Report of the Secretary General

1
Report of the Secretary General

• Susi Snyder
• 23 July 2007

2
Structure of this Report

• Report on the work of our offices
• Items that can be taken on by WILPF for
  coordinated advocacy- national and international
• Our Committees and working groups
• Staff

3
Current Work

• Our projects- UN Office
• PeaceWomen
• Reaching Critical Will
• Secretariat
• Programmatic work
• Servicing WILPF

4
PeaceWomen Project

• Monitoring and advocating for the implementation
  of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in
  International bodies
• 1325 Security Council Monitor- Resolution
  Report Watch
• Women UN Reform
• Gender, Peacebuilding Peacekeeping

5
Monitoring Implementation

• Monitoring SC GA debates on country specific
  and thematic issues and providing online index of
  what countries are saying or not saying on women,
  peace and security issues
• Monthly PeaceWomen E-news
• Regular contributions from UNIFEM, NGO Working
  Group on Women, Peace and Security, practitioners
  and peacebuilders
• Focus on a specific implementation issue each
  month
• Thousands of subscribers - NGOs, governments UN
• Sign up and share it

6
Online Advocacy

• www.PeaceWomen.org
• Features a wealth of information, resources
  advocacy tools
• Receive post information from advocates - we
  welcome input from WILPF sections - what are you
  doing on 1325? send it. We will post it!
• Use the website to create conceptual links for
  advocacy
• Needs restructuring and a technical upgrade - in
  process - let us know what parts you find most
  useful

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Advocacy for Implementation

• Engagement with governments and the UN system
• Strong relationships with the womens entities of
  the UN system the UN Taskforce on Women, peace
  security
• Ongoing relationships with governments and other
  decision makers- including Security Council
• Currently advocating for a SC mechanism and
  monitoring and reporting on SGBV in conflict
• Contributed to the revision of the UN system-wide
  action plan for the implementation of 1325
• Advocacy at the CSW on an annual basis to ensure
  women, peace and security issues considered
• Ongoing engagement with partners in specific
  situations to ensure the inclusion of women and a
  gender perspective
• Contributing to panels and discussions on women,
  peace and security issues
• Training of Staff of missions of countries on the
  SC on 1325

8
Translation

• 78 currently available online - for translations
  we need Aymara Quechua!
• Tracking translations Initiative - how are these
  being used, by whom and with what results
• Looking for contributions from WILPF sections -
  how have you used the resolution in your
  language? Have you translated other 1325
  resources or tools? Can we post them? Would you
  be willing to write a few paragraphs about how
  you use it?

9
1325 Security Council Monitor

• A PeaceWomen Project Initiative to Monitor the
  Security Council's Efforts to Incorporate 1325
  into its day-to-day work
• Includes
• Compilation of language on women gender issues
  in Security Council Resolutions - online and
  searchable by country and by theme
• Women, peace security language in Security
  Council Reports
• Checklist on Womens Participation and Gender
  Perspectives in Security Council Resolutions
• A resource for governments, NGOs and the UN
  system - it is used for the Secretary-Generals
  annual report on women, peace and security

10
Gender and Peacebuilding Peacekeeping

• Establishment of peacebuilding commission
  ensuring PBC takes into accounts the views of
  civil society women
• Monitoring how peacebuilding plans take 1325 into
  account
• Engagement with C34- Committee on peacekeeping
  DPKO

11
Women and UN Reform

• Fully engaged in the work of the system wide
  coherence panel- from the time of CSW 2006
• Now looking at advocacy towards new womens
  entity - Gender Equality Architecture
• Part of upcoming global campaign - Gender
  Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) looking for
  sections to become engaged on regional level

12
Looking Ahead

• Gender Equality Architecture
• Continue Institution building work
• Continue to be at the forefront of international
  womens advocacy
• Increased focus on Security Council - monitoring
  country specific actions activities
• Increased attention to Sexual Gender-based
  violence in conflict
• Better connections with the Geneva based human
  rights intern
• Especially important with CEDAWs move

13
Reaching Critical Will

• Increasing the quality and quantity of NGO
  engagement in multilateral disarmament processes
• UN General Assembly First Committee
• Conference on Disarmament
• UN Disarmament Commission
• Nuclear Non proliferation Treaty processes

14
UN General Assembly First Committee

• Publish weekly report and analysis of what is
  happening- First Committee Monitor
• Coordinate working group of organizations that
  monitor and do advocacy during 1com
• Coordinate calendar of events that organizations
  put on during 1com
• Saw substantial progress for NGOs in 2006- NGO
  speakers addressed the 1com for the first time,
  including WILPF member Merav Datan

15
Conference on Disarmament

• Only NGO in the world that regularly monitors and
  reports on this body
• This is the only body in the world mandated to
  negotiate disarmament treaties
• Demonstrated expertise, primary information
  source for NGOs, academia and government
• This year closer to a programme of work than ever
  before
• Need to engage better with sections for
  coordinated and strategic lobbying on certain
  issues
• Present annual International Womens day
  statement to the CD- what is the theme that we
  should look at for 2008?

