Resolution 1325 was the first landmark Security Council resolution on women, peace and security. The resolution 1325 (2000) addresses the impact of war on women and the importance of women’s full and equal participation in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction. The resolution also calls for special measures to protect women and girls from conflict-related sexual violence and outlines gender-related responsibilities of the United Nations in different political and programmatic areas.

This Security Council resolution recognized for the first time conflict-related sexual violence as a tactic of warfare and as a serious threat to international peace and security. The resolution calls for an end to widespread conflict-related sexual violence, the accountability of all actors to counter impunity for such crimes and calls on the United Nations to develop appropriate mechanisms to provide protection from violence and respond to sexual violence and other forms of violence against civilians.

This Security Council resolution strengthens efforts to end sexual violence in conflict by establishing a Special Representative of the Secretary-General and team of experts on rule of law and sexual violence in conflict.

This Security Council resolution establishes indicators for the monitoring of resolution 1325 and requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on women’s participation and inclusion in peacebuilding.

This Security Council resolution establishes a monitoring and reporting mechanism on sexual violence in conflict.

This Security Council resolution stresses the accountability for perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict, as well as women’s political and economic empowerment.

This Security Council Resolution positions gender equality and women’s empowerment as critical to international peace and security, recognizes the differential impact of all violations in conflict on women and girls, and calls for consistent application of women peace and security across the Security Council’s work.

This Security Council resolution establishes the Informal Experts Group (IEG); addresses persistent obstacles in implementing the WPS agenda, including financing and institutional reforms; focuses on greater integration of the agendas on WPS and counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism; and calls for improved Security Council working methods on women, peace, and security.

This Security Council resolution focusses on the survivors of sexual violence and on children born out of rape. It urges the investigation and prosecution of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict areas through providing fair trial guarantees under international as well as victim and witness protection laws. It also addresses the protection of men and boys and calls to challenge cultural assumptions about male invulnerability to such violence.

This Security Council resolution calls for full implementation of all previous resolutions on women, peace and security; requests the UN to develop context-specific approaches for women’s participation in all UN-supported peace processes; and urges Member States to ensure and provide timely support for the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in all stages of peace processes, including in the mechanisms set up to implement and monitor peace agreements.

Launched in February 2014, the first Iraqi National Action Plan (INAP) for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in Iraq was developed as a collaborative effort of different Iraqi state and civil society stakeholders. It offers an extensive analysis of structural discrimination and marginilization Iraqi women are facing within the legal, political and economic order in Iraq and suggests actions and measures to tackle them accordingly in order to increase women’s participation in peace and security matters and develop their role in society. The INAP consists of 6 pillars, namely participation, protection and prevention, promotion, social and economic empowerment, legislation and law enforcement as well as resource mobilization, monitoring and evaluation.

In December 2020, the Ministry of Women Affairs launched the second National Action Plan for the implementation of UNSCR 1325. The plan was endorsed by the Iraqi Council of Ministers in April 2021. The second INAP focuses on increasing women’s participation in the leadership and decision-making roles, humanitarian relief efforts and the post-war rebuilding processes on the local and national level. In addition, it addresses the protection of women and young girls from gender-based violence, and sets mechanisms that ensure perpetrators do not remain unpunished. The second INAP is structured around 3 pillars, namely participation, protection and prevention.

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2021-2024) is structured around three pillars: Participation, protection and prevention. The plan aims at promoting the leading roles of women in peacebuilding processes, protecting the women and young girls from all forms of gender-based violence and strengthening prevention measures to eliminate gender-based violence.

The Constitution of the Republic of Iraq is the fundamental law of Iraq. The current Constitution came into force in December 2005 after holding a constitutional referendum in October 2005.

The Iraqi Electoral Law No. 9 (2020) governs the electoral system of the Iraqi Council of Representatives. After several rounds of revision, it entered into force in November 2020 following its adoption by the Council of Representatives and ratification by the President of Iraq. The law replaces law No. 45 (2013). In four chapters, it determines the citizens’ rights to vote, to be nominated, the electoral districts and electoral system. The latter one was shifted from a proportional representation system to an untransferred single vote system in the new election law.

The Iraqi Personal Status Law No. 188 (1959) applies to the rulings of the Constitution related to marriage, divorce, alimony, will, inheritance in addition to other legal issues related to family. Since it came into effect in 1959, several amendments of the law were proposed to the Council of Representatives. In July 2021, another initiative to amend the Personal Status Law, that provides for children to be separated from their mothers in the event of divorce from the age of 7 and child marriage from the age of 9 failed in the first reading in the Council of Representatives.

The Iraqi Nationality Law is the legislative framework governing the acquisition, transmission and loss of Iraqi citizenship. The Law replaces Iraqi Nationality Law No. 42 of 1924, the Iraqi Nationality Law No. 43 of 1963 and No. 5 of 1975.

While the law was drafted by a committee of experts and presented in October 2012 to the Council of Representatives, and despite the Women, Family and Childhood Committee in the Council of Representatives advocating for its implementation ever since, the Council of Representatives has not passed the law yet. The bill provides the legislative framework for the protection of victims of domestic violence and the provision of services to the survivors. It also governs the penalties against perpetrators and orders the establishment of a cross-ministerial committee to combat domestic violence.

Access the Domestic Violence Bill on the official Iraqi Presidency website.

Yezidi Female Survivors’ Law sets the legislative framework to reparation measures directed to female Yezidi survivors, who experienced captivity during the Islamic State “IS” rule in 2014. The law is an attempt to address the fatal legacy of captivity, abduction, enslavement and other violations experienced by Yezidi women and aims at fostering their rehabilitation, reintegration and the rebuilding of their social and economic livelihoods. The Yezidi Female Survivors Law was passed by the Iraqi Council of Representatives on 1 March 2021.

The Tunisian National Action Plan for the period 2018-2022 consists of the following pillars:

1) Prevention
2) Protection
3) Participation
4) Relief, peacebuilding and reconstruction
5) Media and advocacy

The Lebanese National Action Plan for the period 2019-2022 consists of the following pillars:

1) The protection of women from violence during and
after the conflict
2) Women’s access to relief and recovery
3) The role of women in conflict prevention
4) Women’s participation in peacebuilding

The Yemeni National Action Plan for the period 2020-2022 consists of the following pillars:

1) Participation
2) Prevention
3) Protection
4) Relief and recovery

The Jordanian National Action Plan for the period 2018-2021 consists of the following pillars:

1) Participation
2) Prevention of extremism and protection against gender-based violence
3) Relief and recovery in response to the refugee crisis
4) Capacity-building, awareness-raising and participation of civil society and youth

The Sudanese National Action Plan for the period 2020-2022 consists of the following pillars:

1) Participation
2) Prevention
3) Protection
4) Relief and recovery

The Palestinian National Action Plan for the period 2020-2024 consists of the following pillars:

1) Prevention and protection
2) Accountability
3) Participation
4) Relief and recovery