DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION of National Action Plans ...

»»CSOs that work at the local level often have knowledge about the day-to-day realitiesof women, men, boys and girls and have experience in working with survivors of GBV,providing legal, psychological and other support and advocating for equality and justice;»»CSOs have worked with victims and perpetrators of violence both during and afterconflicts, hence their inclusion will provide input on what is needed for their recoveryand re-integration. When such CSOs are involved in the planning process, informationthat might otherwise have been left out or not considered can inform the NAP;»»The involvement and consultations of CSOs can make a NAP and the resultingimplementation strategies and actions more transparent and democratic;»»NAP formulation processes that do not include CSO engagement run the risk of missingessential information, experiences and consequently the capacity to more effectivelyrespond to the needs of all stakeholders or push for gender equality and sustainablepeace.Simple Guide to the Development of NAPsIn trying to put this guide together, we recognize that there is no-one-size-fits-all planningprocess or model action plan, hence this guide will only provide a generic template basicsteps.Step 1: Inception/InaugurationThe process of NAP formulation should begin with an inception meeting of representativesof the government, the military, parliamentarians, CSOs, the academia, media. The inceptionmeeting is an indication that the government is ready to embark on the NAP elaborationprocess. This meeting should be a forum for:••sensitization/awareness raising on WPS issues, UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions.••Identification and inclusion of all key government stakeholders including the keyministries.••Informing and convincing relevant key government ministries of the relevance of WPSissues to their sectors.••Identification of partners/stakeholder analysis.Step 2: Identification of Partners/Stakeholder Analysis and RolesBecause of the broad nature of women, peace and security issues, the participatoryformulation of NAPs should involve all relevant thematic areas and ministries. A stakeholdermapping to identify the different groups that a planning process should involve shouldbe carried out as well as their roles and responsibilities be designated. This could be doneduring the inception. An example of the stakeholders/actors and their potential roles aregiven in Annex 1.11