Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 15, 2012
On August 14, 2012, the Department of State released the U.S. Department of State Implementation Plan of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security.
The plan provides guidance for how the Department, both in Washington and at U.S. embassies and consulates, can advance efforts under the U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security (NAP). The NAP, which was issued in December 2011 together with Executive Order 13595, seeks to ensure that women participate equally in preventing conflict and building peace in countries threatened and affected by war, violence, and insecurity. The Department’s implementation of the NAP demonstrates its commitment to furthering the promotion of gender equality in service of U.S. foreign policy and national security.
To mark the release, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer and USAID Deputy Administrator Don Steinberg met yesterday with civil society representatives to discuss U.S. plans to protect and engage women as agents of peace and stability in conflict, crisis, and transition-affected environments.
The Department of State’s implementation plan outlines commitments to accelerate, institutionalize, and better coordinate efforts to advance women’s participation in peace negotiations, peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and decision-making institutions; protect women from gender-based violence; and ensure equal access to relief and recovery assistance in areas of conflict and insecurity. For example, the Department is taking concrete steps, through diplomatic and programmatic efforts, to empower women to participate in national and community level dialogues in Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Burma; to engage politically and in the reform of the security sector as Arab Spring countries transition; and to promote access to justice for survivors of gender-based violence from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Nepal to El Salvador. The Department will continue to promote Women, Peace, and Security in our bilateral relationships, engagement with civil society and the private sector, and in the United Nations Security Council and other multilateral forums.