Implementing UNSCR 1325 in Capacity Building Missions: a study of NTM Afghanistan, EUTM Somalia and EUTM Mali

This study analyzes the lessons learned from efforts to integrate United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 into capacity building missions, and identifies actions that would enable further improvements of its implementation. It focuses on missions in which personnel from the Swedish Armed Forces have participated (EUTM Somalia, EUTM Mali and ISAF), and draws on interviews with deployed instructors and officials. The overall impression gained from the capacity building missions analyzed is that the implementation of UNSCR 1325 is mixed and fragmented. This study found little evidence that the principles of protection, participation and prevention are effectively and systematically included in the training of host nation troops. This reflects the reality at the strategic political level, the level of integration of a gender perspective into the armed forces, and the practices on the ground. There is a serious need to take action at all levels to ensure that the provisions in UNSCR 1325 and related action plans and policies permeate the entire crisis management system during military missions and operations. This is especially pertinent in the context of capacity building missions, since they often take place against a backdrop of civil war, severe human rights violations and gender-based violence. It is fair to assume that effective training of military troops on the principles contained in UNSCR 1325 could help to enhance respect for IHL and human rights among the troops trained. However, this demand that the multilateral organizations give priority to UNSCR 1325 in capacity building missions; improve the training on UNSCR 1325 for the host nation's troops; and make UNSCR 1325 and gender training mandatory pre-deployment requirement for international instructors.