WUNRN
LINK TO FULL PEACEWOMEN NEWS
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER:
"With
much of the start of the UN General Assembly - 63rd Session - being
concerned with the mid-point review of the Millennium Development Goals
and the current food (and financial) crises, it was not unreasonable to expect
some mention of women and gender concerns. Discussion of the feminization of
poverty, maternal mortality or of the crucial link between MDG 3 – gender
equality and women’s empowerment – and the attainment of all other MDGs would
have seemed fitting topics to be mentioned. It was sobering then to see that
fewer than a quarter of the UN’s 192 Member States made any mention at all of
women or gender issues (interestingly many of the governments represented by
female heads of state or ministers were in the group that did mention such
issues). Of those that did mention women or gender equality, few made more than
cursory statements. Fewer still noted, as Zambia did, support for the assertion
that “women’s empowerment and gender equality are drivers for reducing poverty,
building food security and reducing maternal mortality.” There were, however,
several very powerful statements and moments of appreciation of the need for
tangible commitments to be made. As Norway noted, in linking development and
the current financial crisis, "There is something fundamentally wrong when
money seems to be abundant, but funds for investment in people seem so short in
supply.” Taking this consideration of what investing in peace and development
really requires, WILPF’s Peace Day Statement notes the need for a paradigm
shift in resource allocation and “calls on all governments to allocate one day
of their military expenditures USD 3668493151 towards addressing a real
security threat, such as catastrophic climate change.” Imagine the difference
one day’s worth of global military expenditure could make to the work being
done around the world for gender equality and women’s empowerment.
WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM
1325 PEACEWOMEN E-NEWS
Issue #104
September /October 2008
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE: MAKING IT REAL FOR WOMEN
The Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 on women, peace and
security, 31 October 2000.
For the text of the resolution, visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/un/sc/1325.html
For the printer-friendly version of this newsletter and for past issues, visit:
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/1325News/1325ENewsindex.html
THIS ISSUE FEATURES:
1. Editorial: International Day of Peace:
Making it Real for Women
2. Women, Peace and Security
News
3. Feature Statement: WILPF
Statement – 2008 International Day of Peace
4. Feature Resource: Progress of the
World’s Women 2008/9 Report - UNIFEM
5. Feature Event: General Debate of
the 63rd Session of the UN GA – Gender & Disarmament Index of Statements
6. Feature Initiative: Blog - Joan
B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Women PeaceMakers Conference
7. Gender & Peacekeeping Update: Gender
Equality Key to Effective Peacekeeping – INSTRAW Statement for International
Day of Peace & Peacekeeping & Gender Training Resources
8. Translation Update: 8 New
Translations Available!
9. Women, Peace and
Security Calendar
PeaceWomen is a project of the Women's International League for Peace and
Freedom http://www.wilpf.int.ch
Please visit us at: http://www.peacewomen.org
This edition of the 1325 PeaceWomen
E-News offers an opportunity to reflect on some of the linkages between women,
peace and security. Certainly some of these links are recognized in Resolution
1325 and we are proud to contribute to efforts across the globe to raise awareness
of women, peace and security issues and their interplay through our 1325
Translation Initiative (Item 8) – which has reached an impressive collection of
95 local -language translations of 1325. These translations facilitate access
to Resolution 1325 as a tool for those most affected. The need for so many
translations only serves to heighten our awareness of the importance of issues
of conflict and of peace and security for women around the world. The stories
in our News section (Item 2) are reflective of the many common issues and links
that can be made and these are carried through in other sections. Our Gender
and Peacekeeping Update (Item 7) this month recognizes the crucial link between
gender equality and effective peacekeeping and we feature the valuable gender
training resources put together by INSTRAW. The threads connecting women, peace
and security were also explored in this year’s Women PeaceMaker’s Conference
hosted by the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice. For those of us
unable to attend, the staff at the institute developed a blog – which is our
Feature Initiative (Item 6).
As these various contributions show, recognizing, as 1325 does, the need for
women’s participation and recognizing the particular protection needs of women
are first steps. As we think about the imperative of women’s participation, we
have to go beyond thinking about simply increasing the numbers of women in
militaries. As we consider the impact of war and its particular impact on
women, we also have to go beyond this to thinking about peace as being “more
than the absence of war.” As noted in our 2008 International Day of Peace
Statement (Item 3), “WILPF believes that the concepts of safety and security
must shift so that they include the full enjoyment of all human rights for all
away from military and national security concepts.”
