The symposium “Gender and Security: The Impact of UN Resolution 1325 on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management“ was be held on Thursday the 14th of November at The National Museum of Iceland. The symposium is hosted by EDDA – Center of Excellence, GET – The Gender Equality Training Programme and Institute of International Affairs at the University of Iceland.

A decade ago the United Nations Security Council agreed on Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. The resolution put women‘s involvement in peace processes firmly on the agenda and compelled UN and all its member states to adopt a more gender-inclusive approach to conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF, www.dcaf.ch) is one of the world‘s leading institutions in the areas of security sector reform and security sector governance. In this panel one of DCAF’s leading experts, Ms Anja Ebnöther, will discuss some of the challenges of taking up a more women-sensitive approach in security sector reform and how the security sector can be reformed so that it better ensures security and justice for both women and men. Amongst the questions raised will be: What challenges do security and justice providers encounter when trying to take into account the security needs of women and girls? How can women be included in decision-making at all levels in the security sector? The panel members will reflect on how these questions have been addressed in their own organisations or field of speciality, and on the gender blind spots that still exist in SSR.

Panel members:

• Anja Ebnöther, Assistant Director and Head of Special Programmes, DCAF.
• Valur Ingimundarson, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Iceland.
• Birna Þórarinsdóttir, Political Scientist
• Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir, Adjunct in Political Sciences at the University of Iceland.Symposium