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NGO STATEMENT ON WOMEN, PEACE
PROCESSES, JUSTICE & SECURITY
UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1325
EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION
CALL FOR NGO SIGN-ON: URGENT
NGO Statement for the 1325 Expert Group Meeting in the lead up to the International Colloquium on Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security
January 15, 2009;
We thank the
International Steering Committee and the Ministry of Gender and Development of
Liberia for this opportunity to present the NGO perspective on the issues of
women’s participation in peace negotiations and peace processes; and
gender-responsive justice and security in this Expert Group Meeting.
We are speaking on behalf of various NGOs and women’s groups
working around the world for the full and effective implementation Resolution
1325.
On women’s participation in
peace negotiations and peace processes
We would like to highlight the Security Council’s intentions
regarding women’s participation as articulated in Resolution 1325. It stressed
“the importance of [women’s] equal participation and full involvement in all
efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, and the need
to increase their role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention
and resolution.” The Security Council also recognized that “[women’s]
protection and full participation in the peace process can significantly
contribute to the maintenance and promotion of international peace and
security;” and it urged “the Secretary-General to implement his strategic plan
of action (A/49/587) calling for an increase in the participation of women at
decision-making levels in conflict resolution and peace processes.”
In
its presidential statement of 29 October 2008 (S/PRST/2008/39), the Security
Council reaffirmed its commitment to the full and effective implementation of
Resolutions 1325 and 1820 on Women, Peace and Security. It expressed concern
about “the under-representation of women at all stages of a peace process and
in peacebuilding, and recognized the need to facilitate the full and effective
participation of women in these areas given their vital role in the prevention
and resolution of conflicts and in peacebuilding.” It called on “Member Sates,
international, regional and sub-regional organizations to take measures to
increase the participation of women in conflict prevention, conflict resolution
and peacebuilding and to strengthen the role of women as decision-makers in
these areas.”
In
the open debate to mark the 8th anniversary of Resolution 1325 on 29 October 2008 several UN Member States
and regional groups including the European Union and the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), emphasized the importance of women’s
participation in peace negotiations.
We
welcome regional instruments and efforts such as the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa
(SDGEA) which is binding: African Heads
of States report annually on the situation of gender equality in their country
(article 2) and that of the
Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s Protocol on Gender and
Development which stipulates that State parties should endeavor to ensure that
women have equal representation and participation in public and private
decision-making positions by 2015.
At
the same time however, we note and share the great concern over the
under-representation of women in peace negotiations and peace processes
overall. For NGOs, this is not just a matter of how many women are included in
peace negotiations but how substantively women are able to participate, and
what difference such participation makes. We believe that with women’s full and
equal participation, conflict resolution, peacebuilding and
all peace processes
are more likely to succeed. However, women’s meaningful engagement in such
processes will not happen if we do not focus on creating an enabling
environment for it to become a reality. This requires political will and
commitment from all stakeholders, particularly on the part of UN Member States.
To ensure women’s meaningful participation in peace negotiations and
all peace processes, we reiterate the following:
·
Mediators, negotiators and
donor governments should address the obstacles to women’s physical presence and
effective participation at the official negotiation table and at any
behind-the-scenes negotiations including ensuring adequate resources for women’s
participation.
·
UN Member States, civil
society and the UN should work towards building women’s capacity in conflict
analysis, prevention, mediation, negotiation, peacekeeping and post-conflict
reconstruction.
·
UN Member States, and
regional and international intergovernmental organizations should create
institutional mechanisms to systematically monitor women’s participation in all
levels of peace negotiations.
·
Member States should
strengthen their national commitments and capacity to implement Resolution
1325, including through national and regional action plans and strategies. National Action Plans should be designed to coordinate
and strengthen the implementation of 1325. They should contain a catalogue of
measures, clear targets and benchmarks for
full implementation by 2015.
