WOMEN IN PEACE BUILDING: A CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGE

BIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................... 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS ..................................................................................................... 3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................... 4

RESEARCH GOAL .................................................................................................................................... 5

DEFINITIONS .......................................................................................................................................... 5

CONCEPTUALISING CONFLICT AND PEACE ............................................................................................... 5

FOREWORD INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 6

WOMEN AND CONFLICT ......................................................................................................................... 8

WHERE ARE THE WOMEN? FULL AND EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN PEACE BUILDING .......... 9

IMPACT OF ARMED CONFLICT ON WOMEN - CRITICAL THEMES AND ISSUES OF CONCERN ..................... 10

PEACEBUILDING FROM GENDER-AWARE PERSPECTIVES ........................................................................ 12

WOMEN FOR PEACE - U.N. urged to hire more women ......................................................................... 14

UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL (UNSC) RESOLUTION 1325 ........................................................... 16

PROGRESS ON IMPLEMENTING RESOLUTION 1325 ................................................................................ 18

WHY DO WE NEED UNSCR 1325 (2000)? Crimes against peace............................................................... 22

CONFLICT PREVENTION AND EARLY WARNING ..................................................................................... 23

MONITORING, EVALUATION AND REPORTING ...................................................................................... 24

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................................. 25

1
BIOGRAPHY
Mwende Munuve is a woman whose life exemplifies the work of women in peace building. Her work in
Sierra Leone, Malawi and Kenya and beyond has extended her continual support of her own family and
nieces and nephews who lost their parents at a young age as Mwende did; to support and empower
women in her professional and leadership roles in her NGO employment.

Mwende has deepened her fieldwork and knowledge base achieving two master degrees in Development
Management (Open University UK 1999) and Peace Studies (University of Bradford, UK 2002-03). Mwende
provides inspiration, leadership and love for her little daughter, nieces and those who meet her in her work
and community involvement.

Having grown up in an environment where women’s involvement in leadership and decision-making is

limited, Mwende is compelled to continue her work with the vulnerable members of our global society –
women and children. Mwende believes in positively contributing to the creation of an environment where
all people can share equally the benefits and responsibilities of being human.

2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
To Dr. Arthur Clark, whose commitment to peace is not limited to Canada and the academic circles
but extends to (having witnessed at his house) community meetings as he opens his home to
others. I felt privileged to be a part of this great community attending the Canadian Women for
Afghanistan’s women presentation night. Sincere thanks and appreciation to Martha McManus my
stand-in mum. Thanks to the “Dream Women” who helped me to understand the powers within
self. I wish to thank the Blackfoot women who shared their stories of women’s peace building with
me. My dearest little leader, Natalie who continues to give me great inspiration to keep going as
she continues to cover miles with me in life and in the world. My niece Nzambi. To Natalie’s father
who has dedicated his unrelenting love and support to me and Natalie. I am grateful for all. To all
the people and women who continue to be subjects of discussion but with little reward, I honour
you all and commit to continue the pursuit for peace even in the face of neglect.

To my dear mother Margaret Thyaka Wangonda- my inspiration- my guiding reason for why I do
what I do. She taught me to give without expectation of return and so I serve. And I believe in
listening to my mom because my mom is a saint for peace.

3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I began this research with a commitment to expanding the discussion of women’s involvement
and participation in peace building, and while this work is not an exhaustive review of all available
materials on the subject matter, this paper could be seen as a positive contribution to the ongoing
debate in order to amplify the relevance and the absolute importance of the role of women in
peace building so that the issue is repeatedly discussed, kept alive and not taken for granted.

This paper is based on literature review and research focused on documents on gender, women,
peace building and legal regimes upholding the rights of women as pertains participation in peace
and security processes. The paper sets out a conceptual aspect of conflict and peace, impact of
conflict on women. It further looks at roles women have played in peace building at informal level
and the challenges faced in having women play their rightful role in peace building especially in
conflict and post-conflict situations.

The paper examines the introduction and implementation of the UNSCR 1325 that specifically
highlights the need for action in four inter-related thematic areas:
1) Participation of women at all levels of decision-making relating to the prevention, management
and resolution of conflicts.
2) Gender perspectives in conflict analysis and training of military and civilian personnel in peace
keeping missions, including on the protection, rights and needs of women affected by conflict.
3) Protection of women’s rights during conflict including prevention of and ending impunity for
GBV, respecting the civilian nature of settlements for those displaced by conflict; and addressing
the needs of female ex-combatants.
4) Gender Mainstreaming in United Nations’ implementation and reporting mechanisms including
reporting by the UN Secretary General on progress towards implementation of UNSCR1325.

The paper sets out the need for women to participate in conflict prevention and early warning
systems and finally providing a summary of conclusions and recommendations.

4
RESEARCH GOAL

Overall research goal:

To highlight the need and suggest recommendations for a more effective inclusion of women in
peace and conflict resolution looking at inter-related and mutually reinforcing concepts of gender
equality, women’s empowerment and upholding rights.

DEFINITIONS
Peace building here refers to all efforts required on the way to the creation of a sustainable peace
zone1.These can be initiatives which foster and support sustainable structures and processes which
strengthen the prospects for peaceful coexistence and decrease the likelihood of the outbreak,
reoccurrence or continuation of violent conflict. Peace building is a two-fold process requiring both the
2
deconstruction of the structures of violence and the construction of the structures of peace

CONCEPTUALISING CONFLICT AND PEACE

Most types of social, political and economic change involve conflict of some sort, and one could
argue that many of the positive changes in the world have occurred as a result of conflict. The key
issue for some organisations is to avoid or minimise its violent expression3. Many of the conflicts
today tend to be referred to as ethnic conflict, social conflict, or civil conflict and, where there is
some cross-border activity or other state involved, international social conflict. They are also often
described as being about identity, whether conceived in terms of an essentialist ethnicity, or
regionalism, or tensions over state-formation. They are also cited as occurring at the margins of an
increasingly globalised economy, and it is commonly accepted that this also has something to do
with their `root causes'. Although there is no common understanding of the conditions under
which a conflict of interest leads to its violent expression, or of the dynamics of violent
confrontation once begun, a useful working analysis of conflict deployed by International Alert
recognises the importance of structural inequalities as underlying causes, and accepts that there
are triggers which tip such situations into violent conflict.

A common aim is that the `normal' state of affairs in society to which one should seek to return, or
achieve, is one where conflicts of interest, and thereby clashes of identity, are not expressed
violently. The resultant condition of society might then approximate to Galtung's negative peace4,
1
Luc Reychler & Thania Paffenholz, Peace Building, 2001
2
Kenneth Bush, ”A Measure of peace; Peace and Conflict Assessment (PCA) of Development Projects in Conflict Zones” working paper no. 1, the
Peace building and Reconstruction Program Initiative and Evaluation Unit, IDRC, Ottawa, 1998
3
e.g. Cairns, Edmund, A Safer Future. Reducing the Human Cost of War, Oxfam Publications, 1997. For most, however, a rather narrower
conception of conflict is the norm, and derives from a kind of ‘sociopsychological model’ (Duffield, Mark, ‘Evaluating Conflict Resolution. Context,
Models and Methodology’, in, Sorbo, Gunnar, Macrae, Joanna and Wohlgemuth, NGOs in Conflict - an Evaluation of International Alert, Chr.
Michelsen Institute, Bergen, 1997: Annex 1: 90). Here the root cause of the conflict is seen as being disagreement, or breakdown of communication,
between individuals or groups.Violent manifestations of conflict are therefore viewed as irrational and, almost by definition, based on
misunderstandings. In this quite common view, the word conflict may thus be used interchangeably to refer to the conflict of interest, or to the
violent expression of conflict, which itself can lead to misunderstandings.
4
Galtung, Johan, ‘Twenty-Five Years of Peace Research: Ten Challenges and Responses’, Journal of Peace Research, 22, 1995
5
which is the way that the term peace is most commonly used; i.e. the end of widespread violent
conflict associated with war. Negative peace may nonetheless include prevalent social violence
(against women, for instance) and structural violence (in situations of extreme inequality, for
example). Moreover, this limited `peace goal' of an absence of specific forms of violence can, and
often does, lead to a strategy in which all other goals become secondary. Negative peace may
even be achieved by people accepting a worse state of affairs than that which motivated them to
fight in the first place, for the sake of the removal of prevalent organised violence. In many ways
negative peace is therefore not a useful way of conceiving of peace, in spite of its widespread
acceptance amongst governments and international agencies.