The high-level general debate at the start of the 63rd Session of the General
Assembly was certainly an opportunity for governments to show their commitment
to these notions. The PeaceWomen and Reaching Critical Will Projects of WILPF’s
UN office monitored this debate and produced gender and disarmament indices of
the statements made (Item 5). With much of the start of the GA session being
concerned with the mid-point review of the Millennium Development Goals and the
current food (and financial) crises, it was not unreasonable to expect some
mention of women and gender concerns. Discussion of the feminization of
poverty, maternal mortality or of the crucial link between MDG 3 – gender
equality and women’s empowerment – and the attainment of all other MDGs would
have seemed fitting topics to be mentioned. It was sobering then to see that
fewer than a quarter of the UN’s 192 Member States made any mention at all of
women or gender issues (interestingly many of the governments represented by
female heads of state or ministers were in the group that did mention such
issues). Of those that did mention women or gender equality, few made more than
cursory statements. Fewer still noted, as Zambia did, support for the assertion
that “women’s empowerment and gender equality are drivers for reducing poverty,
building food security and reducing maternal mortality.” There were, however,
several very powerful statements and moments of appreciation of the need for
tangible commitments to be made. As Norway noted, in linking development and
the current financial crisis, “[t]here is something fundamentally wrong when
money seems to be abundant, but funds for investment in people seem so short in
supply.” Taking this consideration of what investing in peace and development
really requires, WILPF’s Peace Day Statement notes the need for a paradigm
shift in resource allocation and “calls on all governments to allocate one day
of their military expenditures USD 3 668 493 151 towards addressing a real
security threat, such as catastrophic climate change.” Imagine the difference
one day’s worth of global military expenditure could make to the work being
done around the world for gender equality and women’s empowerment. Looking at
these figures, in comparison, the 1 billion dollars per year budget that the
women’s movement is demanding for a new women’s entity at the UN seems pitiful.
Another critical aspect of making commitments real is through ensuring that
individuals, governments and systems are held accountable. This edition’s
Feature Resource (Item 4) – the UNIFEM Progress of the World’s Women Report
“Who Answers to Women? Gender and Accountability” – addresses this very
problem. Along with concrete examples and data, the report provides
recommendations that must be taken seriously if governments are to have any
credibility in claiming to care about gender equality. A lack of an
accountability framework for implementation is a problem that is all too real
in relation to Resolution 1325. One of the few mechanisms utilized is the now
standard practice of holding an Open Debate on women, peace and security in the
Security Council each October. China, as president of the Council for October,
will host this debate on 29 October 2008. The debate itself is not per se an
effective accountability mechanism. It has the potential to allow governments
to ask probing and real questions. It has the potential to work as a forum to
raise real implementation challenges and to suggest solutions. It has the
potential to provide a space to “call out” non-performance. It has the
potential to be a platform for further progress. But for this to be the case we
all have to push for governments to actually use the opportunity and, when all
is said, to make sure that it is done. As a small contribution to this effort,
the PeaceWomen Project will once again monitor the debate and index all
statements made according to several priority themes and advocacy calls. This
and other related resources will appear in the next edition of the E-News.
As always, we welcome your contributions to the newsletter’s content.
Contributions for the next edition should be sent to info@peacewomen.org by Thursday October
30 2008.
2. WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY
NEWS
UGANDA: RADIO DRAMA STRENGTHENS WOMEN'S VOICES
October 1, 2008 - (IPS) Fifteen-year-old Taboni's parents are in a bind.
Their daughter has been raped by the commandant of the squalid internally-displaced
persons camp they call home, and they do not know what to do. "The idea
was to put into action the United Nations Security Council resolution 1325
about women's contribution to peace-building. We resolved to make a difference
through a radio drama series."
