Commemorating 20 years since the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) and reaffirming the United States commitment to the women, peace, and security agenda.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. RES. 1207 Commemorating 20 years since the passage of United Nations Security Coun- cil Resolution 1325 (2000) and reaffirming the United States commit- ment to the women, peace, and security agenda. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 30, 2020 Ms. FRANKEL (for herself, Mr. WALTZ, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. BACON, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. RIGGLEMAN, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. VELA, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. TRONE, Ms. MENG, Mr. CROW, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. CASE, Mr. KEATING, and Mr. CASTRO of Texas) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Commemorating 20 years since the passage of United Na- tions Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) and re- affirming the United States commitment to the women, peace, and security agenda. Whereas the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security on Octo- ber 31, 2000; Whereas UNSCR 1325— (1) underscores the important role of women in con- flict prevention and resolution, peace negotiations, peace VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1207.IH HR1207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 1207 IH building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response, and postconflict reconstruction; (2) emphasizes the importance of protecting women and girls from, and ensuring justice for, all forms of con- flict-related violence, including sexual violence; (3) stresses the importance of the equal participa- tion and full involvement of women in efforts to both pro- mote and maintain peace and security; and (4) urges member states to increase women’s rep- resentation at all decision-making levels in national, re- gional, and international institutions and mechanisms to prevent, mitigate, and resolve conflict; Whereas, since October 31, 2000, 88 countries and territories have developed national action plans to implement UNSCR 1325; Whereas countries with greater gender inequality suffer from a greater likelihood to engage in violence and more polit- ical instability, corruption, and internal conflict; Whereas higher levels of gender equality are associated with a higher likelihood of peace talks in intrastate conflicts; Whereas countries are more peaceful and prosperous when women are accorded full and equal rights and opportuni- ties; Whereas according to the United Nations, between 2000 and 2020, women’s representation in national parliaments has increased from 13.1 percent to 24.9 percent; Whereas the University of Edinburgh found the percentage of peace agreements with gender equality provisions world- wide has increased from 14 percent to 22 percent be- tween 1995 and 2019; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1207.IH HR1207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 1207 IH Whereas, in 1993, women represented just one percent of uniformed United Nations peacekeepers and in 2020, women constitute 4.8 percent of military peacekeeping contingents and 10.9 percent of police units within United Nations peacekeeping missions; Whereas, on September 25, 2017, Congress passed the bipar- tisan Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017, the first national legislation to implement UNSCR 1325, which was signed into public law on October 6, 2017 (Public Law 115–68); Whereas pursuant to Public Law 115–68, the United States Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security was released on June 11, 2019; Whereas, on June 11, 2020, the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Home- land Security released their Women, Peace, and Security implementation plans; and Whereas, on January 24, 2020, the bipartisan Women, Peace and Security Congressional Caucus was established in the House of Representatives to— (1) ensure that the women, peace, and security pol- icy goals set forth in UNSCR 1325 and the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 remain national security and foreign policy priorities for the United States; (2) exercise congressional oversight of the implemen- tation of the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017; (3) promote and support United States efforts to elevate women’s roles in, and contributions to, advancing peace and security globally; and (4) educate Members of Congress and the public on the importance of women, peace, and security initiatives, VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1207.IH HR1207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 1207 IH giving women impacted by conflict a voice in Congress: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) commemorates the 20th anniversary of the 2 passage of United Nations Security Council Resolu- 3 tion 1325 (2000); 4 (2) recognizes that the empowerment of women 5 and girls and their meaningful inclusion in policy- 6 making, decision making, and conflict prevention 7 and resolution efforts is directly connected to long- 8 term peace and security; 9 (3) calls on countries around the world to pro- 10 mote the meaningful participation of women at all 11 decision-making levels as a critical foreign and do- 12 mestic policy priority; and 13 (4) reaffirms the United States commitment to 14 serve as a global leader in increasing the meaningful 15 participation of women in processes to prevent, man- 16 age, resolve, and recover from conflict, in accordance 17 with the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 18 (Public Law 115–68), including by— 19 (A) consistently supporting the meaningful 20 participation of women in peace and security 21 processes and decision-making institutions; 22 (B) promoting the physical safety, eco- 23 nomic security, and dignity of women and girls 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1207.IH HR1207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 1207 IH and supporting the equal access of women to 1 aid distribution mechanisms and services; 2 (C) appropriately applying gender analysis 3 to improve the design, targeting, and effective- 4 ness of United States Government policy and 5 programs to advance peace and security, includ- 6 ing conflict-prevention activities and strategies; 7 (D) training, equipping, and empowering 8 United States diplomatic, defense, and develop- 9 ment personnel to promote women’s leadership 10 in preventing and resolving conflicts around the 11 world; 12 (E) increasing women’s representation at 13 all levels of the diplomatic, defense, and devel- 14 opment workforces across the United States 15 Government; and 16 (F) strengthening accountability and im- 17 proving outcomes by designating specific and 18 measurable goals and monitoring, analyzing, 19 and evaluating implementation efforts across 20 the United States Government. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR1207.IH HR1207 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS