WUNRN
Women,
War, Peace & Displacement
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. Leaving homes, property and community behind renders women vulnerable to violence, disease and food scarcity, whether they flee willingly or unwillingly. Internally displaced women face additional dangers as they are often invisible to the international community within the context of violent conflict. 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 intended to provide refuge a dangerous and deadly place for women and girls. Fortunately, UN, governmental and civil society organizations that serve displaced women are beginning to rise to the challenge of including women and a gender perspective at every stage of policy-making and implementation.
Specific challenges faced by female displaced persons include but are not limited to:
- Increased vulnerability to human rights abuses
including sexual harassment, gender-based violence and severe sex
discrimination, which are also reasons many women and girls flee their
homes in the first place. more...
- Increased risk of HIV infection as wars and conflicts
often force them to flee to areas where the virus is prevalent. Women and
girls are also exposed to factors that facilitate transmission when they
flee, including poverty, the disruption of health services and social
structure and increases in sexual violence. more...
- The “protection gap” that results from the
international aid community’s focus on providing food and shelter to the
displaced while largely overlooking their security and protection
concerns. more...
- Obstacles to reintegration and repatriation in the
aftermath of a conflict. Abducted women and girls are often forced to
serve as sex slaves, porters or soldiers in enemy militias and are
therefore seen as accomplices and rejected by the community once the
conflict is resolved. more...
Key Terms
Refugee: The 1951 Refugee Convention defines a refugee as any person who:
"... 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 that 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." The 1967 Protocol extended the application of the Convention to the situation of "new refugees"; more... The convention's definition of "refugee" excludes gender-based persecution as a legitimate claim for asylum. more...
Internally Displaced Person (IDP): According to UNHCR, an internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who, like a refugee, has been displaced by crisis or conflict but, unlike a refugee, has not crossed an international border. In other words, IDPs are displaced within their own home countries. This can make assistance and protection much more difficult. Of the estimated 25 million IDPs around the world, “UNHCR currently helps over 5.6 million of those internally displaced, and a lively international debate is underway on how to more effectively help this group." more...
Asylum Seeker: Often confused with the term
"refugee," UNHCR defines an asylum seeker as "a person who
has left their country of origin, has applied for recognition as a refugee in
another country, and is awaiting a decision on their application." more...
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SIPRI - Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
SIPRI Data on Military Expenditure
http://www.sipri.org/contents/milap/milex/mex_data_index.html
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The 15 Major Military Spender
Countries in 2007
This table lists the 15 major spender countries, converted to constant
(2005) US$ by market and PPP exchange rates.
http://www.sipri.org/contents/milap/milex/mex_major_spenders.pdf
Based on MER - Market Exchange Rate
#1 USA
#2 UK
#3 China
#4 France
#5 Japan
#6 Germany
#7 Russia
#8 Saudi Arabia
#9 Italy
#10 India
#11 South Korea
#12 Brazil
# 13 Canada
#14 Australia
#15 Spain
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