A low number of women participating in peacekeeping missions, a lack of knowledge on gender issues on behalf of the commanding officers and a too weak commitment to supporting women’s rights through development aid. These are some of the challenges Sweden needs to asses to live up to its goals regarding UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and women’s rights in conflict areas. A fresh report from Operation 1325, which is launched in Stockholm today, scrutinizes the Sweden’s implementation of its National Action Plan (NAP) for the implementation of UNSCR 1325.
UNSCR 1325, which was adopted by the UN Security Council in 2000, was in many ways groundbreaking. Nevertheless, 12 years on little progress has been made when it comes to its implementation. Sweden was one of the first countries to adopt a National Action Plan (NAP) for the implementation of the resolution which to date is the most relevant government policy on UNSCR 1325.
But to what extent has Sweden managed to keep up its reputation as one of the leading countries when it comes to gender equality? Do we lead by example on the international arena? And how can the Swedish National Action Plan be improved?
Operation 1325 is launching “Women count – Sweden’s implementation of UNSCR 1325”, a report which looks at the extent to which Sweden has managed to implement UNSCR 1325 on women, peace, and security. The purpose of this launch is to present the monitoring report to relevant stakeholders and to have a discussion about the findings of the report.
In the past years Sweden has taken a number of steps towards implementing the resolution. Meanwhile, the report also shows that:
• Sweden falls short in its implementation work by the few women participating in international peacekeeping missions. Only 13,7 % of the Swedish peacekeepers are women.
• Commanding officers in the Swedish Armed Forces still have limited knowledge of gender issues and women’s needs in the conflict areas they work in.
• The Swedish allocation of development aid for women, peace, and security is modest. Only 7 million kronor of funds are earmarked for projects related to UNSCR 1325.
– Our report is a unique mapping of how Sweden has implemented UNSCR 1325. If we wish to see some concrete measures, civil society needs to put pressure and scrutinize the action taken by national governments. Investigating how the government is implementing its NAP for UNSCR 1325 is also a prerequisite for continuing to call Sweden a world class country when it comes to gender equality, says Karin Axelsson Zaar, Coordinator at Operation 1325.
For questions regarding the report, please contact Valter Vilkko, Communications Officer, at valter.vilkko@operation1325.se or by telephone +46 76 7633389.
