The lead story in the third 2013 issue of the GPS Update is the launch of a new initiative 'Gender and Mediation' by the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA) in cooperation with PRIO and the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) in Helsinki, Finland. The goal of this new initiative is to increase the availability and quality of gender expertise in mediation processes and to generate more consultative processes by promoting women's effective participation.

This issue also features reports on three PRIO seminars about women’s participation in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, the NATO Committee on Gender Perspectives 2013 Annual Conference, and the UN Security Council Open Debate on Sexual Violence in Conflict with the adoption of the new UN Security Council Resolution 2106.

As usual, the GPS update also features reports on relevant seminars, reports and policy briefs, as well as a list of publications which might be of interest to our readership. Our suggested reading list for this issue reflects the topic of our lead story and has a special focus on 'gender and mediation'.

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The PRIO Gender, Peace and Security Update is an electronic newsletter launched by PRIO’s Gender Team in response to growing interest among the public for information about women, peace and security issues. The newsletter will keep readers informed of the latest developments both internationally and in Norway in relation to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security and subsequent resolutions.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have views to share or ideas/suggestions for forthcoming issues. For any queries regarding the GPS, contact Jenny Kathrine Lorentzen (jenlor@prio.no) or Torunn L. Tryggestad (torunn@prio.no).

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