Women's group "Coalition 1325" holds its 3rd national conference On October 14, 2005, Third National Conference of the women's group "Coalition 1325", dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 was held in the Grand Hotel Europe. More than 100 coalition members, including 40 representatives from fourteen regions of the country, participated in the conference. Among the invitees were also representatives of the National Network of IDP women, representatives of public organizations and NGOs, mass media, etc. Conference was opened by the Chairwoman of the Society of Women in Oil Industry of Azerbaijan Ms. Solmaz Hajiyeva, and then the floor was given to the Chair of the State Committee for Women's Issues of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ms. Zahra Guliyeva and to the National Coordinator of the UNIFEM project Ms. Gulshan Pashayeva. Ms. Sajida Abdulvahabova, Chairwoman of the Coalition 1325 reported to the participants on the results of the Grassroots Dialogues "From Grassroots to Government - Supporting Identification of Gender Equality Priorities in Azerbaijan" that were held in 14 regions of Azerbaijan by members of Coalition 1325 earlier in summer 2005. These Grassroots Dialogues was a joint work of Coalition 1325 together with the Government counterpart - the State Committee for Women's Issues. Ms. Narmin Bagirova, head of a department in the State Committee for Women's Issues told the participants about the follow up activities and the plans of the Committee for the future. During the plenary, more than 20 participants expressed their views on how they see the future activities of Coalition 1325. Discussions were continued in the working groups in the four main directions: Women, poverty and economy; women, education and health; violence against women and women and armed conflicts; women on the decision-making level. The results of the discussions in the working groups were presented during the plenary. In general, the participants of the Conference proposed to continue educational/promotional activities (trainings, workshops, etc.) in various directions such as economy, legislation, human rights, social issues, reproductive health. They also recommended the involvement of men in such activities, working more with mass media and widening the membership of Coalition 1325. These recommendations were supported by all the participants. The conference was closed by the concluding statements from Solmaz Hajieva and Chief Technical Adviser of the UNIFEM project Christine Arab. UNIFEM's regional project, "Women for Conflict Prevention and Peace-building in the Southern Caucasus" aims to support the capacities of women to participate in the peace-building processes and maintains that women have a strong commitment to securing a long-term peace in the region. Under UNIFEM's project in Azerbaijan, women's group "Coalition 1325" was established in September 2002 with the goals of promoting women's active participation in the peace processes in line the principles of the United Nation's Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Since its creation, the national coalition has carried out a number of initiatives focused on increasing the awareness of society in Azerbaijan about the above resolution and the importance of women's participation in peace-building. For more information contact: Gulshan Pashayeva UNIFEM National Coordinator Tel: +99412 498 98 88 (ext. 119) Photo gallery

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