Source: The Global Network Of Women Peacebuilding
The need to allocate sufficient resources for implementation of UNSCR 1325 has been emphasized by women’s groups, UN entities and other women, peace and security advocates since the adoption of the resolution in 2000. The UN Secretary General’s 2007 report on women peace and security stressed that “[A]dequate and predictable funding is crucial for efficient and sustainable implementation of the resolution.” The UN SG’s succeeding reports also called on governments, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders to “work to increase human and financial resources for mainstreaming a gender perspective in peace and security processes.” At the meeting “Increasing Momentum for UNSCR 1325 National Action Plans” organized by Realizing Rights and the Initiative for Inclusive Security, on April 24, 2009 in New York, it was recommended that funding including from Official Development Assistance and other sources should be an integral part of 1325 plans.

Recent discussions, such as the EU meeting on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 National Action Plans held in Brussels October 2, 2009, also stressed the need for statistics on women’s participation in peace negotiations as well as on post-conflict funding addressing women’s needs.

Rationale

The 10th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 presents a great opportunity to examine the issue of financing and resource allocation for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and its supporting resolutions. It is an opportunity to lobby the donor community to allocate resources and enable United Nations Member States, particularly in the Global South, as well as civil society and multilateral agencies such as the United Nations and other stakeholders to fully implement UNSCR 1325. The 10th anniversary is also an occasion to call on Global South governments to allocate resources for 1325 implementation from their own national budgets. The inclusion of the cost of 1325 implementation in national budgets will guarantee integration in national development strategies and ownership of the resolution and its implementation mechanisms at the country level.

The allocation of financial resources should be one of the indicators and bench marks that various governments, the UN, civil society and other stakeholders should use to gauge implementation. This civil-society-led study will complement the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Women, Peace and Security’s 2010 Agenda for Action where one of the three major challenge areas is the “Increased Resources for Women, Peace and Security.”

Objectives and deliverables

• To analyze the cost of implementing UNSCR 1325 in financial terms and develop an issue paper on this subject
• To organize a discussion on costing and financing as one of the indicators and benchmarks in 1325 monitoring

Research methodology, scope and relevant issues

The following describes the research methodology, scope and issues relevant for the content of the proposed issue paper analyzing financial requirements, needs and modalities implementing women peace and security issues. The study will estimate the resources needed for the full implementation of UNSCR 1325, in order to develop quantitative and comparable indicators for analyzing the resources dedicated to women, peace and security issues. In relation to this study, globally applicable indicators will be drafted through the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) and validated through its member organizations.

UNSCRs 1325, 1820, 1888 and 1889 outline the thematic as well as the normative scope of this study in relation to other related provisions such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as well as the Millennium Development Goals in relation to international development assistance provisions such as the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, the Accra Agenda for Action and the Monterrey Consensus.

The study will contain various case studies to demonstrate different funding and implementation strategies in different country contexts and levels. Suggested case studies are Colombia, the Philippines, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Netherlands which shall demonstrate the different strategies to allocate resources for different implementation strategies on UNSCR 1325 and related provisions. These case studies also help to identify different types of resources needed for the full and comprehensive implementation of UNSCR 1325.

Furthermore, this study shall suggest –as concretely as possible- the sources and funding needed to implement UNSCR 1325 and other women, peace and security provisions in a sustainable, inclusive, participatory and comprehensive manner. Instead of providing specific numbers this study will only be able to provide estimates based on the analyzed case studies and publically available information on funding women, peace and security initiatives.

This study will also look into the various modalities of resource allocation for 1325 implementation such as external funding from Official Development Assistance or funding from international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and development organizations. It will also examine how certain implementation strategies such as twinning or cross-learning as in the case of Ireland and Liberia have impacted or could potentially impact funding for 1325 implementation.

1. Methodology of research:

• Desk and literature review
• Analysis of existing normative framework
• Revision of publically accessible national action plans and international reports
• Consultation with the Global Network Women Peace Builders (GNWP) on existing and needed sources for the implementation of women, peace and security issues at the local level.
• Interviews with individual stakeholders (such as governmental staff working on women, peace and security action planning as well as international organizations) regarding resource allocation for women, peace and security implementation strategies.

2. Limitations of this research:

• Cost on implementation strategies –as well as their content and scope- highly depend on the specific country or institutional context the implementation takes place in. Numbers and implementation strategies will differ from context to context and generic assumptions will be difficult to conclude.
• Concrete numbers on security or development aid spending are considered sensitive information and are generally not accessible for the public or outsiders. Nonetheless, it will be tried to gain this data through interviews.
• The suggested time frame of the study is between December 2009 and end of June 2010, is quite limited given its scope.

3. Suggested structure of the issue paper

Introduction

• Outline dimensions and scope of 1325 and related women, peace and security provisions
• Overview of different implementation strategies
  • National action plans and alternative implementation mechanisms (Colombia, the Philippines, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Netherlands).
  • Global versus national implementation strategies
  • Mainstreaming versus targeted interventions (“adding ‘women’ is not enough”)

Normative Framework

• Resolutions 1325, 1829, 1888, and 1889
• CEDAW
• Millennium Development Goal 3: Gender Equality
• Interlinking these obligations with ‘Official Development Assistance’ provisions: such as the Paris Declaration, Accra Agreement and Monterrey Consensus

Financing Women, Peace and Security

• Unleashing different funding sources and actors (donor country versus recipient country)
• National gender budgeting
• Gendered security budget
• Ministerial contributions and collaborations (mainstreaming and action planning)
• International development aid and funding
• Security dimension in gender and development budget (ODA)
• International Missions and organizations working in (post-) conflict contexts
• Tracking funds for local civil society projects
• Bi-lateral collaboration on women, peace and security issues (“Twinning”)

Case Studies: Colombia, Sierra Leone, the Philippines, the Netherlands

Calculating the Costs on Women, Peace and Security Implementation
Source box: How to calculate the cost for a 1325 action plan (with concrete example from different contexts after each activity)

• Awareness raising campaigns
• Data collection and management (dissemination)
• Capacity building
• Collaboration and coordination
• Additional sources (technology, human resources, infra-structure and facilities)
• Monitoring and evaluation (internal/ external)

Case Study: Liberia –including the Twinning strategy with Ireland and how that has impacted financing for implementation

• The cost and funding of an action planning process
• External funding
• Global Colloquium as a fundraising strategy
• Internal political will and accountability
• Twinning and how it has impacted or can potentially impact financing for implementation (This is where we will dedicate a section on the twinning between Kenya and Finland.)

Conclusion

• Need for increased funding and strategic spending
• Collaboration and coordination mechanisms
  • Inside the government
  • Between donors (twinning)
  • With Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and international actors
  • Internationally
  • Including new actors (private sector)
• Need for monitoring and impact evaluation of these funds

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