The Assembly,1.Recallingthat, ten years ago, in October 2000, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 onWomen and Peace and Security,in which it reaffirmed theimportant role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, in peace-building andreconstruction;2.Underliningthat the background to this Resolution was the recognition that women are doublyaffected by war and violent conflict, as they not only have to bear the horrors and hardships thataccompany every war, but also to live in constant fear of forms of violence specifically targeted atthem;3.Stressingalso the central and resolute role of women in wartime in supporting their families inthe most difficult conditions, fighting for their rights, and taking responsibility for the welfare of theircommunities;4.Recognisingthat UNSC Resolution 1325 is based on the conviction that equal participation ofmen and women is a means to prevent and resolve conflicts, and to promote lasting peace for all;5.Recallingthat UNSC Resolution 1325 urged Member States to ensure increasedrepresentation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional and internationalinstitutions, as well as in mechanisms for the prevention, management and resolution of conflict, andto include a gender perspective in all peacekeeping and peacebuilding measures, includingdisarmament, demobilisation and reintegration, and security sector reform;6.Welcomingthe recommendation in the report by the NATO Group of Experts chaired byAmbassador Madeleine K. Albright, that NATO, as a political alliance, should co-operate with theUnited Nations on the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325;7.Salutingthe measures already taken to implement UNSC Resolution 1325 within the Alliance,including the work of the Committee on Gender Perspectives, the appointment of gender advisors toHeadquarters and operations, and the adoption of Bi-Strategic Command Directive 40-1 onIntegrating UNSCR 1325 and Gender Perspectives in the NATO Command Structure IncludingMeasures For Protection During Armed Conflict;

8.Recallingthat the Assembly’s contribution to the new Strategic Concept of the Alliance statesthat “[p]ursuing current efforts to mainstream gender issues in NATO activities could also contributeto operational effectiveness”;9.

URGES

member governments and parliaments of the North Atlantic Alliance, and if appropriate,NATO institutions:a.to follow the recommendation of the NATO Group of Experts and, ten years after the adoption ofUNSC Resolution 1325, to incorporate a gender-sensitive approach to peace and security policyinto NATO’s new Strategic Concept;to develop specific measures in support of the objectives set in UNSC Resolutions 1325 and1820, and to include these in the implementation of NATO’s new Strategic Concept;to co-operate closely with civil society organisations in implementing UNSC Resolution 1325and draw on their expertise;to mainstream a gender equality perspective into the design, implementation, monitoring andevaluation of NATO-related policies and programmes, in order to incorporate fully the concernsand experiences of both women and men, and ensure that women and men can share thebenefits equally;to strive to ensure that efforts to preserve and promote peace and security always take intoaccount a gender perspective, and to support wholeheartedly all measures designed to involvewomen in the resolution of conflicts and protect them from violence;to ensure, in conflict zones where NATO is engaged, that local and regional women’s groupsand networks are informed of their rights and options, that they receive training as the needarises, and that they are involved as equal partners in negotiations and decision-makingprocesses;to ensure that the particular needs of women are incorporated into the planning and conduct ofoperations through such measures as the appointment of gender advisers and human-rightsobservers, and to ensure that the personnel deployed to these missions are trained accordingly;to consider ways to increase the share of women personnel deployed to NATO operationswhenever possible and appropriate;to press for the appointment of more women to leading positions within the United Nations andNATO; and,to make every effort to ensure that perpetrators of violence against women are consistentlyprosecuted.