UN Women Deputy Executive Director, Ms. Lakshmi Puri

Good afternoon,

- UN Women Deputy Executive Director, Ms. Lakshmi Puri,

- Ms. RadhikaCoomaraswamy: lead author of the Global Study on 1325 and members of High Level Advisory Group of the Global Study.

-Representatives from government missions civil society, women organizations and UN entities

-Friends and colleagues

First, we would like to extend our deepest thanks to UN Women for graciously hosting us here today, in particularly Ms. Puri and, of course, Sarah and Tatyana.

In October 2010, Cordaid and the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders or GNWP launched our first publication on Costing and Financing 1325 in partnership with the Permanent Mission of the Netherlands and the then UN INSTRAW. The publication examined the resources needed for UNSCR 1325 implementation and, more importantly, underscored the ongoing struggle to secure sustainable and predictable financing. Exactly four years later to the day, one year before the 15th anniversary of UNSCR 1325, its findings remain acutely relevant: financing is as big a challenge to effective implementation of the WPS agenda as ever.

Today, we launch our second financing publication, with a foreword from Ms. Puri, entitled “Financing for the implementation of National Action Plans on UNSCR 1325 – critical for advancing women’s rights, peace and security.” This publication builds upon the first publication, examining the financing needed (and challenges faced) for the implementation of NAPs, with a particular focus on the landscape in which civil society organizations (and specifically women’s rights groups) working to advance WPS are operating. While development of NAPs is a key step forward – many NAPs remain unimplemented, with financing shortfalls a key culprit.

Cordaid, through its program on Women’s Leadership for Peace and Security, has been working with the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders to support women’s rights organizations in their work to advocate for, support, implement and monitor National Action Plans. The case studies in this paper demonstrate the varied and critical work that those organizations (and so many others) do despite the severe resource constraints faced.

By working closely with GNWP and women’s organizations in countries as diverse as Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, Cordaid provides financial support as well as capacity building and technical expertise to enable these organizations to better hold their governments to account for the commitments outlined in NAPs – including the financing needed to fulfill these commitments.

Many women’s organizations at the forefront of WPS work are community-based with smaller operating budgets – ensuring that funding reaches these crucial actors can be a challenge. By acting as an intermediary and always in partnership with smaller, grassroots organizations, GNWP and Cordaid are able to channel funds and other support where they are most needed. When I served as Cordaid's Director in South Sudan, I experienced how coordination among donor governments, international development NGOs like Cordaid, and UN agencies was essential to successful implementation and to the most effective use of resources – that is, supporting groups and movements on the ground to ensure the fulfillment of rights.

We are committed to continue our work with GNWP and UN Women in facilitating the Women and Peace and Security Financing Discussion Group, and we are grateful for the collaboration and support from UN Women on this issue. As the 2015 Security Council High Level Review on UNSCR 1325 implementation approaches, and the Global Study is prepared as an input, we hope that the WPS Financing Discussion Group can contribute substantively to acceleration 1325 implementation.

On that note, I am delighted to present our publication to you Ms. Coomaraswamy, as a contribution to the Global Study.

Ultimately, it is our sincere hope that this publication, along with the results of the work of the WPS Financing Discussion Group, will meaningfully contribute to advancing the women and peace and security agenda on the ground; and in improving the lives of people in conflict- affected communities..

Thank you.