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Decoding UN Resolution 1325: Promoting Safety at Home though Greater Leadership

“We simply can no longer afford to deny the full potential of one half of the population. The world needs to tap into the talent and wisdom of women. Whether the issue is food security, economic recovery, health, or peace and security, the participation of women is needed now more than ever” – Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile

United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, addresses the impact of war on women and the importance of women’s full and equal participation in conflict resolution, peace-building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction. The resolution also calls for special measures to protect women and girls from conflict-related sexual violence and outlines gender-related responsibilities of the United Nations in different political and programmatic areas.

On 22nd of June, 2020, Lithuania adopted second national action plan on Women, peace and security (WPS) for 2020 – 2024. It seeks to strengthen role of women in Lithuanian society and ensure active participation in prevention of conflicts, decision making and creation of sustainable peace.

Women’s Issues Information Centre together with alumna’s of U.S Embassy in Lithuania programs prof. Dalia Leinarte and Rugile Butkeviciute will contribute to implementation of WPS agenda in Lithuania by increasing leadership capacity of women in communities across Lithuania to reduce gender – based violence.

Name of the project: Decoding UN Resolution 1325: Promoting Safety at Home though Greater Leadership

Duration: 09/22/2020 – 07/30/2021

Problem statement: A highly professional team of alumni initiated this proposal in response to the diverse challenges increasingly experienced by local women in Lithuania, including the facts that: 1) every third women in Lithuania experiences gender-based violence, with the estimated cost of violence each year at 600,000 euros; 2) Lithuania scored very low for its progress in achieving gender equality, only earning 55.5 points according to 2019 Gender Equality Index (the global average was 65.7 out of 100 and the EU average was 67.4); and 3) women are underrepresented in power and decision-making positions – Lithuanian government has only one women minister out of 14 positions, and women make-up only 8 percent of leadership positions in local municipalities. There is a clear lack of knowledge of the WPS agenda among local NGO’s and civil society, which results in slow implementation of the NAP. In partnership with high-level organizations, this project will focus on addressing these challenges by conducting an extensive training program for Lithuanian leaders to implement the WPS agenda locally and nationally.

Goals: to support women’s full participation in peace and security efforts, to reduce gender-based violence, and to advance gender equality by increasing women’s political representation and roles in decision-making processes.

Objectives: 

– Strengthen the capacity of NGO’s in Lithuania to implement the second NAP on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) de facto.

– Enhance visibility and practical transferability of the WPS agenda 2020 – 2024 in the civil society sector by enhancing NGO’s leadership skills on the local and national levels.

– Transfer and multiply WPS agenda by equipping NGOs with practical tools to become experts of WPS in national/ international missions.

Activities:

  1. Development of multilingual online training curriculum on women’s leadership and prevention of gender-based violence;
  2. Implement a training for trainers workshop called “Champions for Women, Peace and Security”;
  3. Conduct workshops for local women leaders;
  4. Host the first ever Women Leadership Forum on Women, Peace, and Security to mark the progress since the anniversary of UN Resolution 1325 (with participation from NGOs from Nordic – Baltic countries as well as Ukraine and Moldova).
  5. Form a group of leaders implementing the WPS Agenda, called “Leaders for Sustainable Peace and Security.”

Project Rresults: 

1. Activity report in EN

2. Video on “Women, peace and security”:

Applicant: Women’s Issues Information centre

Experts of the project: Fulbrigt program alumna prof. Dalia Leinarte and Community Solutions program alumnė Rugile Butkeviciute

 

Project is financed by U.S. Embassy in Lithuania via Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund 2020

 

Let’s join forces to end gender – based violence:

Rugile Butkeviciute

rugile@lygus.lt