An alternative vision, of positive peace, requires not only that all types of violence are minimal or
nonexistent, but also that the major potential causes of future conflict are removed. In other
words, major conflicts of interest, as well as their violent manifestation, have been resolved or
have positive peaceful expression. Positive peace encompasses an ideal of how society should be,
and the details of such a vision often remain implicit, and are rarely discussed. The key distinction
from negative peace is that all forms of structural inequality and major social divisions are
removed, or at least minimised, in positive peace, and therefore major causes of potential conflict
are removed. Some ideal characteristics of a society experiencing positive peace would include: an
active and egalitarian civil society; highly and inclusive democratic political structures and
processes; open and accountable government and a good economic foundation. Working towards
these objectives opens up the field of peace building far more widely, to include the promotion
and encouragement of new forms of citizenship and political structures to develop active
democracies. It also opens up the fundamental question of how an economy is to be managed,
with what degree and type of state intervention, and in whose interest. Such an egalitarian vision
also requires equality between ethnic and regional groups, races and, as is far less often
mentioned, genders.

Indeed, it is not uncommon for people to assume that moves towards gender equality are neither
essential, nor urgent in peace building. This paper takes the position that moves towards gender
equality are central to moves towards positive peace; as one of the main cleavages of inequality in
all societies it has to be addressed as part of peace building.

FOREWORD INTRODUCTION
“If we want to do justice to peace, we must do justice to resolution 1325.”5
To many people, peace is an inverse, or even a mere corollary of conflict, but such a vague notion
does not lead to a clear understanding or definitions of what it is that people are trying to
promote or achieve in peace building. Most approaches to peace building have either ignored or
marginalised issues of gender and women. Women consistently remain a minority of participants
in peace building initiatives receiving less attention (usually just as mere beneficiaries or victims of
conflict) than men in policies; and gender analysis rarely informs peace building strategies. This is
in spite of the fact that there have been many United Nations and European Commission
5
Statement by Sir Emyr Jones Parry, President of the Security Council, 28 October 2004

6
resolutions including Resolution 1325 which for close to a decade have criticised such
marginalisation and neglect and promoted women’s involvement in peace and security. Such
resolutions were not drawn out of thin air, but built on at least two decades of practical
experience in and evaluation of gender and women-focused policies in the area of development.
The resolutions and the various conventions call for gender issues and women’s need to be given
much more serious attention in all policies relating to conflict and peace.

While women and peace is a topical issue and has been for a very long time, it continues to
demand from the world a more genuine attention and clarity of purpose if we are to fully enjoy
positive peace for all. I have sat through many prayer meetings and other kinds of social
gatherings organised by women for women themselves, their families, their communities, their
countries and the world. Women are peace seekers in the world.

When I set out to do my research, I was going to research on the role of women in peace building
predominantly in armed conflict settings. My experience in Sierra Leone during the height of the
‘rebel war’ has a major role in my interest in peace work. At this very initial stage I had not
considered the fact that peace work is a long-term process that revolves around simple but yet
very complex situations such as dealing with negative peace at individual, family and community
level. More focus is given to national and international peace building work without full
appreciation and recognition of local communities’ contribution to achieving positive peace
(lasting peace). Upon continued reflection I have come a full circle to a level where I would like to
start with the foundation before the walls. I would like to recognise the role of women in peace
building in a more holistic manner - from self, family, community, poverty, disease, etc. all these
paving way for other roles in armed conflicts or/and other troubled peace areas.

Women have played and continue to play moderating roles within families. They mediate for
peace between family members. Our mothers have played this role for years and yet we have
constantly failed to acknowledge (as we should) their absolute central role in preventing the
escalation of family and community conflict. The world over, groups of women often demonstrate
a stronger commitment to prevention or ending of violence and maintenance of long-term peace
and hence constitute a highly motivated and able group of stakeholders for peace building who
nonetheless are often sidelined or even ignored.

Women are highly invested in preventing, stopping, and recovering from conflict. Women are
motivated to protect their children and ensure security for their families. They watch as their sons
and husbands are taken as combatants or prisoners of war; many do not return, leaving women to
care for the remaining children and elders. When rape is used as a tactic of war to humiliate the
enemy and terrorize the population, they become targets themselves. Despite or because of the
harsh experiences of so many who survive violent conflict, women generally refuse to give up the
pursuit of peace.

7
It appears to me that communities or states that have ignored or have not appropriately
recognised the positive contribution that their women make in their society remain
developmentally behind or become dysfunctional. This is no coincidence. There are many
examples today where conflict continues to hurt the innocent especially women and children and
where human rights are put aside due to ‘immediate concerns’ and also, unbelievably, through
fundamental institutional ‘acceptance and silence’ or manufactured consent not to rock the boat.

What I am stating in this paper is not revolutionary but it is encouraging us to see the
extraordinary in the ordinary.

WOMEN AND CONFLICT

This section introduces the need for consideration of the roles, experiences, needs and capabilities
of women and for a gender-aware analysis in developing peace building policies. We begin by
reviewing what we know of women's experiences of conflict, followed by a review of what can be
learned from a gender analysis of conflict; and then finally a consideration of the implications of
these perspectives for peace building.

For many years, women's roles in war and other types of violent conflict were quite invisible
throughout the world. Accounts of war, through news reporting, government propaganda, novels,
the cinema etc, tended to cast men as the `doers' and women as passive, innocent, victims. In
poor countries wars were not portrayed in quite the same way, but stories of the courage and
bravery of men as fighters have also tended to eclipse the active roles which women have played.
As we have come to know more of the whole range of different women's experiences, it has
become clear that there are many different ways in which women live through wars: as fighters,
community leaders, social organisers, workers, farmers, traders, welfare workers, and in many
other roles.

In many conflicts some women have used their different roles to try to minimise the effects of
violence, if not actively to try to end the conflicts themselves, by acting as peacemakers 6 By
contrast, however, some accounts of conflicts highlight the roles of women in motivating the men
in their communities to fight7. This is particularly so where conflicts are about national identities,
and as women in most societies take the major responsibility for passing on cultural identities to
children they have also played active roles in supporting exclusive and aggressive ideologies about
nationalism8. Accounts of some conflicts document the actual violence committed by women 9.
Nonetheless, in spite of the great contrasts in their experiences, also mediated by age, class and
regional or ethnic background, there are striking commonalities.

6
Ferris, Elizabeth, Women, War and Peace, Life and Peace Research Report 14, Uppsala, 1993
7
Vickers, J., Women and War, Zed Press, London, 1993
8
Ferris, op cit: 5-6; Elshtain, Jean Bethke, Women and War, Basic Book, New York, 1987: 193
9
Bennett, Olivia, Bexley, Jo, Warnock, Kitty, Arms to fight. Arms to Protect, Panos, 1995: 20-21, passim;
Goldblatt, Beth and Meintjes, Sheila, ‘South African Women Demand the Truth’, in Turshen, Meredith
and Twagiramariya, Clotilde (eds), What Women Do in Wartime, Zed Press, 1998: 43-5 on South Africa;
African Rights, Rwanda Not So Innocent. When Women Become Killers, African Rights, London, 1995.
8
As the need arises for women to take on men's roles in their absence, women have to shake off
the restrictions of their cultures and live in a new way. The relative minority who join actual
armies (as nurses, administrators, or even fighters), are even sometimes able to persuade their
political movements to take seriously the demands of women for improved rights, and to accept
women's political representation and other forms of rights in the post conflict situation. Uganda is
a good example, with the establishment of a Ministry for Women also now common in many other
conflict- affected countries. This is usually where the positive aspects of women's experiences of
conflict end, however. In the post conflict peace women have often suffered a backlash from
government and society against their newfound freedoms, and they have been forced `back' to
kitchens and fields, as in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Eritrea and Mozambique, for instance.

WHERE ARE THE WOMEN? FULL AND EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION

OF WOMEN IN PEACE BUILDING

“If we'd had women around the table, there would have been no war; women think long and hard
before they send their children out to kill other people's children.” 10 Getting women into the
negotiation room is just the first step of building foundations for lasting peace. Inclusion of
women in peace building should be everybody’s responsibility as it cuts across different layers of
society. There is an enormous need to tackle issues on gender-based violence as this continues to
challenge all efforts for peace in society. In humanitarian and conflict situations, there is room for
greater focus on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security that
recognised the need for women to participate on equal terms with men at all levels and in all roles
to promote peace and security. The impact of such focused actions will be greater if issues of
gender equality are taken into account at the outset and if the realisation of the human rights of
women informs everything done in these situations. This is a challenge but an opportunity to
respect humanity for all. I believe the place for women in peace work has to take a more central
focus and tireless concentration supported by local and international instruments for peace.

In order to play an effective role in peace building structures, especially when their participation
and perspectives have not been brought into discussions and decisions from the beginning;
women and women’s organizations are in need of political, technical and financial support and
follow-through in order to do so. Women are community leaders, with formal and informal
authority. Women are often at the centre of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), popular
protests, electoral referendums, and other citizen-empowering movements whose influence has
grown with the global spread of democracy. Because women frequently outnumber men after
conflict, they often drive the on-the-ground implementation of any peace agreement; they
therefore have a responsibility to be an integral part of the peace process.

Women are adept at bridging ethnic, religious, political, and cultural divides. Social science
research indicates that women generally are more collaborative than men and thus more inclined
toward consensus and compromise. Women often use their role as mothers to cut across
international borders and internal divides. Every effort to bridge divides, even if initially

10
Haris Silajdzic, former Prime Minister of Bosnia: http://www.womenwagingpeace.net/

9
unsuccessful, teaches lessons and establishes connections to be built on later. A few experiences
spring up as I reflect on the contributions that women have made in peace processes11. At the
peace talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, male negotiators walked
out of sessions and left, leaving a small number of women, like Monica McWilliams and other
members of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, at the table. These women focused on
mutual concerns and shared vision, enabling the dialogue to continue and trust to be rekindled.

In the Middle East during the violence of the first Intifada, Israeli and Palestinian women like
Naomi Chazan and Sumaya Farhat-Naser created Jerusalem Link, an umbrella group of women's
centers on both sides of the conflict, to convey to the public a joint vision for a just peace. In a
time when both communities forbade cross-community meetings, Jerusalem Link activities were
permitted because “it's just a group of women talking.”

One of the most visible examples of the struggle for women’s equal and full participation in peace
processes is the latest round of Darfur peace talks in Libya held last November. Notably, four
women representing civil society were able to communicate the importance of women’s
participation to the delegates, government, rebels and international mediators. However,
according to Safaa Elagib Adam, one of the four women representing civil society present at the
talks, there were no women in either the government or the rebel delegations. She stressed that
women should be a part of each negotiation delegation as well as civil society representatives at
the talks. Women’s role in the talks going forward remains unclear. And, women who have
managed to make it into the negotiation room report that they do not feel they really have a
voice. However, the women’s movement in Sudan has mobilized amongst each other to bring
their own agenda to the peace negotiations, but they are in need of support in that process.

Ironically, women's status as second-class citizens is a source of empowerment, having made

women adept at finding innovative ways to cope with problems. Because women are not
ensconced within the mainstream, those in power consider them less threatening, and allow
women to work unimpeded and “below the radar screen.”

IMPACT OF ARMED CONFLICT ON WOMEN - CRITICAL THEMES

AND ISSUES OF CONCERN
Despite the Security Council’s repeated appeals to respect the equal rights of women and their
role in peace processes and in peace building, millions of women and children continue to account
for the majority of casualties in hostilities, often in flagrant violation of human rights and
humanitarian law. In armed conflicts and post-conflict situations, women bear the brunt of
shattered economies and social structures. The overriding concern for women in crisis and
conflict situations, however, is their physical security and that of their children. For women, the
lawlessness of many post-conflict situations, with its widespread violence, is as dangerous as a
situation of armed conflict. Only when the basic need for personal security is met can one begin to
consider participation in public life and the labour market. Owing to the increased civilian-
combatant interface of current conflicts, the targeted use of sexual violence is increasingly
becoming a potent weapon of war and a destabilizing factor in conflict and post-conflict societies.
11
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home
10
Thus, sexual violence is a security problem requiring a systematic security response
commensurate with its scale and magnitude.

In North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, three out of four women have been
raped, some with extreme violence (S/2008/402, p. 3). In Haiti, there has been an increase in the
number of documented cases of physical and sexual violence (S/2008/202, para. 47). Of particular
concern is that in some conflict areas sexual violence is increasingly perpetrated by minors (under
18) and civilians (S/2008/433, para. 65). Lack of security in and around camps for refugees and
internally displaced persons, particularly in Darfur, eastern Chad and the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, contributes to this increase12.

The impunity for perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls
continues to loom over countries in conflict or emerging from conflicts. The United Nations
Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) registered a disturbing
trend of sexual violence being increasingly perpetrated by police (S/2008/433, para. 67). In some
countries the continuing failure of the police and judiciary to take sexual violence seriously often
results in minimal prosecutions. In other countries, interference by military and other officials in
the administration of justice reinforces the culture of impunity on which sexual violence thrives. In
Timor-Leste, cases of sexual violence are frequently “resolved” through traditional dispute
resolution mechanisms, which are not always victim-friendly (S/2008/501, para. 28) and are
hindered by traditional and cultural norms in Côte d’Ivoire (S/2008/451, para. 52). Systematic
intimidation of survivors and reprisals by perpetrators sustain impunity in Somalia (S/2008/466,
para. 78).

Differences in levels of organisation and brutality, intent and scale, require tailored response
tactics. It is useful to distinguish between three sexual violence environments:
Widespread and systematic Widespread and Isolated and
opportunistic random
Deployed as method of warfare by armed Armed groups and ordinary Domestic criminal
groups (a sexual manifestation of aggression, civilians exploit conflict and matter, unrelated to
rather than an aggressive manifestation of chaos to attack women. political strategy or
sexuality). to international
peace and security.
Peacekeeping efforts to prevent, deter and Integrated mission National law and
respond to attacks attuned to “hidden” response. order response;
violence in non-conventional physical space Encourage domestic judicial public information
and time. system to prioritize efforts campaigns.
to prevent, protect and
prosecute.

12
Donald Steinberg is Vice-President for Multilateral Affairs at the International Crisis Group and formerly served as U.S. Ambassador to Angola
and Special Assistant to President Clinton for African Affairs

11
PEACEBUILDING FROM GENDER-AWARE PERSPECTIVES
As we have seen, it is not uncommon to assume that women have special qualities which equip
them better than men for peace, and better for peace than for war13. For instance, International
Alert's draft Code of Conduct stated that, “We explicitly recognise the particular and distinctive
peacemaking roles played by women in conflict afflicted communities. Women and women's
organisations are often reservoirs of important local capacities which can be used in peace-
building activities”14.

The common association of women, and the female gender with peace, suggests that policies to
work with women ought to be fundamental to peace building15. There are many examples where
women have courageously intervened in battles to force peace (in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan,
for instance). Women have also taken up opportunities for peacemaking between groups of
warring men16. Under such circumstances they sometimes call on and express values, behaviour
and codes which are explicitly associated with their gender.,

Both men and women have the potential for peacemaking and the responsibility to build and keep
peace. The women, however, seem more creative and effective in waging peace ... It is the
women's emotional strength to transcend pain and suffering, and their predisposition to peace
that provide them with greater potentials for peacemaking17. It is therefore often the case that
ideas about some of women's distinctive qualities (whether these are thought to be biologically or
socially determined) become identified with the way forward in peace building, and strategies
therefore focus on ways to enhance, support and extend the work that women are thought to be
well-equipped to undertake.

The challenge to gender relations often becomes too great for patriarchal societies and
institutions (e.g. religious institutions) to maintain in times of peace, and women find their
historical contribution marginalised in both official and popular accounts of conflict, and their
freedoms in peacetime restricted or removed. This type of peace settlement might be called a
`gendered peace'18, where governments and /or warring parties establish new constitutions or
peace processes which marginalise the needs of women (perhaps by neglect) or effectively limit or
restrict the rights of women (in some cases explicitly through the legal system). Such experiences
were felt bitterly by many of the women who were active in the fight for Algeria's independence,
for instance, even before the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in that country restricted many
women's freedoms even further.

13
UN, op cit, 1986: para 237; UN, op cit 1995: para 134, 139
14
International Alert, Code of Conduct, 3 July 1998: 6
15
UN, 1986, op cit: para 266; UN, Platform for Action, Beijing, 1995: E
16
Berhane-Selassie, Tsehai, ‘African Women in Conflict Resolution’, Center Focus, 120, March 1994; El-
Bushra, op cit
17
Garcia, Ed (ed), Pilgrim Voices. Citizens as Peacemakers, International Alert, 1994: 45
18
Pankhurst, Donna and Pearce, Jenny, ‘Engendering the Analysis of Conflict: Perspectives from the
South’, in Afshar, Haleh (ed), Women and Empowerment, Routledge, 1997.
12
Generational relations are also destabilised where children become soldiers which has been made
so much more common by the presence of light weapons which can be used by almost anyone 19.
Many of these children in war-torn African societies (especially Sierra Leone, Liberia) have grown
up without the respect for their elders which was normal before war, as the weapons have given
them power over older, unarmed people. These children did not only kill but also were forced to
practise cannibalism (ate parts of their victims). Women particularly feel the loss of this rare
source of respect as elders, especially where young boys commit rape on older women. The
experiences of girl children in conflicts are even less well documented than those of boys, but are
often horrific, and specific to their gender20. Their experiences as children have highly significant
implications for gender relations in peacetime when they are older. In the struggle to re-form
society after the intense disruptions which occur during conflict there are nonetheless sometimes
opportunities to improve on the old order, perhaps especially where `returning to normal' seems
an impossible dream. My experience in Sierra Leone working with vulnerable children and ex-child
combatants and witnessing women’s actions of absolute courage in the face of death, are but a
separate book.

Many women’s organisations face great difficulties in their continued survival, let alone in
achieving all of their objectives, and there is considerable need for extended external support.
Such problems include chronic under-funding, which is commonly a more extreme problem even
than for other types of community organisation. They also often require further training in areas
of management, leadership, and lobbying skills. In practice, new women's organisations often
have to deal with not only marginalisation and stigmatisation by powerful government and non-
government organisations, but also direct physical harassment from local men and security forces,
which is especially likely in post conflict situations where gender tensions are usually already
running high. In all these regards outside support could increase the chances of success of those
organisations which have the potential to play a highly significant, if not central, role in peace
building.

There are nonetheless tensions in providing external support. The provision of funding for
grassroots organisations can often create tensions and that is certainly potentially true for some
women's organisations. In allocating scarce funds to such groups there is sometimes an
expectation that they should `deliver the peace' single-handedly, which is also unrealistic and
unfair. Moreover, participation in such groups can sometimes lead to increases in women's
workload which are unsustainable.

Lessons from the development field suggest that those women's groups which stand the greatest
chance of success, and make best use of external funding, tend to be those that have initially
formed and established their objectives in the absence of, or with only minimal, external funding;
those that acknowledge, rather than gloss over, the differences between women; and those that
have clearly achievable objectives. They also suggest that where women's organisations are
encouraged by the state as part of a policy to enhance women's roles in development, this has
often been shown to be a way of avoiding taking women seriously in other ways, and so a strategy

19
Turshen, Meredith, ‘Women's War Stories’, in Turshen, Meredith and Twagiramariya, Clotilde (eds),
What Women Do in Wartime, Zed Press, 1998: 7.
20
Nordstrom, Carolyn, Girls and Warzones. Troubling Questions, Life and Peace Institute, Uppsala, 1997
13
of supporting women's organisations has to be complemented by other gender-aware policies and
actions.

There is a general tendency for the leaders of institutions and political organisations to be the only
participants at peace settlements, with very little grassroots participation. Women in general are
thus marginalised, as they are always poorly represented at leadership level. Outside parties have
had some limited success in enabling women to participate in peace talks. For instance, the Life
and Peace Institute was successful in ensuring that women's peace groups gained access to some
of the Somalia peace and reconciliation talks (even though they only gained observer status).
Merely being invited to attend talks, peace conferences, or other peace fora, is insufficient,
however, as very few women have the education, training or confidence to participate fully, even
if they are in attendance. As one peace activist expressed it, there are too much technicalities that
women have to learn. In terms of the technical capability to discuss and articulate the issues,
women are much less prepared because they have not had the luxury of all the education ,
exposure and study that men have had when they go out and take long years to discuss. Women
need to be encouraged, trained, and listened to when they speak in order to develop the self
confidence and self belief.

WOMEN FOR PEACE - U.N. urged to hire more women21

One crucial area in women’s participation and empowerment is peace and security that are
inextricably linked to development. SCR 1325 of 2000 is a landmark decision. For the first time in
55 years, it takes into account the unrecognized, under-utilized and undervalued contribution of
women to preventing war, building peace and working toward social justice. The potential of
Resolution 1325, its implications and its impact in real terms are enormous. Women and men all
over the world have been energized by this Resolution. Political support for its implementation by
Member States, international organizations and, most importantly, civil society is growing every
day.

The battle for women’s equality must be fought on many levels, including the need to address
violence against women through the justice system. First and foremost, getting help for women’s
trauma at the personal level balanced with getting women into leadership positions, from where
21
By Nicholas Kralev, 1 June 2007 – (The Washington Times) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and 19 other female ministers,
diplomats and lawmakers from around the world called on the United Nations yesterday to appoint more women in high-level
positions, including as special envoys to trouble spots. The fact that there is currently no woman among 54 United Nations envoys
to conflict and post-conflict regions is unacceptable," they said in a statement following the meeting in Vienna, the Austrian
capital.The group urged U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "to increase the number of women among United Nations special
representatives and envoys including as heads of peace operations." They pledged "to work towards the nomination of more
women as envoys and mediators also in other international and regional organizations."
"It's absolutely the case that, unless women are full participants of their societies, these societies cannot really be fully democratic,
and that is something we are absolutely devoted to," Miss Rice said.
"We have no illusions about the obstacles still facing us, nor about the urgency for action," she said. "This meeting is a starting
point. It's not the end. I hope we work together in order to make that difference," Mrs Ashrawi said.
Mrs. Livni said that, "at the end of the day, we share the same threats."

14
they can re-write societies’ rules will be an essential combination, if women are to feel truly
supported and empowered. In the words of Nafis Sadiq, when she was Executive Director of the
UN Population Fund, “tradition must not be used to oppress, but to empower”. The international
community must be as outspoken on gender oppression as it is on racial and ethnic oppression.
This report advances this cause.

The most obvious way to support women's activity in peace building is often identified as
supporting women's organisations22. There are many different types of women's organisations,
with overlapping and changing agendas which have contributed (or have the potential to
contribute) to peace building. They have tended to take different forms in different countries at
different times, which are not necessarily transferable through time and space. Nonetheless, there
are some recognisable `types', with common potentials and problems.

Some women's organisations have developed the capacity to work openly to protect and extend
human rights (especially in many Latin American countries). Other women's organisations have
extended the work they took on during conflict to ensure that the social fabric did not collapse,
through various forms of community organisation and welfare provision (especially where groups
were established in 17 camps of refugees or displaced people during conflict, (such as in El
Salvador, Guatemala, Rwanda and Burundi). Others more directly focus on the need to talk about,
and take action on, strengthening peace in the name of women (such as in Israel/the Occupied
Territories, former Yugoslavia, and the Federation of African Women's Peace Networks and
Femmes-Africa-Solidarité in Africa)23.

Finally there are those women's organisations which explicitly attempt to challenge women's
oppression and gender inequality in post-conflict situations (such as those which facilitate
women's participation in war-crimes tribunals and truth processes). Many of these organisations
also attempt to build bridges between groups of women with very different experiences of
conflict, who might otherwise be separated by their ethnic, regional or political identities.

All of these types of organisations can therefore be of fundamental importance in addressing

common weaknesses in existing peace building strategies: the lack of attention to women's needs;
the marginalisation of gender analyses; and the absence of efforts to challenge particularly
`unpeaceful' forms of masculinity in institutions and in society more widely. Furthermore,
women's organisations have the potential to achieve many of the goals of peace building: to
increase women's (and thereby household) income24; to increase women's abilities to participate
in public, political processes and civil society more generally; to increase the number of women
who become leaders and representatives; to reinforce efforts to challenge masculine cultures in
institutions and society more widely.

Women and girls remain more vulnerable during and after armed conflict even sometimes during
peace settlements. Many factors contribute to this high vulnerability. One among the many

22
e.g. UN, op cit, 1998: C
23
http://www.fasngo.org/
24
It has been shown that improvements in the economic position of women tend to have more positive
knock-on effects for children, and other members of households, than improvements in men's income
do.
15
reasons is that early warning signs of a potentially violent conflict are not picked up in good time;
also that women’s role in conflict prevention is not adequately recognised hence less inclusion of
their views during peace negotiations and settlements. All of these simple but important steps
could probably assist greatly in minimising the impact and vulnerability of women and girls in
armed conflict situations. Full inclusion of women would not only reduce their vulnerability to
abuse and suffering but also reduce the cost of refugee or displaced persons’ repatriation, cost of
re-creating and maintaining peace in post conflict situations. It would create opportunities to
increase the positive investment to assist women, their families, their communities and the wider
national and international peace building work and development.

For a majority of countries emerging from conflict the challenge of restoring and promoting
women’s human rights will continue to depend on the support of international institutions for
building national capacity to formulate laws, strategies and policies. In Haiti and Liberia, United
Nations entities supported Government efforts to develop a national gender policy and to prepare
a report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women. In other countries, they built national capacities to revise
legislation to eliminate discriminatory laws and introduce new legislation in line with the
Convention. Promoting women’s role in media, is essential. Women need to be empowered in
post-conflict areas in an effort to empower female media professionals to report on the impact of
conflict on women.

UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL (UNSC) RESOLUTION 1325

On 31 October 2000, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted Resolution
1325 on women, peace and security. Resolution 1325 marks the first time the Security Council
addressed the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women, recognized the
under-valued and under-utilized contributions women make to conflict prevention, peacekeeping,
conflict resolution and peace-building, and stressed the importance of their equal and full
participation as active agents in peace and security25 .

Highlights of the SCR 1325: The resolution specifically highlights the need for action in four inter-
related thematic areas:
1) Participation of women at all levels of decision-making relating to the prevention, management
and resolution of conflicts.
2) Gender perspectives in conflict analysis and training of military and civilian personnel in
peacekeeping missions, including on the protection, rights and needs of women affected by
conflict.
3) Protection of women’s rights during conflict including prevention of and ending impunity for
GBV, respecting the civilian nature of settlements for those displaced by conflict; and addressing
the needs of female ex-combatants.
4) Gender Mainstreaming in United Nations’ implementation and reporting mechanisms including
reporting by the UN Secretary General on progress towards implementation of UNSCR1325. 24

25
http://www.peacewomen.org/un/sc/1325.html
16
By requiring that attention is given to the situation of women, the resolution attempts to redress
the ‘gender-blind’ approaches to conflict prevention, management and resolution that have been
central to the global failure to achieve sustainable peace. Specific initiatives, such as those
outlined in UNSCR 1325, are also needed to ensure that women’s rights and status are not further
eroded in times of conflict or through the processes employed to bring about peace. There are
always opportunities for transformation of pervasive gender inequalities within these processes,
which must also be to the forefront of efforts to address conflict.

We have come a long way in trying to get women to meaningfully play their fair role in peace-
building. The UNSC Resolution 1325 in October 2000 was late but a very welcome resolution in
pursuit for peace. The Resolution 1325 a comprehensive set of measures to enhance the role of
women in peacemaking and peace building, and to ensure that gender issues receive full
consideration in all U.N. programs in societies in conflict. Despite important steps since its
passage, governments, international organizations, NGOs, and the U.N. itself have failed to fully
implement its provisions.

On August 16 2006, the International Crisis Group presented a report at InterAction that examines
the role of women in peace building in Africa’s three deadliest conflicts26. The report found that
involving women in peace processes brings a more inclusive view of security and enhances the
likelihood that agreements will hold. Demobilization and reintegration of women and child ex-
combatants, accountability for wartime abuses against women, demining sites where women
collect firewood and water, disarming civilian populations, and ensuring reproductive health care
for refugees and internally displaced persons typically fall by the wayside when women are
excluded from peace talks and post conflict governments.

Many of the findings in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda were
discouraging27. Resolution 1325 is virtually unknown and unused by populations and governments,
and to some extent even by women activists and U.N. officials in these countries. Women are
largely excluded from peace processes, governments, and the formal economy. Peace
negotiations often look first at granting amnesties for warring parties – men with guns forgive
other men with guns for crimes against women.

Courageous women trying to make a difference are confronted with discriminatory legal, cultural,
and traditional practices; hostility from men in power, often translated into threats of violence;
and widespread sexual violence used as a weapon of war. This situation is so traumatizing that
many women are unable or unwilling to play their rightful roles, reinforcing the unfortunate
stereotype of women as merely victims.

Nine years on, only a small fraction of people around the world know about SCR 1325, its
provisions and the obligations both the United Nations and Member States have to ensuring its
implementation, and making good on their commitments.

26
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/
27
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/84_inclusive_security_in_the_field.cfm
17
On the other hand, the resolution seems to overlook the fact that there is usually a “foreplay”
period before armed conflict. Women’s protection and their potential role to prevent the
escalation of armed conflict is yet to be explicit in our international instruments for peace. It is
here where women need to be empowered to take positions of leadership to genuinely
participate in decision making, influence policies, etc so that communities and nations can make
fair decisions that address the needs and concerns of the whole people.

PROGRESS ON IMPLEMENTING RESOLUTION 1325

Implementing UNSCR 1325 is a demanding and ambitious task, but one which must be fulfilled if
the resolution is to be successful in ensuring women are given equal status with men in all efforts
to address peace and security issues. As highlighted earlier the fact that Resolution 1325 is
virtually unknown to countries affected by conflict makes its implementation hard 28. There are
many other obstacles which are inhibiting progress towards full implementation of UNSCR 1325,
including the lack of funding allocated to implementation of the Resolution, along with a lack of
accountability such as reporting systems, incentives, performance measures and adequate
monitoring and evaluation systems to further its implementation. Without such measures it is
clear that the appropriate and necessary actions by important actors such as the UN, EU and
individual countries will not be undertaken. 29A number of small steps are being taken at
international and national levels to advance the implementation of UNSCR 1325 with varying
degrees of success, aspects of which are highlighted.