16
UN Disarmament Commission

• Body of the UN General Assembly designed to
  consider and make recommendations on various
  disarmament questions.
• Currently focusing on recommendations for
  achieving the objectives of nuclear disarmament
  and nuclear non-proliferation and practical
  confidence-building measures in the field of
  conventional weapons.
• No other NGO monitors the UNDC or reports on it

17
Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty

• 2007 NPT outcomes included an agreed agenda for
  2008, 09
• NGO access was increased- continued advances made
  in 2004, 5
• Published daily News in Review, read by more than
  2500 subscribers globally, excerpts have also
  been reprinted, including to the UK Ambassadors
  personal blog.

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Recent publications

• Model Nuclear Inventory
• A comprehensive review of all nuclear weapons
  capable countries and their fissile materials
  holdings as well as their political positions
  taken in various disarmament fora
• Nuclear Disorder or Cooperative Security
• A review of the Weapons of Mass Destruction
  Commissions recommendations a suggestions for
  implementation in the US context

19
Looking ahead

• Iran
• Advocacy Materials- online and mailed to all
  sections
• Continued monitoring and advocacy at Security
  Council and IAEA.
• Corporate Connections
• Outer Space
• New research published on the RCW website
• Keep Space for Peace Week, October- creating more
  materials to make global advocacy stronger
• War Profiteers
• Updated research on RCW site about nuclear
  weapons related corporations- the dirtiest dozen
• NPT
• Just concluded the first meeting, next meeting
  end of April 2008 in Geneva.

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RCW staff has changed-

• Jennifer Nordstrom concluded her contract at the
  end of June this year, after two years with the
  project.

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New RCW Staff

• Ray Acheson is currently working half-time as
  acting project associate
• It is necessary to have a full time person in
  place in September, and funding exists to make
  this possible

22
In Geneva

• Secretariat work
• Information hub- what you tell us we tell others
• Communications
• Committees and Working Groups
• Programme advocacy work
• Human Rights
• Disarmament
• Economic Justice

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Information Hub

• Key element in many section reports- what is
  happening in other section? How do we best find
  out?
• When you tell us, we can tell others
• Working on upgrading the website (ongoing needs
  funding) to allow for sections to post their own
  information and maintain their own sites if they
  dont already have them
• Monthly updates provide programme information on
  what WILPF is doing at the international level
  each month
• Have been rather sporadic, but regularized again
• Hoping to have this in a better e-newsletter
  format soon, as a compliment to the International
  Peace Update

24
Communications

• Last year set up electronic list serves for all
  the committees and working groups
• Happy that the IEC is now beginning to use their
  list
• Some, but not all committees are using them
• Working with the communications committee to
  figure out how to improve what is there and best
  meet the needs expressed and facilitate
  communications
• Grateful for the work of the communications
  committee
• This committee needs a new convenor- any
  volunteers?

25
Human Rights Council

• Institution Building- first year just concluded
• Balance between Economic Social Cultural rights
  and Civil Political rights- they go hand in
  hand
• Developing educational materials on the human
  rights covenants and treaty bodies for members
• Emphasize the links between peace and human rights

26
Economic Justice

• Ongoing research and development of the EPZ
  website- women at work
• Links to WTO, ILO, other international bodies
• Shows where the export processing zones are, what
  labor laws are applicable, what companies are
  operating there and more

27
Disarmament

• Monitor all Geneva disarmament discussions
• Biological weapons
• Conventional weapons
• Conference on disarmament
• Chemical weapons
• Coordinate annual 8 March Seminar
• Coordinate annual NGO statement to the CD
• Work with the International Campaign to Ban
  Uranium Weapons- following up from 2006 8 March
  Seminar

28
Upcoming political opportunities

• Cluster munitions
• Biological weapons
• Gender equality architecture
• Local level 1325 implementation responsibility to
  CEDAW, linkages can be made also with increasing
  womens human rights
• 2008 CSW

29
Cluster Munitions

• Coming out of the Certain Conventional Weapons
  meeting, Norway offered to begin a process to
  negotiate a treaty banning cluster munitions
  (that cause indiscriminate harm)
• First meeting was in Oslo. Working with the
  Norwegian Section, WILPFer Katherine Harrision
  attended and wrote the definitive report of this
  meeting
• Second meeting in Lima, Katherine attended again
  (funded by the cluster munitions coalition) and
  again provided the definitive NGO proceedings of
  the meeting.
• WILPF Switzerland arranging opportunities for
  speaking to members and parliamentarians on this
  issue
• Next meeting in Austria, and then in Geneva.
  Early 2008 in Dublin.
• Opportunity for WILPF sections to advocate
  locally for their governments to sign-onto the
  Oslo Declaration
• Great cooperation with WILPF Norway WILPF
  Switzerland on this, thank you!

