Women, Peace and Security - UN Security Council Resolution 1325
For years, the Netherlands has made great efforts to strengthen the position of women and girls in (post-) conflict countries. The joint statement (on “Supporting Women's Political Empowerment in Emerging Democracies”) made by Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs Rosenthal and US Secretary of State Clinton on 21 April 2011 underlines the common interest that the two countries have in the participation of women in political and governmental decision-making processes.
The joint Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Ministry of Defence publication “The Dutch Do’s on Women, Peace & Security – Diplomacy, Defence & Development in Partnership” (November 2010) describes the results of the Dutch integrated approach to “Women, Peace and Security” in countries such as Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan in more detail.
Multilateral effort
The Netherlands takes an active approach to addressing Resolution 1325 issues within the relevant organisations, such as the UN, the EU and the OECD. The Netherlands also made an important contribution to improving gender policy within NATO peace operations, both at the HQ-level and by providing Dutch gender advisers for posting at Strategic/Operational Command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from 2009 onwards.
Capability-building regarding UN Security Council Resolution 1325 within operations and missions
The Dutch and Spanish Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Ministries of Defence are working together in the area of capability-building for gender in operations. A training course, entitled "A Comprehensive Approach to Gender in Operations", is given on a six-monthly basis. The course contributes to achieving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ objectives, with the specific goal of positively affecting the effectiveness of peace missions and crisis management through a practical training course for mid-level diplomats and military personnel on the subjects of gender and human rights. This course can be seen as a vehicle for the international dissemination and extension of Dutch know-how in the area of civil-military cooperation in operations and Dutch knowledge and experience regarding the integrated approach to women, peace and security. The course is open to EU member states and other interested parties.