In his 2005 report to the Security Council on UNSCR 1325 30, the then UNSG Kofi Annan
recommended that “enhanced inter-governmental oversight, monitoring and follow up on
implementation of resolution 1325” is needed. This was reiterated in 2007 in a call by UNSG Ban
ki-Moon for a central mechanism for tracking the implementation of UNSCR 1325. Structures that
hold all actors to account in taking steps towards fulfilling their commitments to UNSCR 1325 are
urgently needed.

The last few years have seen an increasingly strong recognition by governments, international
organizations and civil society of the importance of gender equality and the empowerment of
women in the continuing struggle for equality, poverty reduction, peace, security, democracy,
human rights and development31.

The deployment of women in peacekeeping forces, in police forces and among civilian personnel
facilitates engagement with local women, enhances their access to social and psychological
services, including trauma counselling, information sharing on sexual harassment, abuse and rape,
and lowers the incidence of sexual violence and abuse, particularly in camps of internally displaced
persons and refugees. Argentina, Croatia, Germany, Mexico, Romania, Slovakia, South Africa and
Viet Nam32 took steps to recruit more women for military service and changed policies to improve
28
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/84_inclusive_security_in_the_field.cfm
29
http://www.peacewomen.org/un/7thAnniversary/Compilation/SC_Mechanism.html
30
http://www.peacewomen.org/web_ring.html
31
The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security: Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security –Five Years On
ReportWORKING GROUP
ON WOMEN, PEACE
AND SECURITY
32
http://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/
18
their access to service, including by repealing discriminatory policies, offering equal opportunities
and equal treatment for women, promulgating S/2008/622 policies known as “fast tracking” to
increase women’s representation in the higher echelons of the armed forces and creating other
opportunities for women’s professional advancement. Austria, Canada, Germany and the United
Kingdom have used financial support of non-governmental organizations, multilateral and bilateral
diplomacy, research programmes and technical assistance to advocate for greater participation of
women in the armed forces and peacekeeping operations.

As at July 2008, women constituted 2.2 per cent of military personnel in United Nations
peacekeeping operations compared to 1 per cent in July 2004, and 7.6 per cent of civilian police
personnel compared to 5 per cent in 200433. In those settings where peacekeeping missions are
supporting the restructuring of police services (Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste and Kosovo) women
civilian police represent more than 15 per cent. As at 30 June 2008, women’s representation in the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations in civilian posts in the Professional and higher categories
reached 28.6 per cent, and 26.3 per cent at the D-1 level and above, up from 27.5 and 12 per cent
respectively in 2004. In the Department of Field Support, women accounted for 36.4 per cent of all
Professional and higher-level personnel. In field-based operations, women’s representation
accounts for 23 per cent34. All these are positive improvements; however they fall way below
average. In nearly every country and region of the world, we can point to areas in which there has
been progress in achieving gender equality and women's empowerment. Yet, this progress has
been uneven and the gains remain fragile. Virtually nowhere are women’s rights given the priority
they deserve. And, despite increased global awareness, in many countries the rights of women are
still under threat. Intensified efforts from all of us are needed to promote women’s rights at
community and the country level and develop effective mechanisms – both national and global –
to fully implement and monitor such mechanisms.

Intensified efforts are also imperative to combat the growing violence against women and girls in
all situations. The rights of women and girls are subject to the worst forms of violation. In today’s
conflicts, they are not only the victims of hardship, displacement and warfare, they are also
directly targeted with rape, forced pregnancies and assault as deliberate instruments of war.
Women are deeply affected by conflicts, which they have had little or no role in creating.
Women’s interests have been neglected by peace-making processes, which have resulted in
approaches to peace and security that fail to create sustainable peace and development.

Progress has been made in six broad areas: i) awareness of the importance of gender perspectives
in peace support work; ii) development of gender action work plans in disarmament and
humanitarian affairs; iii) training in gender sensitivity and deployment of gender advisors; iv)
prevention and response to violence against women; v) work on codes of conduct, including
sexual harassment; and (vi) support to greater participation of women in post-conflict
reconstruction, post-conflict elections and governance35.

33
Department of Political Affairs, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF,
UNIFEM, WFP, WHO.
34
UNSC report; Report of the Secretary-General, 25 September 2008
35
Donald Steinberg , Vice-President for Multilateral Affairs at the International Crisis Group; 2006.

19
In Sudan, talented women from Rebecca Garang to Anne Itto to Awut Deng Achuil are playing
important roles in the emerging National Unity Government and the Government of Southern
Sudan36. Afhad University for Women in Khartoum is training thousands of women to participate
fully in political, economic and academic life. Women’s participation in the Abuja negotiations –
for just three weeks – improved the Darfur Peace Agreement enormously, even if it remains
fundamentally flawed and its provisions for women’s empowerment have been ignored. In Congo,
participation of women in the Inter-Congolese dialogue, development of principles on
empowerment in the Nairobi Declaration, and mobilization of women to register and run for office
in national elections encouraged the adoption of good provisions in the interim constitution. In
particular, Article 14 calls for elimination of discrimination against women; participation of women
in all political, economic, and social life; and elimination of violence against women – again,
regrettably, without any enforcing legislation. In Uganda37, impressive local organizations are
promoting women’s rights, protection and participation in political and economic life, such as the
Kitgum Women’s Peace Initiative and the Teso Women’s Peace Association. The Child and Family
Protection Unit in the national police is addressing rights and protection issues, although it is
under-funded and under-supported. The government’s endorsement of the Convention for
Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the invitation to the International Criminal Court
to investigate acts of sexual violence in the north lay the groundwork for enhanced rights – even if
government practices don’t always match its rhetoric.

While ministries of women’s affairs have their place, gender must be mainstreamed within
government, such that the health minister is a principal advocate for mother-child health
programs. The education of women and girls, long recognized as the best investment in improving
socioeconomic conditions, is also central to empowering women as peace builders. Bringing
women into the formal security forces enhances gender-sensitive law enforcement and facilitates
investigation of crimes of sexual violence. However, caution is called for as even in some cases
where women are in security forces, they face a lot of intimidation from their male counterparts in
the guise of equality. In such cases female officers feel they have to be harsher on their fellow
women when handling gender-based violence which they themselves endure sub-consciously at
work place.

Gender issues are often viewed as the “soft side” of peace building. But there is nothing “soft”
about going after traffickers who turn women and girls into commodities. There is nothing soft
about preventing armed thugs from abusing women in refugee camps, holding warlords
accountable for crimes against women, forcing demobilized soldiers to refrain from domestic
violence, or insisting that women have a seat at the table in peace talks and post-conflict
governments. These are among the hardest responsibilities we face, and we must empower those
courageous individuals who are confronting them. As causes of conflict transcend national
borders, regional and sub-regional organizations have an essential role in promoting peace and
collaborating with the United Nations and all stakeholders to harmonize approaches, enhance
synergies and optimize use of resources.

36
Africa Report N°112, 28 June 2006 : http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4185
37
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?
20
Regional bodies

The African Union is actively mainstreaming a gender perspective in the implementation of

resolution 1325 (2000). The Constitutive Act of the African Union mandated the Union to
mainstream gender in all its programmes and activities. Major developments realized include the
creation of the Women, Gender and Development Directorate under the Office of the Chairperson
of the African Union; the establishment of the African Union Women’s Committee; and the
appointment of the envoy to investigate sexual and gender-based violence in Darfur. Regional
instruments such as the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the
Rights of Women in Africa and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa strengthen
regional commitments under resolution 1325 (2000) and support national and regional
implementation efforts38.

Positive developments have also occurred in the Southern African Development Community
(SADC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Intergovernmental
Authority on Development (IGAD). ECOWAS has finalized preparation of an action plan for the
implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). SADC and IGAD have taken significant steps to infuse
their policies and programmes with a gender perspective. IGAD created a sub-regional framework
at the ministerial level to fight violence against women and mainstream gender analysis and
indicators into its early warning system, including development of a gender and early warning
training manual.

