“Framers of 1325” Series: Amb. Dr. Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika

Women In International Security: Shaping the Future 

Shaping the future requires us to look back into the past to identify successes, achievements, and shortcomings. In the particular case of the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR 1325), it also requires us to examine key actors, what they brought to the table, the methods they used, and who they partnered with. This way, it is easier to incorporate the “missing links” (i.e., sidelined actors) moving forward, including by using modern technology which was not available 25 years ago. 

For global NGOs especially, it is essential to incorporate women’s experiences and indigenous knowledge from the so-called “third world” in peace and security efforts at the community and national levels. It is also important to note that women’s participation in peace and security is for the benefit of all citizens–young and old, and the usually marginalized. These experiences constitute women, peace, and security (WPS) in all nations leading to our global world. 

This is also how the “Framers of UNSCR 1325” worked. The process was not top-down, but bottom-up, starting from the rural women who have been involved in peace maintenance and conflict resolution since time immemorial, long before the founding of the UN and contemporary global institutions. This bottom-up process led to the mobilization for peace and security at global levels–providing unity of purpose in the world–and this momentum from lower levels propelled the initiative that led to a successful and unanimous vote for UNSCR 1325. 

However, the downturn and loss of momentum around UNSCR 1325 occurred at national and international levels, where actors did not “pick up the ball” sufficiently. Africa did try by implementing a 50/50 gender balance in the highest decision-making structure of the African Union (AU). This was followed by the institutionalization of FEMWISE, a group of women mediators within the Peace and Security Commission of the AU. Overall, countries, regional institutions, and the UN relaxed after the unanimous vote. There was no significant follow-up to ensure the implementation of what was agreed upon: the involvement of women in all peace processes. 

Looking forward, WIIS and the overall WPS community must pick-up where we left off. We must ensure implementation of what was agreed upon, while adding and addressing what has happened in the last 25 years and whatever can be predicted into the future. 

About the Author:

Dr. Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika is the former Ambassador of the Republic of Zambia to the US. Her distinguished career includes appointments as the Ambassador and Special Envoy to the Zambian President and a Member of the Zambian Parliament. Dr. Lewanika was among five women to brief members of the UNSC on the groundbreaking Resolution 1325. She has also held senior leadership positions at UNICEF and was the president of the Federation of African Women’s Peace Networks (FERFAP). She remains a champion of peace and the rights of women and children. 

Image Courtesy of the Zambia Foreign Ministry’s X Account.

What is Next for the WPS Agenda?

As the Executive Director of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), my journey with the formulation and implementation of UNSCR 1325 taught me some of my most critical and hardest lessons during my entire career at the UN. I learned that although the UN was founded on principles of peace and human rights, principles are not enough in a world where the politics of hatred, division, violence, and exclusion permeate many of our societies. Working on many situations of conflict, I learned that we must be attentive to the reality that many powerful actors hold values that go against those enshrined in the UN Charter, and that often these actors mobilise popular fear to fuel the politics of division and hatred. I realised that principles and norms of the UN must continuously be renewed and reaffirmed, especially when they are shaken in the face of violence that dehumanises the other, shatters the moral compass of entire societies, and unleashes a downward spiral of revenge. I learned that particularly when lives are at stake, political leadership is critical, and that those who want to create change within a system as complex as the United Nations must engage leadership at multiple levels, linking realities on the ground to high levels of decision-making. 

In such a complex ecosystem, looking forward, those of us who have committed our lives to multilateralism and women’s transformational leadership need to reflect and rethink strategies to guide the future implementation of UNSCR 1325 to ensure sustainable peace, especially at this time when the rules of war are being constantly broken. Some of my initial thoughts contributing to future strategies are: 

• Build enough support from strategic people and Member states; 
• Generate widespread engagement and involvement of critical women and community leaders from conflict-affected countries that share the same aspirations and values;
• Increase momentum from civil society and networks through active collaboration and long-term trusted partnerships;
• Erode the resistance from the bureaucracy by engaging and convincing strategic high-level leaders in the system, and by being resilient in the face of opposition;
• Develop an instinct for new possibilities and windows of opportunity to involve women to change the way peace is negotiated and sustained;
• Invest in the infrastructure of peace in the rebuilding and reconstruction process: education, healthcare, livelihoods, equal citizenship and rights, accountability and justice;
• Keep the cohesion of the constituency by acknowledging the contribution of all by preventing fragmentation of competing interests and even stepping aside when others need great recognition.

