The 25th Anniversary of UNSCR 1325 and the WPS Agenda
For over a quarter of a century, WIIS has been at the forefront of raising awareness and promoting measures to enhance leadership opportunities for women in international peace and security. The Government of the Principality of Liechtenstein has been a long-standing partner in these endeavors, and I would like to congratulate WIIS on its many achievements in advancing the provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. This landmark resolution has brought about a number of improvements. Despite the progress made, many gaps remain in its implementation, particularly three of the WPS agenda’s four pillars: prevention, protection and participation.
Prevention. Looking into the future, it is important to increase efforts to implement a gender empowerment lens to human rights violations. While protecting victims and witnesses, the United Nations International, Impartial, and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) works with civil society and individuals to collect, analyze, and preserve evidence in order to facilitate investigations and prosecutions against suspected perpetrators. In this respect, the gender dimensions of those efforts will make it easier for women to gain access to greater justice. Peace processes need to ensure accountability: we cannot walk back on the advances international criminal law has made in this regard.
Protection. In addition, renewed focus is required to address sexual violence in conflict situations. This problem is as topical as ever and, of course, includes violence against men and boys. New and additional communication channels need to be identified since it is very difficult to obtain accurate, reliable, and timely data on the nature and scale of sexual violence during ongoing conflicts.
Participation. We need to continue our efforts to increase the representation of women in conflict resolution and active peace processes. In the UN context, those numbers have dropped temporarily. We need more women as Special Representatives of the Secretary-General, as co-decision makers, and as influencers, mediators, and peacebuilders.
WIIS deserves our full support in expanding its efforts to close the gender gap through sponsored research, policy analysis, and fostering partnerships with organizations worldwide to advance gender equality around the globe.
About the Author:
Claudia Fritsche is the former Ambassador of Liechtenstein to the United States, a distinguished role she held from 2002 to 2016 in Washington, D.C. Prior to this, Fritsche served as the Permanent Representative of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the UN from 1990 to 2002 in New York. Lichtenstein’s first female diplomat, Fritsche has been a champion for women’s equality through her many roles, including through her leadership on the European Committee on Equality between Women and Men and the Liechtenstein National Committee on Equality between Women and Men.
Image Courtesy of Michelle Luberto for the Hoya.