The Commonwealth Ministers Responsible for Women’s Affairs, at their meeting held in June 2007
in Uganda, agreed to establish a working group on gender, peace and security to address gender
issues in peace and post-conflict processes. The European Peace-building Liaison Office in Brussels
initiated the European Union 1325 Partnership to coordinate implementation efforts regionally.
The Arab Women’s Organization held a conference on “Women, the concept of human security,
and related issues: the Arab and international perspective” in November 2008.

Many Member States have been actively involved in supporting regional implementation efforts.
Austria, for example, organized a meeting with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on the
implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). The United Kingdom provided peace support
operations training to regional training centres and multilateral organizations, including the
African Union. In Argentina, the Inter-Ministerial Task Force on Gender and Peacekeeping has
conducted a regional workshop to develop a gender-responsive peacekeeping policy.

Member States

Progress was reflected in the growing number of Member States which developed national action
plans. To date, the following 10 Member States have developed such plans: Austria, Côte d’Ivoire,
Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Belgium, Ghana, Jordan, Liberia, the Philippines and Sierra Leone are in the process of developing
national action plans. Development of national action plans provides an opportunity to initiate
strategic actions, identify priorities and resources and determine responsibilities and time frames

38
UNSC report; Report of the Secretary-General, 25 September 2008
21
that will guide and measure implementation. The Côte d’Ivoire plan39, for example, focuses on
four “priority axes”: protection of women and girls from sexual violence; gender mainstreaming in
policies and development programmes; reinforcement of women’s access to basic social
infrastructures and participation in reconstruction and reintegration processes; and strengthening
the participation of women in political decision-making.

WHY DO WE NEED UNSCR 1325 (2000)? Crimes against peace

Nine years later, the situation of women affected by conflict has not improved, and full
implementation is needed now more than ever because:
• Sexual violence and abuse targeted at women and girls during times of conflict and political
unrest continues on a horrific scale. For example, the reporting of incidents of sexual violence
doubled during the unrest in Kenya in late 2007/early 200840. Impunity for these crimes prevails
and must be addressed if women’s security, well-being and rights are to be fulfilled.
• Approximately 75% of the estimated 60 million people displaced from conflict and disasters
worldwide are women and children, yet their interests and needs are overlooked because women
are systematically excluded from processes which aim to address and resolve these problems41.
• Women are not only victims of conflict but also actors who may take up violent or non-military
roles in support of fighting forces. This fact is rarely acknowledged and as a result women may not
be able to access post-conflict support mechanisms that are put in place for male combatants. For
example, in El Salvador, while women fighters held 40% of leadership and 30% of combat roles,
they were neglected during the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Rehabilitation (DDR) process
employed post-conflict. 70-80% of female combatants were estimated to have received no
benefits under the Government’s land transfer programme. Women were also absent from the
UN-supervised formation of both a new National Civil Police and the Armed Forces Reserve
System.

Due to proliferation of weapons during and after conflict, women’s risk of injury or death from
gender based violence heightens. In the former Yugoslavia, high levels of abuse were experienced
by women post-conflict as weapons used by men during the conflict were turned on them in
incidents of inter-personal violence in the home42. 40% of countries emerging from conflict return
to war within five years43. The participation of women and the inclusion of gender perspectives
are crucial to the establishment of sustainable peace44.

39
http://www.peacewomen.org/web_ring.html
40
Holmes, Stephanie; January 2008; Gang rape spirals in violent Kenya; BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7204680.stm - 16th June, 2008
41
Taken from: Facts and Figures on Women, Peace and Security, United Nations;
www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/5years1325; 28th April, 2008
42
United Nations; 2002; Women, Peace and Security: Study submitted by the Secretary-General
pursuant to Security Council resolution 1325 (2000); United Nations
43
Sheriff, Andrew and Barnes, Karen; April 2008; Enhancing the EU Response to Women and Armed
Conflict: Study for the Slovenian Presidency of the EU; European Centre for Development Policy
Management.
44
Taken from: United Nations Secretary General; October 2002; Report of the Secretary General on
Women, Peace and Security to the UN Security Council; United Nations Security Council;
22
Women’s concerns cannot be heard if they are not consulted and included in decision-making45.

The fact that women make a difference when they are in decision and policymaking positions is
indisputable notwithstanding the part that women also play in conflict. When women, as human
rights advocates, participate in peace negotiations and in the crafting of a peace agreement, their
inclusion helps to ensure, to build and to strengthen policies which create sustainable peace and
development in their communities and nations. A lasting peace cannot be achieved without the
participation of women and the inclusion of gender perspectives in the peace process.

Informal peace initiatives of grassroots women’s groups and networks, organized across party and
ethnic lines, have carried out reconciliation efforts and have been increasingly recognized by the
Security Council these include organisations such as Nobel Women’s Peace Initiative, Tegla
Lorupe’s, Peace Foundation, Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW), etc. It is
laudable that the Security Council’s missions to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kosovo and
Sierra Leone, met with women’s groups and representatives of NGOs. Hopefully this will become a
regular practice with all Security Council missions. Much, nevertheless, remains to be done.
Women are still very often ignored or excluded from formal processes of negotiations and
elections.

Gender perspectives must be fully integrated into the terms of reference for peacekeeping-related
Security Council resolutions, reports and missions. Peace support operations should include
gender specialists and consultations where women’s groups and networks must be ensured. Full
involvement of women in negotiations of peace agreements at national and global levels must be
provided for, including training for women on formal peace processes. Gender perspectives should
also be an integral part of post-conflict reconstruction programmes. A no-tolerance approach
must be used in cases of violation of the code of conduct in peacekeeping operations. And gender
sensitivity training must be provided to the peacekeepers before they arrive in the zones of
conflict.

CONFLICT PREVENTION AND EARLY WARNING

Resolution 1325 (2000) reaffirmed the important role of women in the prevention of conflict.
Gender-based early warning indicators, such as gender-specific refugee migrations, increased
violence against women, hoarding of food, eyewitness accounts by women about the use of small
arms and light weapons, and the like, can alert to tensions before they erupt in open hostilities.

In Lebanon, the programme “Women’s Empowerment: Peaceful Action for Stability and Security”,
launched in 2006, has focused on the root causes of conflict and the economic empowerment of

S/2002/1154
45
Facts and Figures on Women, Peace and Security, United Nations;
www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/5years1325; accessed 28th April, 2008

23
women. In South Africa, the African Women’s Peace Table provides a forum for female soldiers
and civil society to prevent conflicts and discuss strategies for building peace on the continent.

United Nations entities assisted Member States with structural prevention efforts, fact-finding and
good offices missions, support for political dialogue in polarized societies and assistance to non-
governmental organizations engaged in conflict prevention. A partnership in Nepal between the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UNFPA has
developed a gender-sensitive early warning mechanism. The United Nations Office for West Africa
organized jointly with ECOWAS a workshop on mainstreaming human rights and gender in the
ECOWAS early warning system conflict prevention indicators. The interventions and services of the
World Food Programme (WFP) and FAO focused on structural prevention through reinforcement
of food security and the economic rights of women by promoting their access to and control over
productive resources 46.

Despite some gains, in most conflict and post-conflict societies women remain excluded from
conflict prevention and gender-based early warning indicators are largely ignored. This exclusion
inhibits effective prevention efforts and social transformation towards more peaceful and gender
equal societies. Local women’s initiatives and experiences in preventing hostilities should be fully
incorporated in national and United Nations conflict prevention frameworks.

MONITORING, EVALUATION AND REPORTING

In its resolution 1325 (2000), the Security Council called on the Secretary- General to include in his
reporting to the Council progress on gender mainstreaming and other aspects relating to women.
In its presidential statement (S/PRST/2007/40), the Council requested country-specific reporting
data on the impact of conflict on women, including instances of all forms of violence and special
measures to protect women and girls from sexual and gender-based violence.

