional women led ministries must take part in defense and security policies of countries (health ministries, women affairs, Youth, Education) • 8 – Financial, human, technical resources shall be allocated to women participation and representation at all levels of policy and decision making related to security and disarmament (local, regional, national gov)

20. Recommendations • 9 – Need to strengthen U.N. and Civil society partnerships, in particular women organizations (mutually reinforcing relationship) • 10 – Outreach and advocacy campaigns must recognize the necessary contribution of women to peace and security (include and target women)

21. Working Session: Protecting Security and Women’s Rights in Afghanistan Number of delegates in attendance: 29 Number of countries represented: 8

22. Recommendations • 1 – Assure women’s participation in reconciliation and reintegration programs • 2 –Provide ongoing support for women in public life • 3 –Maintain support for development and health programs • 4 –Provide sanctuary and asylum for threatened women

23. Working Session: Women and Peacekeeping: Lessons Learned and Next Steps Number of delegates in attendance: 32 Number of countries represented:15

24. Recommendations • 1 – More pressure to be exteted on Member States to set out policies to recruit more women Police and Military  officers as women officers are much more effective in reaching out to vulnerable population in conflict ridden and post conflict situations. • 2 –Materials are more women-friendly • 3 –-New focus on security gap-do no harm • 4 –Continue work at Grass roots level

25. Recommendations • 5 – New incentives for joining Local police getting work in and with the UN DPKO? Some affirmative action policy? • 6 –Set quotas within Battalions

26. Working Session: Transitional Justice Mechanisms and Accountability: The Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Number of delegates in attendance: 12 Number of countries represented: 7

27. Recommendations • 1 – Ask victims for their input and concerns. • 2 –Consider what is sexual violence and why is it important? • 3 –Need for Local consultation prior to mandates and emphasis on comparative cases in which GVB was prosecuted. • 4 –International donors create gender specific budgets

28. Recommendations • 5 –Learn how to listen to women in the language of gender based violence. • 6 –Establish conditions for gender sensitive truth seeking • 7 –Reparation programs that target feelings and balance individual and collective needs • 8 – Community preparation to receive and accept victims

29. Working Session: Defining and Implementing Appropriate Means of Reparation and Rehabilitation Number of delegates in attendance: 41 Number of countries represented: 18

30. Recommendations • 1 – Ensuring a gender dimension in reparation programs • 2 –Addressing imbalance in victim/survivor representation from various sides of conflict • 3 – Creating “survivor” language in an effort to recognize the agency of victims with respect to context • 4 – Address amnesty as benefitting perpetrators not victims/survivors

31. Recommendations • 5 – Supporting community level traditional methods • 6 – Value symbolic as well as monetary reparations and rehabilitation • 7 – Addressing the importance of involving civil society. Specifically women’s grassroots organizations • 8 – Addressing the protection of victims following testimony

32. Working Session: Women Confronting Violent Extremism Number of delegates in attendance: 35 Number of countries represented: 15

33. Recommendations • 1 – Engage external support systems in the international/global arena to influence policies of countries in conflict Examples: Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) and Arab women’s network around the world • 2 – Demand Holistic and Integrated Peace and Development Framework in approaching complex situations.

34. Recommendations • 3 – Promote indigenous, traditional practices of conflict transformation and advocate for inter-religious program engagements to promote tolerance and respect diversity

35. Working Session: Law and Policing: Opening new roles for women in Islam Number of delegates in attendance: 15 Number of countries represented:7

36. Recommendations • 1 – Offer asylum to vulnerable girls/women. Take DIRECT ACTION to protect women • 2 –Building bridges between more secular and conservative women’s organizations • 3 –International Development agencies need to run programs within an Islamic framework • 4 – Funding for incentives for women in the security forces

37. Recommendations • 5 – Challenge cultural norms misconstrued as “Islam” • 6 – Reach out to liberal men in positions of decision-makers • 7 – Build women’s network • 8 – Framing gender equality in terms of benefits to men and women