1325 Award Announced

by: Andrew Frisicano

Worldwide: The award aims to honour and encourage an individual or a civil society organization in a conflict country or region that has developed groundbreaking and effective initiatives to promote the rights of women and to increase their participation at decision-making levels in peace processes.

In short, the 1325 Award aims to reward those who have contributed to the implementation of Resolution 1325, passed by the United Nations Security Council on 30 October 2000. By passing this Resolution, the Council agreed to: increase the participation of women at decision-making levels in peace-processes; mainstream a gender perspective into peace keeping operations and programmes for demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration of ex-combatants; protect women and children, prevent gender-based and other types of violence and end impunity of those who commit such crimes.

The award is an initiative of the Women in Conflict Situations and Peacekeeping Taskforce in the Netherlands, which aims to increase the role of women in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and (at an international level) post-conflict reconstruction. One of the means of doing so will be giving out the 1325 Award. Winner of the award will receive a sum of euro 15,000 of prize money, a work of art made exclusively for the occasion, and a tour through the Netherlands to present his or her work to a diversity of audiences in the Netherlands.

Organizations (governmental, non-governmental, UN affiliated, civil society, embassies) are invited to nominate individuals or organizations as candidates for the 1325 Award. The deadline for nominations is 15 July 2006. For information about the 1325 Award, nomination forms, criteria, etc, please visit the website: http://www.1325award.nl

Source: 1325 Award