Assessing the Implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325: The Liberian Case

Abstract

Women have not been actively participating in peace and security. After the efforts conducted by women’s group, the UN adopted Resolution 1325 on the 31st October 2000. The Security Council resolution stresses the importance of women’s participation and full involvement in peace and security. There is empirical evidence which demonstrates that the participation of women in peacekeeping operations is beneficial for the mission since due to their participation, a strong peace agreement is more likely to be reached leading to a long-lasting peace in the country. Nevertheless, despite the adoption of the resolution and the evidence, women’s participation in peacekeeping missions remains low. The study examines the United Nations Mission in Liberia, the first peacekeeping mission that made great efforts to implement Resolution 1325. The study employed a qualitative methodology approach which relied on a semi-structured interview as well as on the review of relevant literature regarding the matter. The findings showed how, despite the efforts made by the Liberian government to empower women and to increase their participation, the peacekeeping mission was not gender-balanced. The greater challenges to the enhancement of women included very low percentage of women in the top troop contributing countries to the mission, the absence of sex-disaggregated data, and the lack of local women in Liberian peace and security institutions. The study proposed several recommendations that included encouraging States to increase the number of female peacekeepers, helping governments in the creation of a national action plan, and improving the quality of sex-disaggregated data. It is an imperative necessity to overcome the challenges which still constitute a barrier for women’s participation in peace and security.