Libya’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs and UN Women agree to collaborate on a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security

[Press release]

Coming at critical time when Libyans are working to end a decade of division, this collaboration is set to enhance the country’s peace and security.

With support from the Governments of Finland and Norway, UN Women will be providing technical expertise to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs of the Libyan Government of National Unity to prepare a roadmap to a National Action Plan to implement the United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on Women, Peace and Security.

In 2000, resolution 1325 was unanimously adopted by the United Nations Security Council, marking a global recognition of the disproportionate impact of conflict on women and their vital role in peacebuilding.  This watershed resolution is particularly important for countries such as Libya working towards peaceful and inclusive democracies. It emphasizes the important role women play in preventing and resolving conflicts as well as in post-conflict reconstruction. It also stresses the importance of women’s equal participation in all matters of peace and security, and calls for special measures to protect women and girls from all forms of violence.

“UN Women supports women’s full and equal representation and participation in peace and security,” says Begoña Lasagabaster, UN Women Representative in Libya and Tunisia. “To reach peace and sustain it, we need to leverage women’s skills and leadership in conflict resolution, peacebuilding and political participation.”

UN Women’s support of women’s participation in peace and security is guided by UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions, and bolstered by a number of related normative frameworks, which make up the broader Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.  National Action Plans provide a valuable tool for states to implement their commitments to the Women, Peace and Security agenda and for civil society to hold them accountable. An Action Plan is a critical and practical document that details the actions a government takes to translate its WPS commitments into concrete policies and programmes to enhance women’s participation in peace, security and reconstruction efforts.

“Libya needs all of its people, men and women, to start a new peaceful chapter,” says Ms. Huria Khalifa Eltormal, Libya’s Minister of Women’s Affairs. “By drawing a road map to implement the Women, Peace and Security agenda, Libya has shown its commitments to translate this much-needed resolution into concrete actions that will allow Libyan women to rightfully be part Libya’s quest for prosperity.”