Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 320: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his plans to approve and launch the national action plan on UN Security Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security in July 2010; if he is satisfied that there has been sufficient consultation with the relevant stakeholders in respect of the UNSCR 1325; the number of times the relevant consultative group has met; the amount of money that has been spent to date on the national action plan process and the associated cross learning initiative; if he will provide a breakdown of the precise allocation of resources and details on specific budget lines to support the implementation and monitoring of the NAP in the coming year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26769/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Conflict Resolution Unit within the Department of Foreign Affairs is taking the lead role in the development of Ireland's National Action Plan on UNSCR Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. The Resolution calls for an increase in the participation of women in peacemaking and peace building processes; the protection of women and girls in armed conflict; and the incorporation of a gender perspective into peacekeeping and peace building processes. 2010 is the 10th anniversary of the resolution and the Government will have approved Ireland's National Action Plan on 1325 in time for events in New York in October to mark that anniversary.

The plan is being drafted through extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. An Interdepartmental Reference Group on UNSCR 1325 was established to ensure that the development of the Plan is informed by the views of relevant government departments. The group includes representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs (the Development Cooperation Division, Anglo-Irish Division; Human Rights Unit, International Security Policy Unit and Conflict Resolution Unit); the Department of Defence; the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform; the Irish Defence Forces; and an Garda Síochána. The Group has met nine times since its first meeting in March 2009. In consultation with the Reference Group, an in-depth audit was issued to the Secretary-Generals of relevant government departments to identify areas where mechanisms relating to UNSCR 1325 are already in place, as well as gaps that may currently exist. The information gathered has served as a basis for the development of the National Action Plan.

A Consultative Group with representatives from civil society and academia was also established to exchange information with the Interdepartmental Reference Group and to receive and comment on drafts of the National Action Plan. The Group includes representatives of the Joint Consortium on Gender Based Violence; the Irish Red Cross; the National Women's Council of Ireland; Trócaire; UNIFEM Ireland; Akidwa; Amnesty International and a number of Universities. The Group was convened on 8 February 2010 and has met four times to date, with another meeting scheduled for 22 June 2010. The Group was formally invited to provide observations on the structure and content of the National Action Plan on 9 February 2010 and was asked to circulate a questionnaire prepared by the Conflict Resolution Unit on the content and structure of the National Action Plan to as wide a constituency as possible in order to receive observations from any interested parties; the questionnaire was placed on the Department's website to facilitate this.

A consolidated submission was made by members of the Group on 20 April 2010, the content of which has proven most useful for the drafting of the National Action Plan. I am satisfied that there has been sufficient consultation with these and other relevant stakeholders in respect of UNSCR 1325 and the draft National Action Plan. In addition to this consultative process, the Conflict Resolution Unit is leading an innovative Cross-Learning Initiative on Women, Peace and Security involving participants from Ireland/ Northern Ireland, Liberia and Timor-Leste. The Initiative is designed to draw upon the experiences of those directly affected by conflict on how best to promote and protect women's leadership and interests in conflict resolution and peace-building and is being chaired by Ireland's Special Envoy for UNSCR 1325, Nuala O'Loan.

As part of the initiative, high-level participatory events have been held in Northern Ireland (June 2009), Timor-Leste (December 2009), and Liberia (April 2010). Each four day event has focused on one of the '3 Ps' of UNSCR 1325 - Participation, Protection and Perspectives - and brought together representatives from government and civil society groups that have particular expertise in dealing with the issues under discussion. The participants from Northern Ireland were selected in consultation with DemocraShe, a Northern Ireland women's leadership organisation, and included: Women into Politics, the Community Dialogue Organisation, Women's Resource and Development Agency (WRDA), Training for Women Network (TWN), Northern Ireland Women's European Platform (NIWEP), Women's Support Network (WSN), Northern Ireland Rural Women's Network, Northern Ireland Local Government Staff Commission, Women's Resource and Development Agency, National Women's Council of Ireland, WAVE Trauma Centre, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Omagh Women's Aid, Foyle Women's Aid, Interaction Belfast, the Northern Ireland Policing Board, West Belfast Partnership Board , the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, and the Northern Ireland Women's European Platform. A similar range of organisations participated from Liberia and Timor-Leste. The final report of the initiative is currently being prepared and will be formally presented to the UN in advance of the tenth anniversary events. It is hoped that the report of the conclusions of the process will feed into policy discussions at the United Nations, and indeed into other policy communities such as the EU, AU and OSCE.

Considerable resources have been devoted to Ireland's National Action Plan process within the Department of Foreign Affairs and in other Departments. In 2009, €485,000 was devoted from the Department's Stability Fund specifically to fund the cross-learning initiative and consultation with women affected by conflict. This is in addition to funding of €220,000 allocated to support international organisations, including UNIFEM, for their work on global indicators. These resources were made available in addition to the considerable human and financial resources already devoted to UNSCR 1325 related activities across Government. The final figure for expenditure on UNSCR 1325 related activities for 2010 is not yet available.

The National Action Plan is envisaged as a 'living document' and will be reviewed annually to monitor implementation and in order to incorporate changing realities; this will allow the National Action Plan to set achievable goals which can be built upon at each review. The Department of Foreign Affairs will have overall responsibility for monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the National Action Plan. To facilitate co-ordination and the exchange of information, the Inter-Departmental Reference Group and the Consultative Group will continue to meet regularly to review progress on the implementation of the National Action Plan.

In the first year of operation of the National Action Plan, civil society representatives are invited to consult widely with their membership and networks and to make proposals for alterations to the National Action Plan in time for the first annual review of the National Action Plan in July 2011. In addition to this, a formal review of the National Action Plan will take place after three years.