The UN Peacebuilding Commission and Women: What Role for Norway?

On 1 January 2011, Norway will start its second term as a member of the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), having served its first term during the formative years of the PBC from 2006 to 2008 as co-chair of the Commission and chair of the so-called ‘Burundi Configuration’. Under the auspices of the PBC, Burundi was the first country to develop a comprehensive strategy for post-conflict peacebuilding. Norway left a legacy of normative entrepreneurship and political commitment to the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Although several years have now passed, the question of how the PBC’s political commitment has manifested itself in policymaking and operational activities is still unanswered. Research suggests that the PBC and UN member states still have a long way to go in terms of unravelling what it actually means and what it takes to include women and women’s concerns in peacebuilding efforts on the ground.