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9 Duke J. Gender L. & Pol'y 253 (2002)
Women and Peace and Security: The Implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325

handle is hein.journals/djglp9 and id is 261 raw text is: WOMEN AND PEACE AND SECURITY: THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1325
JESSICA NEUWIRTH*
On October 31, 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolu-
tion 1325, a resolution,
[rleaffirming the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of
conflicts and in peace-building, and stressing the importance of their equal par-
ticipation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion
of peace and security, and the need to increase their role in decision-making
with regard to conflict prevention and resolution.'
The operative language of the resolution urges Member States to ensure
increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in national, re-
gional and international institutions and mechanisms for the prevention, man-
agement, and resolution of conflict,2 and calls on the Secretary-General of the
United Nations to increase participation of women, and particularly to appoint
more women as special envoys and representatives on his behalf.3
Like most U.N. resolutions, Security Council Resolution 1325 has been
honored more in the breach than in the observance. Non-governmental organi-
zations have been working, however, to give the resolution meaning, and the
unfolding international effort to restore and maintain peace and security in Af-
ghanistan will be an important litmus test of U.N. and member states' resolve to
integrate the talent and resources of women into peace-building efforts.
The war on terrorism, launched as a war against Afghanistan, cited the
abusive treatment of women in its propaganda campaign to build support for
military action. Among others, United States First Lady Laura Bush, joined by
the wife of the U.K. Prime Minister, Cherie Blair, spoke publicly about the plight
of women in Afghanistan.' For the women's movement, which had been pro-
testing the Taliban regime since it fought its way to power in 1996, this sudden
Copyright © 2002 by Jessica Neuwirth.
* Jessica Neuwirth is one of the founders and current President of Equality Now, an interna-
tional human rights organization. Equality Now was established in 1992 to work for an end to all
forms of violence and discrimination against women. She has worked for the United Nations, serv-
ing for several years in the Office of Legal Affairs and more recently as an expert consultant to the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on issues of sexual violence in several cases including
Akayesu, a landmark decision recognizing rape as a form of genocide. She holds a Juris Doctor from
Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Yale University.
1. U.N. SCOR, 55th Sess., 4213th mtg. at 1, U.N. Doc. S/RES/1325 (2000).
2. Id. at2.
3. Id.
4. Mike Allen, First Lady Says Fight Is for Dignity of Afghan Women, Children, WASH. POST, Nov.
18, 2001, at A14.

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