Women, War, Peace and
Displacement

Introduction

The often cited statistic that as many as 80 per cent of displaced populations are women and children fails to convey the complete devastation that displacement visits upon women and communities in general. Leaving homes, property and community behind, renders women vulnerable to violence, disease and food scarcity, whether women flee willingly or unwillingly. Internally displaced women face additional dangers as they are often invisible to the international community within the borders of countries at war. Camps for refugees and the internally displaced have been criticized for not addressing women’s needs and concerns in their design and procedure. Failure to account for women’s security and health needs can make a camp dangerous and deadly, when it was intended to provide refuge. Nonetheless, UN, governmental and civil society organizations that service displaced women have begun rising to the challenge of including women and gender perspectives at every stage of policy and implementation.


NEW: UNIFEM Desk Review on Fuel Provision and Gender-based Violence

Defining Terms

The 1951 Refugee Convention: The 1951 Convention defines a refugee as “any person who:

(1) Has been considered a refugee under the Arrangements of 12 May 1926 and 30 June 1928, the Protocol of 14 September 1939 or the Constitution of the International Refugee Organization; Decision of non-eligibility taken by the International Refugee Organization during the period of its activities shall not prevent the status of refugee being accorded to persons who fulfil the conditions of paragraph 2 of this section;

(2) As a result of events occurring before 1 January 1951 and owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of the country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it. In the case of a person who has more than one nationality, the term “the country of his nationality” shall mean each of the countries of which he is a national, and a person shall not be deemed to be lacking the protection of the country of his nationality if, without any valid reason based on well-founded fear, he has not availed himself of the protection of one of the countries of which he is a national

The Convention goes on to outline the obligations that state parties have to refugees within their border, including providing them with refuge, shelter and basic services. The Convention was drafted in 1951 by a panel, who defined persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in political groups or political opinions. This conception of which individual identities can be persecuted excludes gender-based persecution as a legitimate claim for asylum; however, women’s argue that the Geneva Convention can be interpreted so as to include gender-based claims for asylum . More broadly, such a definition conveys blindness to women’s experiences in wartime, especially as women constitute a larger proportion of displaced persons than do men. The 1967 Protocol extended the application of the Convention to the situation of "new refugees", i.e. persons who, while meeting the Convention definition, had become refugees as a result of events that took place after 1 January 1951. more...

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): According to UNHCR, "like refugees, [IDPs] are hapless civilians often caught up in an endless round of civil conflict or persecution. There are an estimated 20-25 million of them around the world and they are known by the clumsy bureaucratic acronym of IDP--an internally displaced person. What is the difference? When a fleeing civilian crosses an international frontier, he or she becomes a refugee and as such receives international protection and help. If a person in similar circumstances is displaced within his or her home country and becomes internally displaced person then assistance and protection is much more problematic. UNHCR currently helps 6.3 million IDPs and a lively international debate is underway on how to more effectively help this group." more...

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