WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY ALTERNATIVE REPORT PLANNED

October 2004 will mark the fourth anniversary of the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. 

To mark the occasion, the United Nations Secretary-General will publish a report on the progress and challenges in the implementation of the resolution since 2000.  As the Secretary-General's report will focus on governmental and UN efforts to implement the resolution, he has asked for input from governments and UN entities.

The Secretary-General will not formally seek the input of civil society for the formulation of his report. The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security* (NGOWG) believes however, that civil society input is crucial to fully assess governmental and UN work towards the implementation of Resolution 1325.  Furthermore, as civil society organizations, networks and groups were important actors in the creation and adoption of the resolution, we are also important in its implementation.

The NGOWG seeks your assistance in creating a civil society alternative report, to be entitled Four Years On: Advancing Women, Peace and Security.

 The questionnaire is currently available in English, French and Spanish.  As it is critical to disseminate the questionnaire as broadly as possible, your assistance with translations would be greatly appreciated. If you are able to translate the questionnaire into any other languages, please let the NGOWG know and your translated questionnaire will be posted on the NGOWG website (http://www.peacewomen.org/un/ngo/wg.html). Please distribute the questionnaire to partners, network members and colleagues working on these issues. The deadline for the return of questionnaires is 1 September 2004 or as soon as possible after this date. 

 We look forward to your participation and assistance in bringing the voice of civil society organizations, networks and groups working on women, peace and security issues to the debate on the implementation of Resolution 1325.

NOTE: Due to restrictions on the length of messages sent to this list, the questionnaire will be sent separately as Women's GlobalNet #256.

*The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (NGOWG WPS), came together in June 2000 with a focused campaign on the development of a UN Security Council resolution on women, peace and security. With the unanimous adoption of Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security on 31 October 2000, the NGO Working Group shifted its focus to the support and monitoring of the implementation of Resolution 1325.

Members of the Working Group are:  Amnesty International, Femmes Africa Solidarite (FAS), Hague Appeal for Peace, International Alert, International Women's Tribune Centre (IWTC), Women's Actions for New Directions (WAND), Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, Women's Division, General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).

For more information on the NGOWG WPS please go to http://www.peacewomen.org/un/ngo/wg.html  

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