The consultation was convened jointly by UN Women, Saathi, and the Asia-Pacific Women's Alliance for Peace and Security (APWAPS), in cooperation with the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) and Cordaid. The consultation gathered more than 60 women from throughout the region, including from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Japan, India, Indonesia, Kazahkstan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, Vietnam, Australia, Bougainville, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Participants raised issues including accountability for conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence, addressing root causes of conflict including militarism, and emerging issues such as violent extremism, climate change and natural resource extraction.
A consultation with women’s civil society organizations from Asia and the Pacific was of particular importance to the Global Study, considering the region’s diverse experiences with peace and security. In many parts of Asia and the Pacific, there have been notable strides toward the implementation of resolution 1325—and the persistent efforts of women’s civil society in advancing this implementation serve as important examples for the rest of the globe. However, challenges for women, peace and security persist throughout the region, in areas such as women’s access to justice, reparations and humanitarian assistance, their protection against sexual violence and other human rights abuses, and their economic and social empowerment. Furthermore, the region also has valuable experience with new and emerging security threats linked to increased radicalization, terrorism and transnational organized crime, as well as the nexus between climate change, natural disasters and conflict. In this context, the specific experiences, challenges and recommendations of women’s civil society organizations in Asia and the Pacific will be critical to chart the way toward a renewed commitment to the women, peace and security agenda.
The consultation took place on the final day of a three-day meeting co-organized by Saathi, APWAPS, GNWP and Cordaid. During the first two days, participants engaged in general discussions on the implementation of resolution 1325, and prepared topics and remarks to share with the Global Study. This allowed participants to deliver concise and coherent remarks on a broad range of topics.
Key areas of interest and discussion included: