The fourth Danish National Action Plan will be implemented for the period 2020-2024. The main working group for the NAP is composed of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, the Danish Ministry of Defence, the Danish Ministry of Justice (the Danish National Police). All of these ministries will also develop implementation plans for the NAP. 

Civil Society

The NAP states that these ministries will coordinate with civil society, and will hold an annual forum to discuss the NAP. Per the evaluation of the previous NAP, Denmark found that there was a need to increase competency on the WPS agenda within ministries, in order to better implement and follow up on the NAP (pg. 32). As a result, actors will undergo joint training and coordination. 

The NAP states that Denmark will invite all interested civil society actors to participate in NAP implementation, and this will be coordinated in the annual forum and through thematic working groups that will be developed (pg. 11).  It states that “the aim and purpose of these working groups will be established in collaboration with civil society, and the implementation plans for ministries should be the starting point for these discussions.”

Monitoring and Evaluation

The NAP states that the plan will be regularly re-assessed. This fourth NAP was developed based on the evaluation of the third NAP. There will be an annual evaluation of the NAP and adaptation of its goals and priorities according to this evaluation. This will be conducted in the format of an annual forum.

WILPF Denmark advocated for this fourth Danish NAP to be feminist and peace-oriented, and were part of a consortium of Danish NGOs, researchers, and other organisations advocating for peace within the NAP. They will continue to participate in this consortium and will monitor the implementation of the NAP. 

The NAP will be implemented for the period 2020-2024.

The overall goal of Denmark’s new action plan is to ensure the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in peace efforts (from prevention and conflict management, to peacebuilding and sustaining peace), and to incorporate the consideration of women and men’s equality, rights, interests, vulnera- bilities and needs into all aspects of the work for sustainable peace. Several countries/regions are specifically highlighted in the NAP: Iraq, the Sahel region, Afghanistan, Syria, and Somalia.

There are three main pillars of the NAP: Denmark as a security policy actor; Women’s participation in peace and security; and Sexual and gender-based violence in conflict situations and efforts against sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment. Under each of these pillars there are goals identified. 

There is a results framework which lays out specific actions and activities under the three main goals. Furthermore, the NAP identifies that there will be specific implementation plans for each of the relevant ministries [the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, the Danish Ministry of Defence, and the Danish Ministry of Justice (the Danish National Police)]. 

Under Goal 1, there are two sub-goals: Goal 1.1: A stronger gender perspective in international operations, missions and peace and stabilisation efforts, and Goal 1.2: A stronger Danish voice in multilateral security policy cooperation for the benefit of women, peace and security. Under Goal 1.1 there is a case study on Denmark’s work on Iraq, and under Goal 1.2, which focuses on NATO, the EU, and the UN, there is a case study on the Sahel region.

Under Goal 2, there are two sub-goals: Goal 2.1: Strengthen women’s participation in global peace and security efforts, and Goal 2.2: Strengthen Danish women’s participation in peace and security efforts. Goal 2.1 has a case study on Afghanistan and identifies that Nordic cooperation and support for Danish NGOs and women’s networks will be some priorities.

Under Goal 3, there are two sub-goals: Goal 3.1: Prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence in conflict situations and fragile contexts and Goal 3.2: Zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment among our partners and in Danish ranks. Work on Syria and Somalia is specifically highlighted, as is the Danish commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights.

There are a number of outcomes indicated under the different goals and objectives identified above, within the results framework. More specific indicators will be identified in the implementation plan.  

Examples of outcomes under goal 2 include: 

• 2.1.1. Denmark has contributed to eliminating fundamental barriers to the participation of women by contributing to increased security for women and girls in conflict areas and fragile contexts.
• 2.1.2. Denmark has promoted the participation and engagement of women in peace and security efforts, political decision-making processes and local issues in the areas where Denmark is present, and has strengthened the dialogue with local women actors at all levels. 

The National Action Plan articulates that it has been developed based on the findings of the evaluation of the Third NAP. It found that “ the last two action plans had only made limited contributions to concrete results in Denmark’s partner countries, and that the resolution had slipped out of view in Danish strategies and country programmes.”

The previously mentioned 2019 evaluation of the two most recent Danish WPS action plans concluded that there was a need for increased competency; a sense of fatigue on gender equality; and that there was insufficient incorporation of civil society. 

The NAP states that there will be “Ongoing follow-up, annual evaluation and agile adaptation of the action plan and respective implementation plans will ensure that the plan leads to tangible results for women and girls living in crisis and conflict areas, and thereby for the societies where Denmark is actively involved” (pg.11).

The NAP does not specifically reference a budget, although one section speaks about the Peace and Stabilisation Fund, which primarily finances Denmark’s efforts for peacebuilding and stabilisation. Page 14 states that the fund will increasingly focus on strengthening WPS, and that future evaluations and programmes of the fund will assess how activities can incorporate gender perspectives and make an impact on the ground. 

The NAP calls for the need to mainstream gender within disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) processes but otherwise does not reference disarmament or recognize the negative impacts of weapons on women’s security.

NAP Development

The revised national action plan, that was developed through a substantial consultative process including the Danish government, civil society and NGOs, has guided the development of the third NAP which outlines the areas that will be given specific attention for the period of 2014 – 2019.

The revised Danish NAP does not specify any lead agents during the development process.

NAP Implementation

The Danish National Police are part of the implementation effort as members of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group (IMWG) representing  the Ministry of Justice.  Civil Society does not have representation in this Working group, but is able to take part in annual dialogue sessions which are to be used as a “forum to exchange views and discuss progress and experiences with implementation”, as described in the second NAP.

Outside formal processes, women’s organizations such as Women in Black and WILPF Denmark have been active in promoting UNSCR 1325 and the inclusion of feminist anti-militarization approaches to its implementation; as well as supporting women’s organizations and networks in their efforts to realize the intent and objectives of UNSCR 1325.

“The interventions of the Danish National Police during the period of 2014-2019 will primarily be a continuation of activities already initiated in the second National Action Plan”. In the second NAP, the role of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on SCR 1325 was stated as being “responsible for reporting on the implementation of this revised NAP. The IMWG consists of members drawn from the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice, represented by the Danish National Police."

NAP Monitoring and Evaluation

There is no specific mention in the NAP of how civil society will be a part of the monitoring and evaluation process.

In the second NAP, it is stated that the Inter-Ministerial Working Group will meet on a "six monthly basis to consider interim progress reports on the status of the implementation of activities falling under the respective remits of the participating ministries." The working group will also produce an annual report that will track progress of the indicators mentioned.

In the third NAP, it is specified that the Ministry of Defence will draft a yearly evaluation report on the Diversity Policy and overall integration of gender perspectives in all tasks of the Danish Defence.

Timeframe

Denmark's NAP is for the period 2014-2019, but does not include specific timeframes for the actions and activities it outlines.

Objectives

The NAP focuses Denmark's priorities and actions through five main focus areas, which aim at improving both domestic and international capabilities in regards to women, peace and security. These have been formulated as follows:

• Support the full and equal participation of women in prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction in accordance with SCR 1325.

• Actively promote gender aspects of the Responsibility to Protect and transitional justice programmes to end impunity for sexual and gender based violence in conflicts.

• Participate in the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding and focus on implementing the New Deal and its embedded five peace and statebuilding goals, which require systematic inclusion of a gender perspective.

• Focus on promoting women as peacebuilders in specific country programmes in fragile and conflict-affected states with a particular focus on active involvement of multilateral actors.

• Work to ensure that international operations and humanitarian efforts include a clear gender perspective.

These objectives are operationalized in actions pursuant to the responsible body of implementation and divided into geographical sections separating country specific actions from regional and international actions.

Actions/Activities

The revised Danish NAP is broken down into three categories, within which are specific issues and actors responsible for a set of actions and activities. For example, the category ‘SCR 1325 in Denmark’s foreign, security and development policy’ associated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which contains the following actions:

• Denmark will support the full and equal participation of women in prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction in accordance with SCR 1325.

• Denmark will actively promote gender aspects of the Responsibility to Protect and transitional justice programmes to end impunity for sexual and gender based violence in conflicts.

• Denmark will participate in the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding and focus on implementing the New Deal and its embedded five peace and statebuilding goals, which require systematic inclusion of a gender perspective.

• Denmark will focus on promoting women as peacebuilders in specific country programmes in fragile and conflict-affected states with a particular focus on active involvement of multilateral actors.

• Denmark will work to ensure that international operations and humanitarian efforts include a clear gender perspective.

The section also contains a list of country specific bilateral actions such as the example of Libya with the following action points:

• While protection of women and children is central in the embassy’s policy dialogue, two particular issues will be highlighted in the bilateral cooperation as well as in the general interaction with relevant partners:

• Women’s participation in decision-making in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

• Protection of women and children affected by the Syrian crisis. An alarming number of cases of both child marriages and rape of women and children are being reported and documented.

Indicators

The Danish NAP includes separate indicators for each action point relating to bilateral and multilateral cooperation as well as for strategies for humanitarian operations, the Danish Defence and the Danish Police.

For example, action point 1 for cooperation with the European Union states that Denmark will ‘work to ensure that gender aspects and in particular UNSCR 1325 aspects are part of future EU action plans and guidelines on security and development and fragile states’ which is measured by the following indicators:

• 1a. Gender mentioned in country programming documents for fragile states.

• 1b. Gender taken into consideration when CSDP missions and operations are planned.

Monitoring and Evaluation

In the second NAP, the Inter-Ministerial Working Group is stated as responsible for reporting on the implementation of the revised NAP. The Working Group is required to meet on a six monthly basis, to consider interim progress reports on the status of implementation of activities of the participating ministries; and to prepare annual NAP progress reports based on individual reports of the participating institutions.

The NAP does not provide for Civil Society involvement in monitoring and evaluation, but states that the Working Group will host annual dialogue sessions with Civil Society and share implementation reports with NGO’s and Civil Society actors. The second NAP states these reports will be made available online. The revised NAP does not include information on this.

In review of the second NAP, the following on monitoring and evaluation was noted in the third NAP: ‘A larger, internal mid-term monitoring exercise was carried out in 2011. Achievements and lessons learned were also regularly reported through Denmark’s input to the Report of the UN Secretary-General on women peace and security for the information of the members of the Security Council and The Report on the EU indicators for the Comprehensive approach to the EU implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 on women, peace and security’

Budget

The Danish NAP does not include an allocated or estimated budget. Several action points include references to funding, such as the 5 year goal for the Danish Defence to:  ‘include consideration of the gender perspective and women’s participation in civil-miliary projects e.g. participation in the funding of the building of separate facilities, including sleeping and sanitary facilities, for female students at the Afghan National Army Officers Academy’.

However, no indicators or actions formulate strategies for fundraising, detail what level of funding is required for which specific activities, or what accountability mechanisms will ensure funds are raised and used to implement the NAP.

Disarmament

The third Danish NAP includes references to the importance of conflict resolution and prevention in the aim of fostering inclusive and equal societies as well as sustainable peace. There is no specific section on disarmament, but the following action points refer to the role of women in strengthening peace.

• Denmark will support the full and equal participation of women in prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction in accordance with SCR 1325.

• Actively promote gender aspects of the Responsibility to Protect and transitional justice programmes to end impunity for sexual and gender based violence in conflicts.

• Participate in the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding and focus on implementing the New Deal and its embedded five peace and statebuilding goals, which require systematic inclusion of a gender perspective.

• Focus on promoting women as peacebuilders in specific country programmes in fragile and conflict-affected states with a particular focus on active involvement of multilateral actors.

• Work to ensure that international operations and humanitarian efforts include a clear gender perspective.