·
UN Member States, UN
agencies, regional and international organizations should
recognize and support the informal role
that women’s groups and NGOs in conflict and post-conflict situations where
government and the judicial system is often still quite weak. Women’s
groups and NGOs build women’s capacity and provide various forms of support to
get women at the peace negotiation table.
·
Women should persistently continue to pressure
and demand that their governments and other international institutions develop
national action plans for the implementation of the Resolution 1325.
On gender-responsive
justice and security
A
gender-responsive justice system is an integral element of effective peace
processes and a necessary component of
state-building activities in post-conflict situations. When women are able
to participate in peace processes, the development of such a system is one of
the priority concerns they raise. A gender-responsive justice system helps to
break the continuing cycle of violence against women, and ensure their
meaningful participation not only in peace negotiations but in rebuilding their
communities and in transforming their societies.
However, the
lack of adequate and gender-responsive judicial mechanisms to address abuses of
women’s rights during and after conflict – such as gender-sensitive
transitional justice mechanisms (e.g. truth and reconciliation commissions) and
the lack of investment in facilities and access for women to post-conflict
gender justice remains.
To facilitate the development of gender-responsive
justice and security, we recommend that the
following actions be pursued:
·
UN Member States must
increase the number of women in the judiciary and encourage the entry of more
women in the legal professions in conflict-affected situations as a means of
increasing women’s access to justice and ending impunity.
·
UN Member States should
commit to concrete advancements in the equal inclusion of women in peace talks,
justice processes and civilian aspects of peacekeeping.
·
The Security Council should
work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the prosecution of sexual crimes
is not included in amnesty provisions in conflict-resolution processes.
·
UN Member States - with
support from civil society, humanitarian organizations and relevant UN bodies -
should convene temporary councils of influential and
respected women from conflict-affected
communities to mediate disputes and at the same time set examples of women’s
leadership in peace negotiations.
·
Civil society, humanitarian
organizations and relevant UN bodies should
develop and implement legal literacy programs to enable women to use
traditional justice systems and statutory laws to leverage their rights.
We hope that
these concerns and recommendations will be taken into consideration in the
development of the Colloquium’s Declaration and the follow-up action.
Names of Organizations
1.
2.
American
Refugee Committee
3.
4.
Canadian
Voice of Women for Peace
5.
Center for Peace Education,
6.
Coalition of Political Party Women in
7.
Catholic
Organization for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID)
8.
Crusaders for Peace (Liberia)
9.
Feminist
International Radio Endeavor (FIRE –
10.
femLINKPACIFIC (Media Initiatives for
Women)/Coordinator of the Pacific Regional Media Network on UNSCR1325
(Fiji/Pacific)
11.
Femmes
12.
FOKUS-
Forums for Women and Development (
13.
Global Action to Prevent War
14.
Global
15.
Hague Appeal for Peace
16.
IFOR
Women Peacemakers Program (WPP), the
17.
Interchurch
Organisation for Development Co-operation( ICCO)
18.
International Alert
19.
International Council of
Women (ICW-CIF)
20.
International Women’s
Tribune Centre (IWTC)
21.
The
22.
La
Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas y el Observatorio Género Democracia y Derechos
Humanos (
23.
Liberia
Women’s Media Action Committee
24.
25.
NGO
Working Group on Women, Peace and Security
26.
Peace
Boat
27.
Rural Women of
28.
Saathi (
29.
Solidarite Femmes
Parliamentaire
30.
Southeastern Women’s Development
Association (
31.
Sudanese Women Forum on
Peace
32.
Sulong CARHRIHL –
Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International
Humanitarian Laws (
33.
Union Nacional de Mujeres
Guatemaltecas (National Union of
Guatemalan Women)
34.
Widows for Peace through
Democracy
35.
Women’s
Action for New Directions (USA)
36.
Women’s
Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)
37. Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET-Liberia)
38.
Women’s
International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
39.
Women’s
Legislative Caucus of Liberia
40.
Women’s
Media Collective –
41.
Women
NGO Secretariat of
42.
Women's
Refugee Commission
43. World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) Women’s International Network
44.
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