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Secretary-General of the Council of the Gitti Hentschel T 030.28534-124
Roadmap to 1325 - Gender in the EU’s Peace and Security Policy Results of Berlin Conference, May 04-06, 2007 Dear Mr. Solana, We, the 150 participants of the "Roadmap to 1325: Gender in the EU's Peace and Security Policy" conference in Berlin from 4 to 6 May 2007, are appealing to you today with an urgent request. We are peace activists and security policy experts from 25 countries including the crisis-afflicted regions of Sudan (Darfur), Serbia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and the Middle East. At the invitation of the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the German Women's Security Council, we have agreed on the key points of the Roadmap to 1325. As you know, Resolution 1325 of the UN Security Council of October 2000, which is binding by international law, calls for the equal participation of women at all levels of peace processes, protection from sexual violence, and the prevention of conflicts. As conference participants and as representatives of the organisations involved, we have begun a symbolic relay race through the countries of the EU. By regular conferences and other activities in the EU member states, we will emphasise our demands and ensure implementation of UN Resolution 1325. At present, the situation above all in Sudanese Darfur is alarming. • We urgently call on you to do everything you can to stop the extreme violations of human rights and acts of sexual violence, such as mass rape, in Darfur. • We vigorously support the demand of Lotte Leicht, director of Human Rights Watch in Brussels, according to which the EU - even without a clear vote of the UN Security Council, which is unable to take action in this matter - should impose economic sanctions on members of government and profiteers of the expulsion policy, for example by freezing their bank accounts and boycotting their companies abroad. • In addition, pressure should be exerted on the Sudanese government that they pay at least ten percent of their oil revenues into a compensation fund primarily for women victims. • We support the demand of Safaa Adam, one of the "1000 peace women for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize" and conference speaker, according to which the women of Darfur, who have a large degree of expertise in conflict regulation, should be involved in the peace negotiations in order to ensure their long-term success. Even the situation in Kosovo and in Serbia appears to be becoming more and more critical. The Kosova Women's Network, an alliance of 85 women's organisations, is one of the few organisations in Kosovo whose work transcends ethnic borders. Nevertheless, these women have been excluded again and again from political processes and peace negotiations, even by the UN. • We vigorously ask you to implement UN Resolution 1325 and include the Kosova Women's Network in the planning phase of the new EU mission by inviting a delegation of Kosovar women to Brussels. • We are concerned about the freedom of expression and physical inviolability of female Serbian peace activists who have raised their voices against the creation of "ethnically clean" regions and a splitting off of the Serb-inhabited north after a possible declaration of independence in Kosovo. We urgently call upon you to do everything in your power to protect them. At our Berlin conference we took stock of the implementation of Resolution 1325 in Europe and ascertained, however, that it is still in its infancy. Only five European countries - the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland - have adopted national action plans on this subject. In addition, we still await the development of an EU-wide action plan. • We call on you to play an active role in the development of such an action plan. • Conflict prevention and civilian crisis management should enjoy absolute priority before any military operation and should receive substantially more financial support than in the past. Armaments expenditures should be reduced and funds should be directed towards civilian conflict management. • According to UN Resolution 1325, women must be involved in all peace negotiations, whether in Kosovo, in Sudan, and in all other conflict and post-conflict regions. Gender is a central element in the dynamics of armed conflicts. The ideologies of nationalists and fundamentalists, for example the Taliban, are almost always based on the oppression of women and the deprivation of their rights. Women who resist these ideologies are the natural allies of all forces that champion peace and security. In accordance with UN Resolution 1325 and in connection with the positive experience of the gender advisor in the EUFOR RD Congo mission, we therefore call for • the creation of the position of a High Gender Officer at the highest level of EU decision making, • the institutionalisation of gender advisors and gender focal points for every EU mission prior to the planning phase, • gender-sensitive guidelines that are prepared for the specific situation in the country of operations, • gender training for all operational forces in particular on human rights violations against women and • the systematic integration of local women's groups, the consultation of civil society and its women's and peace experts for every mission by regular meetings and cooperation. The implementation of UN Resolution 1325 is a long-term political process that is impossible without the binding participation of civil society, NGOs and women's groups. Cooperation could take the form of round tables or coordination committees. Annual analyses of achievements are essential. UN Resolution 1325 must receive more attention throughout the EU and in the various member states, in particular among men and decision makers in the fields of foreign, defence, security and development policy. We recommend campaigns that are supported by male 1325 ambassadors. In order to realise the above-mentioned concrete proposals, we call for a budget item specifically for this purpose and with sufficient funding to be created as well in in the EU budget as in the budgets of every Member State of the European Union. (Zusatz nur an das Political Security Committee: We would like to ask you to grant us a meeting at the end of October 2007. As you know, Resolution 1325 was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 30 October 2000. Since then, there have been annual events and meetings between members of the UN Security Council and international representatives of civil society to mark this date. We would like to propose a similar approach at the EU level with the Political Security Committee.) We look forward to your answer and to working together with you. Best regards, Gitti Hentschel
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Kurzprotokoll der Konferenz "Roadmap to 1325"
Brief an Bundeskanzlerin Merkel
Brief an Solana
Silvana Simone (Artecultura)