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UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz

Press Conference by Women’s Non-Governmental Organizations on UN Reform
Sam Cook (second from left), Project Associate for PeaceWomen, a project of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, speaks to journalists at a press conference to discuss an open letter to the Secretary-General and Member States from Women’s non-governmental organizations regarding UN reform, today at UN Headquarters in New York.
Location: United Nations, New York
Date: 6 March 2006

About Us

Across the world, continued violence threatens the future of millions of women and their communities. The international community has recognized the valuable contribution women make to conflict prevention and sustainable peacebuilding. However, women and gender considerations are still largely absent from the structures that make the decisions to sustain peace or engage in conflict.

The NGOWG on Women, Peace and Security advocates for the equal and full participation of women in all efforts to create and maintain international peace and security. Formed in 2000 to call for a Security Council resolution on Women, Peace and Security, the NGOWG now focuses on implementation of SCR 1325 and all other Security Council resolutions that address this issue. The NGOWG serves as a bridge between women’s human rights defenders working in conflict-affected situations and policy-makers at U.N. Headquarters.

The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, via its strategic positioning in New York at United Nations headquarters, plays an important global role in monitoring policy and practice on women, peace and security. Together with its growing network of gender and security experts, the coalition has built a constituency of women, peace and security advocates among UN Member States, high-level UN decision makers, and civil society working on peacebuilding initiatives at the national and local levels.

Mission

The NGO Working Group’s mission is to collaborate with the United Nations, its Member States and civil society towards full implementation of SCR 1325 and all other Security Council resolutions that address women, peace and security, including ensuring the equal and full participation of women in issues relating to peace and security. Using SCR 1325 as our guiding instrument, the NGO Working Group promotes a gender perspective and respect for human rights in all peace and security, conflict prevention and management and peacebuilding initiatives of the United Nations.

Vision

Sustainable peace depends on the full participation of women in all decision-making to prevent violent conflict and to protect all civilians. The NGO Working Group believes that a broad and positive impact on the lives of all people experiencing conflict will result from full implementation of SCR 1325 and promotion of the Beijing Platform for Action, CEDAW and other supporting instruments. We further believe that implementation of SCR 1325 is a necessary tool for the prevention of armed conflict and to facilitate inclusion of gender in the ongoing peace and security discourse taking place within the UN and internationally.

Partners

The NGO Working Group collaborates with civil society groups, including other women’s peace groups and networks, human rights and humanitarian organization and research institutions; and with UN actors and UN Member States in its work on SCR 1325, including:

  • Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)
  • Friends of 1325, a group of UN Member States who are advocates for the implementation of SCR 1325
  • UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
  • UN Inter-Agency Taskforce on Women, Peace and Security
  • UN Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI)
  • United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict (UN Action)
  • United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)

Members

As of October 2009, the NGO Working Group membership consists of the following organizations:

Interactive Network

Other women's peace groups and networks who work with the NGOWG include: