Events marking the 25th anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 "Women. Peace. Security" continue in Zakarpattia. This is one of the most important resolutions in the field of security policy, which emphasizes the important role of women in conflict prevention and resolution and in peacebuilding, and calls on UN member states to ensure more active participation of women at all levels of decision-making in national, regional, and international institutions, in mechanisms for conflict prevention, management, and resolution.

In Zakarpattia, a number of public institutions that are members of Coalition 1325 are actively involved in the implementation of the Regional Action Plan 1325 and the activities of Coalition 1325-Zakarpattia. For example, Yevheniia Melesh, a lawyer of the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya, took part in this year's thematic events. Together with representatives of state and local authorities, non-governmental organizations, and active students, she visited the exhibition of creative works "Postcard of Peace", initiated by the Coalition 1325-Zakarpattia as part of the "1325 Changes the Country" information campaign, where children from different regions of the country embodied their vision of peace in original drawings, appliqués, cutouts, and graphics. 

Important discussions then continued in the format of the conference "1325 Strengthens the Country: From Local to Global", which was held at Uzhhorod National University. Among other things, participants addressed issues related to the National Action Plan 1325 and the specifics of its localization in the Zakarpattia region, as well as the activities of the Councils on Internally Displaced Persons in Zakarpattia as part of the National Plan.

Current interview: Nataliya Kryvoruchko, Chair of the Council on Internally Displaced Persons at the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration

The events concluded with a round table discussion on "Localization of National Action Plan 1325 through the improvement of local regulatory documents to prevent and combat gender-based violence". Speakers, including representatives of the Department of Chief Inspection and Human Rights Compliance of the National Police, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in Zakarpattia Oblast, Coalition 1325-Zakarpattia, and civil society organizations, raised issues regarding the state of prevention and counteraction of gender-based violence in the region, the specifics of providing assistance to survivors of domestic violence and gender-based violence, and the implementation of initiatives to prevent these violations of human rights in communities in the region.

During all activities dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 "Women. Peace. Security", attendees were urged to sign a petition to establish December 8 as Ukrainian Women's Movement Day. It was on this day in 1884 in Stanislaviv (now Ivano-Frankivsk) that, on the initiative of the founder of the women's movement, Nataliya Kobrynska, the Society of Ruthenian Women, the first officially established women's institution with its own charter, goals, and areas of activity, which marked the beginning of the Ukrainian women's movement and united Ukrainian women of that time around common values: access to education, intellectual work, mutual assistance, social equality, and voting rights.

More information about the activities of the Coalition 1325-Zakarpattia can be found in recent interviews as part of the information campaign "1325 STRENGTHENS THE COUNTRY":

Marianna Kolodiy, Head of the Secretariat of Coalition 1325-Zakarpattia 

Mariya Mendzhul, Head of the NGO "Carpathian Agency of Human Rights "VESTED", member of Coalition 1325-Zakarpattia

As a reminder, on October 28, 2020, the Government of Ukraine adopted a decision to approve the National Action Plan for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 "Women. Peace. Security" for the period until 2025, developed by the Ministry of Social Policy in close cooperation with central and local executive authorities, international partners, and 18 civil society organizations. Active discussions are currently underway on the draft of the new National Action Plan for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 "Women. Peace. Security" until 2030.​

Photo: Event organizers