PRESS RELEASE

At the initiative of the Embassy of the Republic of Namibia, a Roundtable was held at the Headquarters of the African Union on Monday, 11 November 2013 to commemorate the 13th Anniversary of the adoption on 31 October 2000 of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women and Peace and Security.

Resolution 1325, which was adopted during Namibia’s Presidency of the UN Security Council, not only highlighted the disproportionate impact of conflict on women but also the imperative need to involve them in conflict resolution, peace negotiations, peace building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and post-conflict reconstruction.

The roundtable was moderated by H.E. Ms Mmamosadinyana P. J. Molefe, Ambassador of the Republic of Botswana who welcomed all to the roundtable and stressed the importance of women’s equal participation in conflict resolution, especially in Africa.

The panelists consisted of H.E. Mrs Anne Namakau Mutelo, Ambassador of the Republic of Namibia, who gave a background introduction to Resolution 1325 while highlighting that since the passage of the resolution women participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions as uniformed personnel had increased from one percent in 1993 to three per cent of military personnel and ten per cent of police personnel respectively in 2012.

On her part, H.E. Dr. Gudrun Graf, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria elaborated on subsequent resolutions that had been adopted since 2000 and presented a brief report on the encounters with Somali women in Kenya and in the refugee camps of Ethiopia in 2012 by Women Ambassadors accredited to the African Union during which they conveyed their solidarity with Somali women while learning from the latter’s experiences. Ambassador Graf also gave a brief account on how Austria had domesticated the provisions of Resolution 1325.

H.E. Ms Isabel Heyvaert, Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil presented a report on Women Ambassadors’ visit to Sudan and South Sudan in 2011 during which they heard first-hand accounts on how women there were contributing to conflict resolution.

Other participants highlighted the need for women to remain engaged in conflict resolution efforts while emphasizing the need for the Peace and Security Council (PSC) to effectively advance the issues of women and peace and security.

Participants were also in agreement that the commemoration should become an annual event on the calendar of the African Union Commission.

In her concluding remarks, Mrs. Litha Musyimi-Ogana, Director of Women, Gender and Development Directorate in the Commission elaborated on the activities of her Directorate as regards women in conflict/post situations and the mainstreaming of gender into all African Union activities.

Addis Ababa, 13 November 2013