30
Biological Weapons

• At the 2006 Review Conference, organized a panel
  with members of WILPF US to discuss the local
  resistance to new bioweapons labs
• Expert group meetings are coming up, opportunity
  to continue implementing the 2005 IEC resolution
  on the subject

31
Gender Equality Architecture

• Since CSW 2006 have been following these
  discussions closely have been heavily engaged
  in advocacy with other NGOs
• Now need to continue monitoring advocacy at the
  UN - PeaceWomen staff, and advocating for a
  strengthened gender equality architecture for
  governments to commit resources at the national
  level
• Part of GEAR campaign to be launched shortly and
  looking for WILPF engagement on regional
  national level
• Excellent on the PeaceWomen website

32
1325 on the National level

• Many countries are working on national
  implementation plans for 1325
• This is good, but distracts from the greater
  obligations in CEDAW UN implementation of 1325
• WILPF needs to continue to be strong, and work
  for full adherence to CEDAW, national action plan
  on 1325 can be a step in that process but is by
  no means the end

33
CSW 2008

• Will review the issue of Women in Armed Conflict
  in regard to womens participation
• WILPF is best placed to have a strong presence at
  this meeting, we have a lot to offer
• Materials are currently being developed so that
  national level implementation can be reviewed and
  advocacy can take place in preparation for the
  CSW, whether or not women attend the meeting
  itself in NY.

34
CEDAW moves to Geneva

• Provides an excellent way to link the work of
  PeaceWomen in the UNO to the Human Rights
  advocacy work done by the intern in Geneva
• Opportunity to highlight the necessity for all
  countries to sign and ratify this convention
• Opportunity to highlight the recent work done
  linking 1325 and CEDAW

35
Coalitions

• Work with many other orgs on many issues, these
  are just some
• Conference of NGOs (CONGO)- recently nominated to
  the board
• NGO Working Group on Women, Peace Security (NY)
• NGO Working Group on Peace (GVA)
• NGO Committee for Disarmament (GVA- we hold
  presidency)
• NGO Committee on the Status of Women (both NY and
  GVA) - Sam Cook on Executive chair of new
  subcommittee on women, peace and security
• Abolition 2000- we sit on the Global Council
• Mayors for Peace- we are on the advisory board

36
Staff

• Currently Marie Boroli, International Office
  Manager, Geneva
• Sam Cook, PeaceWomen Project Associate NY
• Milkah Kihunah, PeaceWomen Project Associate, NY
• Ray Acheson, Reaching Critical Will Acting
  Project Associate, NY
• Carole Shaw, six month (now concluded) WILPF UN
  Liaison, part time only.
• We need a UN office director
• Currently the SG is attempting to do the work of
  the absent UNO director, and this is not healthy,
  not sustainable, not good for WILPF and has been
  going on for nearly an entire year. This is a
  result of a hiring freeze. This position has
  only been filled for a total of 9 months since
  January 2005.

37
Interns

• In NY, many short term interns that facilitate
  the maintenance of the websites, do research and
  support the projects in innumerable ways
• In GVA- two long-term paid interns
• Disarmament Katherine Harrison
• Human Rights Julia Federico
• We encourage all sections to nominate candidates
  for these internships
• Swedish Cooperation
• The Swedish section has provided a number of
  interns to both offices- these women work for
  approximately 10 weeks in the Stockholm office
  and then come to either NY or Geneva. This
  cooperation is beneficial to both the section and
  international. Previous Swedish interns in
  Geneva remain actively engaged in the work of the
  section, as well as internationally.
• While interns do take a time and energy
  investment on the part of staff, we have found
  this to be highly rewarding for all, and maintain
  relationships with departed interns, even so far
  as to develop a WILPF Alumnae network, where
  former interns keep in touch with one another and
  with what they are currently doing with WILPF and
  other activist work where they are.

