Publication Date:

June 24, 2008

Fifty prominent leaders from government, the United Nations and nonprofit organizations gathered in New York June 5-6 to continue work begun as part of the Sunnylands Trust International Women Leaders Global Security Summit held last November.

Chairing the meeting was Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland. Participating were U.N. Special Representatives Radhika Coomaraswamy and Rachel Mayanja; Liberian Minister of Gender and Development Vabah Gayflor; African activists Betty Bigombe  and Nyaradzai  Gumbonzvanda; UNIFEM officials Joanne Sandler and Anne-Marie Goetz, and representatives of nearly a dozen U.N. country missions. 

The group was convened by the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands and the Women Leaders Intercultural Forum of Realizing Rights, in partnership with International Crisis Group, The Council of Women World Leaders and The White House Project.  Those groups also were partners in the November summit.

The purpose of the June meeting was to consider the status of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which was passed unanimously on October 31, 2000.  UNSCR 1325, as it is called, provided a plan for ensuring the protection and participation of women, including gender equality in political leadership, support for women in refugee and internally displaced persons settlements and accountability for sexual violence and other abuses.   In large part because there are no monitoring, accountability and enforcement mechanisms, the goals of resolution have been unfulfilled.

At the June session, participants discussed accountability mechanisms, research tactics and advocacy strategies for full implementation of UNSCR 1325. Realizing Rights has committed to launching a new project of research and advocacy to provide field-based data on the successes and failures of measures already adopted, to serve as a resource base and catalyst for activity worldwide by governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and to collaborate with principals in those organizations to secure needed changes.

President Robinson has committed to hosting briefing sessions with the Secretary General of the United Nations in early July.