Finally, through my work on UNSCR 1325, I also learned that space for change must be created, and leaders of change must be legitimized. But for change to last, it cannot simply be imposed from the top-down; rather, it must be championed by leaders who come from within communities themselves, deployed as a force to mobilise participation in transition and recovery for all members of society. I learned that while there is an important role for a strengthened multilateral system, the international community cannot be expected to fix all problems, especially at a time when the system itself has been severely weakened and is plagued by global geopolitical rivalry. Thus, we cannot depend on the UN and Member states alone; we must identify, recognise, legitimise and invest in leadership and agency for change at all levels, based on shared global values and shared responsibility. The United Nations remains an indispensable global institution in ensuring peace, security, and equality,  but without vision, courage, and people willing to take the risk to make those norms a reality, it will not be fit for purpose to serve its constituency. Indeed, it is “We the Peoples” who will make the UN fit for the 21^st century.   

About the Author

Dr. Noeleen Heyzer is the former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), a position she held from 2007 to 2014 as the highest-ranking Singaporean national in the UN system. She was also the first woman from the Global South to lead the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and was its longest serving Executive Director for 13 years. At UNIFEM, Dr. Heyzer played a key role in UNSCR 1325’s adoption, established the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, and was instrumental in restructuring UNIFEM into UN Women, increasing its resources and impact and ensuring that women’s issues remained a priority within the UN. Dr. Heyzer has also served as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Timor-Leste, as well as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Myanmar, and was the first woman to lead the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Throughout her career, Dr. Heyzer has been a strong advocate for women’s empowerment, sustainable development, and international peace, and her life’s work is shared in her memoir, Beyond Storms and Stars (Penguin 2021).

Image Courtesy of Korean Culture and Information Service.

History is important for knowing what to do in the future. I don’t know the future, but I can tell you what I know will matter for the future: movements matter, women and civil society matter, and equality and peace matter. 

Movements Matter 

Let me share two examples of why and how movements matter. One, the movie The Movement and the “Madman” shows that the October-November 1969 demonstrations against the Vietnam War, organized by two civil society movements, led Henry Kissinger to advise President Nixon not to use nuclear weapons against Vietnam. This was because the administration knew that they had no public support for bombing Vietnam. Two, Women Strike for Peace’s work documented the horrible consequences of atmospheric testing of atomic bombs, whose fallout was poisoning Americans’ food and quite literally killing communities. This movement helped convince President John F. Kennedy to sign the Partial Test Ban Treaty (formally known as the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space, and Under Water) with the Soviet Union in 1963.

Women and Civil Society Matter

In other words, these stories show us that women’s movements matter, especially under the umbrella of civil society because civil society can make political change (here, “civil society” means everyone not including corporations and governments). When it came to the adoption of UNSCR 1325, civil society women were key; this was not a government-led movement. We have evidence that the participation of women in these collaborative movements have produced change, so keeping these movements going is of the utmost importance. We have to organize and keep these movements alive and women actively engaged in them. And we have to be positive. 

Equality and Peace Matter

This holds especially true since diversity, equity, and inclusion, and “women,” were the first things eliminated in the current situation we find ourselves in, and we need to bring them back. We see that equality, peace, women, civil society, and movements–they all matter equally. None is more important than the other.

One other thought that I wish to share: We have to abolish nuclear weapons. The word “abolish” is very important here, because it denotes a workable solution, not just a step-by-step reduction. Too many organizations call for reduction because they believe that if you reduce a nuclear weapon arsenal to 10, 15, or 30 out of 500, then that is progress. However, one is all that is needed. So reduction is not a workable idea, but abolition is.

UNSCR 1325 was adopted unanimously by the Security Council. Women’s movements and civil society made it happen. It is important to remind people that the unanimous adoption of UNSCR 1325 in 2000 means that it is international law and must be respected and observed. Some may not like this, but we should never give up on law. 

Every year, without exception, we have celebrated and honored “1325” (probably the four most popular numbers at the United Nations). This also matters, because celebrating UNSCR 1325 keeps its memory alive and promotes the WPS agenda in all its facets.

About the Author

At 91, Cora Weiss is a peace activist at the forefront of many international movements, including those for nuclear abolition, civil rights, and women’s rights. As a civil society member, Weiss was instrumental in drafting UN Security Council 1325, which launched the groundbreaking Women, Peace, and Security Agenda in 2000. She has led organizations such as Women Strike for Peace, the Hague Appeal for Peace, and the International Peace Bureau, and was nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize for her enduring efforts towards anti-war causes, peace advocacy, and women’s justice.

WIIS team members Karin Johnston and Mahathi Ayyagari interviewed Weiss at her request. These remarks have been edited for clarity.

Image Courtesy of Activist Video Archive.