An analysis of 313 reports47 of the Secretary-General to the Security Council dating from January
2004 to July 2008, including 286 country-specific and 27 thematic reports, revealed that 61 per
cent of reports made no mention or one mention of gender equality; 23 per cent contained
minimal gender references; and only 16 per cent made multiple references to gender equality.
Compared to the period from October 2000 to December 2003, some progress has been made,
resulting in a decrease of 6 per cent of reports with no mention or one mention of gender equality
and an increase of 8 per cent in reports with minimal gender references. There was no noticeable
change in the percentage of reports with multiple references to gender equality. The analysis also
showed that reporting on sexual violence, especially rape, is on the rise — from 23 per cent in
2000-2003 to 32 per cent in 2004-2008, although not all peace operations have the related
mandates. The problem of impunity was covered in 4 per cent of reports in 2000-2003 while there

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Update Report No. 1Peacebuilding Commission5 June 2008 - Security Council Report;
http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/site/pp.aspx?c=glKWLeMTIsG&b=4183533&printmode=1
47
For example: United Nations Mission in Liberia, United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra
Leone, United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire, United Nations Organization Mission in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and
Chad, African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), United Nations
Integrated Office in Burundi, United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, United Nations
Mission in the Sudan, United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste, United Nations
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
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was no information about it in reports in 2004-2008. Gender mainstreaming was also mentioned
in 4 per cent of reports in 2004-2008, up from 2 per cent in the previous period.

The above analysis reveals that, since the adoption of the resolution in 2000, the Secretary-
General’s reporting on gender to the Security Council has been gradually improving. It remains
inconsistent and incomplete. However, the challenge in the coming years will be to accelerate this
progress to ensure that gender concerns are reflected in a balanced and systematic way in all
relevant reports to the Council. In view of the adoption by the Council of resolution 1820 (2008),
reporting on sexual violence in situations of armed conflict needs to be rationalized to avoid
duplication with reporting on resolution 1325 (2000).

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conflict escalates long before the first guns are fired and does not end with the signing of peace
agreements. To avoid the outbreak or resurgence of violence, it is necessary to strengthen the
governance, security, justice and socioeconomic capacities of a state so that social and political
conflicts can be resolved non-violently. This is a complex task in any society and particularly
daunting in situations where violence and oppression have been the norm. While the international
community can provide assistance and valuable resources, the local population, which has no “exit
strategy,” has the greatest commitment to building a sustainable peace. It is therefore essential to
draw on the assets, experiences and dedication at the local level and among all sectors of society.

An inclusive approach to security means that peace processes must include women who, although
they are key actors, are often overlooked and underestimated. In most conflict situations, women
constitute more than 50 percent of the adult population and are actively engaged in peace-
building while addressing the basic survival needs of their families and communities. Their
contributions at local, national and international levels are critical to sustainable peace. Yet
historically women have been portrayed as passive victims with little regard given to their actual
and potential roles in promoting peace and fostering security. In October 2000, for the first time in
its history, the United Nations Security Council acknowledged that women have a key role in
promoting sustainable peace by unanimously adopting Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and
Security. It calls on all actors to ensure women’s participation in peace processes from the
prevention of conflict to negotiations to post war reconstruction. Similar resolutions have been
passed by other multilateral organisations, including the G-8, the European Union, the
Organization of American States and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Despite serious obstacles, today women are fighting their way to the peace table all over the
world, within political parties and through civil society. From East Timor and Sri Lanka to Burundi,
Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Congo and Somalia, women are establishing a new dimension in the quest
for peace and development.

Despite all efforts, acts of violence against women persist during armed conflict. Innovative
strategies need to be developed to ensure compliance with international humanitarian and
human rights law by all actors, military as well as non-State. The Security Council and other
Member States need to send stronger signals to parties to conflict that perpetrators will be
prosecuted. Applied judiciously, targeted sanctions on individuals and parties to conflict may have
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a restraining effect and deter sexual violence. Provision of human and financial resources to
deliver care to victims of violence and provide ongoing training for all actors remains critically
important. Deploying advisers, coordinators and monitors at an early stage of peace operations
can deter violence. Effective system-wide monitoring and reporting mechanisms to gather timely
and accurate data on gender-based violence are essential.

Sustainable peace is inseparable from gender equality. To further the full and effective
implementation of the SCR1325 from the local to the global, it is imperative that sufficient
resources are allocated for work on women, peace and security, including support for the
development of national action plans on women, peace and security. Equally important is the
development of a Security Council monitoring mechanism to ensure the systematic integration
and implementation of Resolution 1325 in the Council’s work. This is an absolute requirement in
guaranteeing sustainable peace and development.

Peace building cannot succeed if half the population is excluded from the process. Crisis Group’s
research in Sudan, Congo (DRC) and Uganda suggests that peace agreements, post-conflict
reconstruction, and governance do better when women are involved. Women make a difference,
in part because they adopt a more inclusive approach toward security and address key social and
economic issues that would otherwise be ignored. Women remain marginalised in formal
processes and under-represented in the security sector as a whole. Governments and the
international community must do much more to support women peace activists.

The scale of discrimination and violence against women in each armed conflict and the impunity
with which it continues to be committed remain the central obstacles to expanding the good work
being done by women peace builders. The international community speaks a great deal about
including women in formal peace-making processes and recognising their peace building
contributions but fails to do so in a systematic, meaningful way. Advances have been made in
understanding the links between gender, development, human rights, peace, security and justice.
SCR 1325 reaffirmed the role of women in preventing and resolving conflicts and mandates UN
member states to take steps to increase women’s participation in decision-making. However,
endemic discrimination and sexual violence are significant barriers to achieving Resolution 1325’s
goal of inclusivity. The stereotype of “women as only victims” should not be reinforced and all
institutions that either directly or indirectly support this view should be challenged. An array of
women’s organisations and women leaders are doing remarkable work under difficult
circumstances. The daily struggle for survival greatly limits the numbers who have become peace
activists but their potential is significant. Because those who are courageous and capable enough
to involve themselves as catalysts in peace building are an endangered minority, they should be
safeguarded and strengthened with funding, training and inclusion in assessment missions and
other decision-making mechanisms that shape fundamental questions of peace and security.

Properly supported, women’s peace movements can affect large sectors of the population and be
a powerful force for reducing violence and building democratic and participatory public
institutions, particularly in the post-conflict period. Their organisations should be identified at the
outset of peacemaking processes and helped to work within broader peace initiatives and to
communicate their messages to both national leaders and the international community.

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However, the noticeable gap that remains between policies and their effective implementation
must be closed. More needs to be done at the country level to mainstream gender perspectives at
every stage of conflict prevention, resolution and management as well as peace building, including
security sector reform; prevent and end sexual and gender-based violence; increase women’s
representation in decision-making bodies and security institutions; increase resources and
technical support for women’s organizations; and ensure stronger United Nations capacity to
support Member States in implementing resolution 1325 (2000).

Gender perspectives need to be mainstreamed in all policy processes, to make sure that peace
building activities do not disadvantage women. Political and legal changes need to be checked for
their impact on gender equality (especially new constitutional rights; voting regulations; changes
in land rights). The law enforcement even after necessary reforms needs to be explicit – in terms
of who is responsible for law execution. There is need to identify institutions in need of reform,
which have not been able to incorporate a gender perspective, but which are responsible for
promoting types of violent and aggressive behaviour which is rooted in specific forms of
masculinity. This applies particularly to the police and other security forces.

There is great potential in achieving women’s full participation in peace building. Harnessing this
potential requires enhancing commitment, leadership and accountability, improving institutional
capacity and increasing the financial and human resources of formal and informal peace & security
sector. Further, collaboration is especially needed in preventing and fighting sexual violence
against women, including by working with parties to conflict and enhancing monitoring and
reporting mechanisms and practices. The overall goal must remain to operationalize resolution
1325 (2000) throughout the United Nations system, Member States, International Institutions and
beyond so as to adequately close the current gaps in conflict prevention, mitigation and building
lasting peace.

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