Baseline Study on UNSCR 1325 -- Women and Peacebuilding Toolkit: Sharing the Learning

This baseline study was commissioned by the Women and Peacebuilding Project in order to underpin a Toolkit on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 for use by local women’s groups and statutory organizations in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Project seeks to bring an international perspective to local learning on women and peacebuilding issues in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland using UNSCR 1325. The research was structured around three levels of investigation: the UN system; domestic and regional implementation globally; and implementation and initiatives at the national level within the UK and Ireland in relation to Northern Ireland. Chapter Two examines the international legal and policy context for the implementation of UNSCR 1325, regional and domestic approaches to implementation and some common challenges and gaps as well as potential opportunities. Chapter Three considers the national frameworks for implementation, documenting the key instruments guiding implementation in the UK and Ireland. The chapter also examines a number of initiatives being developed by NGOs and lobby groups across the four pillars of UNSCR 1325 including an assessment of the current policy contexts in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The chapter concludes with an assessment of current opportunities and gaps within current UNSCR 1325 initiatives being implemented. Chapter Four reviews a range of relevant toolkits and identifies a number of core components to inform the model and structure of a Toolkit on UNSCR 1325 for the Women and Peacebuilding Project. A number of mechanisms to build collaborative action with a range of strategic partners/agencies/sectors on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda (including the development and dissemination of the Toolkit) are proposed in the concluding section of the baseline for consideration by the Women and Peacebuilding Project.