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/GreatLakes/Sept08/October08/Ugandaradio.html
DRC: MONUC MEETS WITH CONGOLESE WOMEN
September 30, 2008 – (MONUC) The security and socio-political situation in
the Democratic Republic of Congo in general and the east in particular is a
major concern for Congolese women. The Permanent Framework of Dialogue for
Congolese Women (CAFCO) came in the name of Congolese women to meet MONUC, to
discuss security questions and also the part which Congolese women can play in
the prevention and settlement of conflict.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/GreatLakes/Sept08/DRCMONUC.html
SUDAN: ENGAGING RELIGIOUS LEADERS TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
September 27, 2008 – (ReliefWeb) More than five years of armed conflict has
led to a general breakdown of law and order in Darfur. Women – and girls in
particular – are subjected to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) with
alarming regularity. However, as the social fabric of Darfuri communities
threatens to unravel, religious leaders remain a trusted source of guidance on
matters linked to ethics and human behavior.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/EastAfrica/september08/SudanGBV.html
SOLOMON ISLANDS: WOMEN AND PEACE IN BOUGAINVILLE
September 26, 2008 – (AWID) Bougainville - situated at the far western tip
of the Solomon Islands archipelago in the Pacific - is a powerful example of
how women can knit communities together and facilitate peace in the midst of
armed conflict. In this article, AWID looks back at Bougainville’s conflict and
the role of women as catalysts for peace.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/AsiaPacific/Sept08/SolomonIslandPeace.html
NIGERIA: NIGER DELTA CRISIS IS INVITATION TO ANARCHY – WOMEN’S GROUP
September 26, 2008 – (AllAfrica) As Nigerians join to celebrate the World
Peace Day, Mothers of Peace International Organisation has condemned the
escalation and militarisation of the conflict in the Niger Delta.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/WestAfrica/September08/Nigeriapeaceday.html
ZIMBABWE: BLAZING A TRAIL FOR WOMEN POLITICIANS
September 24, 2008 – (IPS) You could spot her easily in the evening
newscasts: the only woman among the grey-suited men daily accosted by reporters
as they emerged, tense and tight-lipped, from the closed-door meetings. In the
recent power-sharing talks between the Zimbabwe African National Union
Patriotic Front (Zanu PF) and two wings of the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga was the sole woman negotiator,
representing the splinter MDC faction.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/SouthernAfrica/september08/zimbabwepolitics.html
ZIMBABWE: TORTURED, RAPED AND FORGOTTEN
September 23, 2008 - (IRIN) During the bitterly contested Zimbabwe
elections between President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF and Morgan
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the country's rural areas
became effective no-go areas. There were numerous reports of politically
motivated killings and widespread rapes, allegedly by members of Zimbabwe's
national army, veterans of the country's liberation war and members of the
ruling party's youth militia.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/SouthernAfrica/september08/zimbabwerape2.html
CROATIAN WIVES CONTEND WITH WAR'S AFTER SHOCKS
September 14, 2008 – (WOMENSENEWS) Croatia's war ended in 1995 but soldiers
who returned home with post-traumatic stress never received adequate
assistance. One group of veterans' wives took it upon themselves to help form
11 centers to help families cope.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/CentralEasternEurope/september08/Croatianwives.html
ZIMBABWEAN WOMEN HAVE HAD ‘‘MORE TRAUMA'' AFTER INDEPENDENCE
September 13, 2008 – (IPS) Interview with Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)
National Coordinator Jenni Williams. Zimbabwean women have experienced higher
levels of trauma, including violence and lack of food, after the country's
independence from Britain in 1980 than before.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/SouthernAfrica/september08/zimbabwetrauma.html
BOSNIA: VOICES OF VICTIMS HEARD AT BELGRADE CONFERENCE
September 12, 2008 – (IWPR) Organisers hope the event will encourage
creation of regional commission to establish truth about war crimes in region.
Bosnian war crimes victims told a Belgrade conference this month about their
suffering as part of a plan to raise public awareness about atrocities
committed during the 1990s Balkans conflicts.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/CentralEasternEurope/september08/Bosniavictims.html
SIERRA LEONE: NDI AWARDS MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT GRANT TO 50/50 GROUP OF
SIERRA LEONE
September, 2008 – (NDI) On October 24, the National Democratic Institute
(NDI) will present its third annual Madeleine K. Albright Grant to the 50/50
Group of Sierra Leone. Founded in 2000 to promote greater participation of
women in politics, the 50/50 Group has grown from a handful of women meeting in
borrowed space in Freetown to a nationally recognized organization actively
engaged in building a new post-war Sierra Leone in which women can share
equally with men in the political decisions that affect their lives.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/WestAfrica/September08/sierraleoneprice.html
ICC APPEAL FOR AFRICA WAR VICTIMS
September 10, 2008 – (BBC) The International Criminal Court (ICC) has
appealed for $14m (£8m) to help the nearly two million victims of sexual
violence in Africa's wars. The ICC said sex attacks against women and girls had
been found to be the most widespread form of criminality.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/september08/ICCappeal.html
CAMBODIA: KHMER ROUGE TRIALS BARE SEXUAL ABUSE
September 8, 2008 – (IPS) In a move that could break the silence around
sexual violence under the Khmer Rouge, a 68 year-old transgender woman has
became the first person to submit a complaint about gender-related abuse to the
international tribunal during the group’s brief but bloody reign.
http://www.peacewomen.org/news/AsiaPacific/Sept08/CambodiaSV.html
LINK TO
FULL PEACEWOMEN NEWS SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER:
================================================================
To contact the list administrator, or to leave the list, send an email to:
wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.