38
Standing Committees

• Constitution
• Finance
• Organisational development
• Personnel
• Communications

39
Constitution Committee

• Proposed amendments to be discussed at this
  Congress from Sweden, the UK, Denmark and Norway
• The sections that have proposed amendments should
  meet with the Constitution Committee during the
  Congress to try and find consensus on proposed
  changes

40
Standing Finance

• Committee works well, but is missing
  representation from most sections
• Need to find a new convenor
• Recommendation that the convenor and treasurer be
  different people
• Treasurer provides information, keeps the link
  between officers and committee
• Convenor facilitates policy discussions and
  decisions

41
Organisational Development

• Wants more input from the IEC and other WILPF
  members specifically on the mandate and direction
  the committee should take
• Requests accurate reporting to the international
  meetings of section membership, with unpaid
  supporters listed separately in order to best
  assess the health of sections
• Have faced difficulty in maintain communications
  among the members of the committee, though have
  been using the list serve
• Needs additional members, currently have 6

42
Communications

• Needs new convenors
• Want to be better consulted on publications of
  WILPF, including the IPU
• Recently published communications guidelines for
  WILPF, which was circulated to all sections
• Seeks to look at how WILPF can better use the
  media, encourage more contributions to the
  monthly section mailings, hopes to facilitate
  exchange of section newsletters

43
Personnel

• Convenor has resigned
• Committee has been basically non-functional for
  at least two years- this has led to the
  escalation of problems that could otherwise have
  been addressed and solved
• Request made in 2005 to update the international
  personnel policies, to take into consideration
  the increase in staff since they were written,
  and the impacts on JAPA (the employer of record
  for the UNO). This has not yet been done, but
  still needs to be.
• Need to find members who are located nearer to
  the offices, in order that the staff have a
  representative of a functional committee to go to
  for questions and guidance.

44
Working Groups

• Peace and Security
• Environmental Sustainability
• Global Economic Justice

45
Peace and Security

• Edwina Hughes and Carol Urner have been doing an
  incredible job trying to cover a mandate that is
  just too big
• Working Group could function better if it perhaps
  established sub-groups, these might be
• Security Council Resolution 1325
• Outer Space
• Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament- formalize the
  advisory board for the Reaching Critical Will
  Project
• Conventional Weapons- including cluster
  munitions, small arms and light weapons, and more

46
Environmental Sustainability

• Active at the Commission on Sustainable
  Development for the last several years
• Provided support for participation from the
  global south, arranged panels for the last few
  years
• Advocated for nuclear not to be included as
  sustainable energy in the CSD outcomes
• 2006 IEC WG decided to focus on military impacts
  on the environment
• This supported statement on military impacts on
  environment to the Human Rights Council, May 2007

47
Global Economic Justice

• EPZ project is evolving and being worked on-
  preliminary website is online now
• Resolution that could be presented to the
  Economic and Social Council on womens
  participation in economic decision making was
  sent to officers meeting in March, still needs
  additional discussion and strategizing
• How will we present it?
• Who are the friendly governments that will push
  this forward?
• How can we build support?

48
Our Sections

• We have been losing members in some sections and
  others are growing. We still do not have
  accurate membership numbers from many sections,
  though requested - this is also something that
  the organisational development committee hopes to
  have to help evaluate sections that are having
  trouble
• We need to come up with strategies for supporting
  sections that are having problems, before they
  are in crisis
• The UK has an excellent model for growing
  membership and retaining new members- the Connect
  Days
• This is a model that can be used in other
  sections, there will be a workshop on this
• Secretariat is preparing generic membership
  materials that could be used by all sections,
  working with the communications committee

49
Section Coordination

• Coordinated action- across all sections, is a way
  that we can increase our visibility, we can
  increase our membership, we can increase our
  presence in the world. We should consider
  picking a few days and themes (no more than 3) in
  the year that all sections organize something to
  promote WILPF.
• We would like to prepare specific materials to
  achieve this from the secretariat.
• Section-Section partnerships are functioning
  fairly well. The cooperation projects between
  Norway/Lebanon, Norway/Colombia, Sweden/Costa
  Rica and others are ways to strengthen solidarity
  and share resources to achieve common goals.

50
100th Anniversary

• Mans van Zandbergen is the current focal point
  for preparations
• Will this Congress decide to rearrange our
  Congress schedule so that we can have a Congress
  in 2015?
• This Congress should send an official request to
  the Netherlands WILPF to host this event, an
  opportunity to recall our history and launch our
  future.
• Presentation of the Manifesto- if that is agreed
  at this meeting

51
Advocacy- from the Local to the Global

• We are superbly placed to coordinate advocacy on
  a few issues of primary concern at both the
  international and the national levels
• Example of this was recent coordination on
  Cluster Munitions
• This requires a clear articulation of our goals
  and objectives, clear definitions of what is
  expected from staff, from sections, from officers

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We are few but powerful, let us be many and
unstoppable!
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