The time for impact is now! GAI and WPS
The time for impact is now! Global Acceleration Instrument for Women, Peace and Security (GAI WPS) holds promise for dedicated, scaled up financing for the urgent implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda
November 17, 2014, New York, USA -Armed conflicts rage devastatingly across the world, with women and girls continuing to bear the brunt of their impacts. As the United Nations prepares for the 15-year anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, a groundbreaking international law that recognizes the gendered impact of conflict and women’s critical roles as peacebuilders and agents of change, demands for improved implementation resound, with calls for predictable and sustained financing at the forefront.
In this light, UN Member States, such as Japan and Sierra Leone, civil society representatives, UN Women, and the UN Peacebuilding Support Office met in New York on October 29, 2014 to discuss the establishment of the Global Acceleration Instrument on Women and Peace and Security, a time-bound (5-year), multi-stakeholder financing mechanism dedicated to accelerating the implementation of UNSCR 1325.
A concrete contribution to global efforts to ensure full implementation of the WPS agenda, the Global Acceleration Instrument will aim to address shortfalls in predictable funding. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development recently reported that “despite the call for a strengthened focus on women in fragile and conflict situations, the amounts of gender equality focused aid to peace and security over time have remained low…[with a] very small proportion [having] gender equality as a principal objective.”[1]
Expanding on the traditional architecture of multi-donor trust funds, the Global Acceleration Instrument will feature a democratic and multi-stakeholder governance and decision-making structure, with civil society organizations, conflict affected and donor Member States, the UN and, potentially, the private sector represented on equal footing. Funding will be flexible, responsive, and robust and will be made available to governments and CSOs, with a focus on ensuring accessibility to women’s rights groups at the forefront of advancing the WPS agenda.
Drawing on the varied expertise of the Women, Peace, and Security Financing Discussion Group (the WPS FDG) – a recently formed group comprised of conflict affected and donor Member States, civil society, and UN entities with expertise in financing – the Global Acceleration Instrument will also offer technical and programmatic support to existing funds, donors, and partners in tracking financing for implementation of the WPS agenda to improve reporting, and support coordination efforts among funding sources. Moreover, the Global Acceleration Instrument will act as a collective platform for knowledge and experience exchange and generation of innovative ideas to address financing challenges and ensure transparent resource generation, usage, and management. Capitalizing on the momentum of the 15th anniversary of UNSCR 1325, the WPSF FDG aims to launch the Global Acceleration Instrument in October 2015, recognizing the importance of the 15 -year review, while underscoring the need for action.
For questions or more information, please contact Dewi Suralaga Dewi.Suralaga@