WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

9TH ANNIVERSARY OF 1325: A YEAR OF ACCOUNTABILITY AHEAD  

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 

To subscribe to 1325 PeaceWomen E-News, email subscribe@peacewomen.org with "subscribe" as the subject heading.  

THIS ISSUE OF 1325 PEACEWOMEN E-NEWS FEATURES:  

  1. Editorial: 9th Anniversary of 1325: A Year of Accountability Ahead
  2. Women, Peace and Security News 
  3. Feature Statement: Statement by Ms. Asha Hagi Elmi Amin, on behalf of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security
  4. Security Council Monitor: Security Council Adopts Resolution 1889 on Women, Peace and Security – 5 October 2009
  5. Feature Event: Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security – PeaceWomen Project Thematic Index
  6. Feature Resources: Reconciliation after Violent Conflict by IDEA; “Whose Justice? Bosnia and Herzegovina's Women Still Waiting" by  Amnesty International; and Transitional Justice and Security System Reform by ICTJ;
  7. NGO Working Group Update: Monthly Action Points (MAP) on Women, Peace and Security for the Security Council – November 2009
  8. 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  

1. EDITORIAL

Sam Cook  

The issue of accountability is one that we continue to tackle and this 9th Anniversary of 1325 is an important moment to reassert the importance of putting in place systems to ensure that accountability. In a year’s time we mark 10 years since the watershed moment of the adoption of 1325 in 2000. In the lead up to that Anniversary, the PeaceWomen Project through its soon to be launched new website and through collaborative efforts as a part of the NGO Working Group on women, peace and security will be engaged in efforts to build systems of accountability. One aspect of these efforts will be the continuing monitoring through our PeaceWomen monitoring of Security Council resolutions, reports and debates. We look forward to providing women, peace and security advocates around the world with information on the Council’s work and the extent to which it is integrating women, peace and security issues in its day-to-day work. As will be seen in the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security Update (Item 7), to encourage the Council’s efforts, the collective will be engaged in a project (in which PeaceWomen will participate) to produce Monthly Action Points – “recommendations to each United Nations Security Council President on how it can provide leadership on, and how the Security Council as a whole can systematically meet its obligations to women in conflict.”  

Since then we have seen the adoption of 3 additional resolutions on women, peace and security – all of which build the 3 P’s women, peace and security framework of participation, protection and prevention. Each of these aspects is integrally related to the others in myriad ways – women’s participation is essential to the success of conflict prevention and to addressing protection concerns. If protection concerns are not met then participation in everything from politics to day-to-day life is negatively affected. Without stronger conflict prevention efforts women, and of course all of society, continue to experience the devastating effects of war. For all of these reasons we look forward to integrated approaches to implementing SCR 1325, 1820, 1888 and 1889.  

Resolution 1325 was of course the first resolution under the Security Council’s women, peace and security agenda item and this edition of the PeaceWomen E-News focuses on the 9th anniversary of its adoption and on the issue of post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. Post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding is a broad theme and covers issues ranging from the participation of women in peace processes and planning for recovery to reconciliation, transitional justice and security sector reform. Several of these issues are dealt with in the resources highlighted in this month’s Feature Resources (Item 6). These issues were also addressed in the Security Council Open Debate held (unexpectedly earlier than usual) on 5 October 2009 to mark the 1325 anniversary. The PeaceWomen Project monitored the debate and compiled an online thematic index of statements – extracts from which can be found in our Feature Event section (Item 5). Our web pages on the debate – part of our developing Debate Watch resource – also contain links to relevant advocacy material and resources, government statements and outcome documents.  

Held under the presidency of Vietnam, the October 2009 Open Debate focused on the theme of “responding to the needs of women and girls in post-conflict situations for sustainable peace and security.” As was noted by Austria in that debate, “[n]o society can afford not to make full use of women’s potential contribution to peace-building and post-conflict recovery.” They went on to reference the research presented by UNIFEM that evidences the effect of excluding women and neglecting their needs from these processes – such neglect “imposes serious costs on recovery, undermining efforts to reassert the rule of law and restart the economy.” As has become standard practice, a member of civil society (here representing the NGO Working Group on women, peace and security) was invited to make a statement in the debate – this month’s Feature Statement (Item 3).  Somali advocate Asha Hagi Elmi Amin spoke of her participation in Somali peace efforts as part of the women’s “Sixth Clan” initiative that resulted in important gains for women. She also noted, however, that women for the most part remain excluded from peace and post-conflict processes, “to the detriment of society as a whole.”  

In response to this problem and as an outcome of the Open Debate, Vietnam led the adoption of a resolution on women, peace and security (SCR 1889). This seeks to address various aspects of post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. As will be seen in our analysis in the Security Council Monitor (Item 4) SCR 1889 is an important building block in furthering the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda first expressed in SCR 1325. It not only addresses concrete and essential issues such as post-conflict needs assessments and resource allocation but also contains provisions that could lead to improvements in monitoring and reporting on implementation and, hopefully, improved accountability. As Ms Amin noted, “without accountability [being provided for in the various women, peace and security resolutions] persistent impediments to their implementation will remain.”  

In the coming months we will be launching several exciting and participatory projects leading up to the 10th Anniversary of 1325 in October 2010 and we look forward your engagement in these.  

2. WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY NEWS  

Guinea Shaken By Wave Of Rapes During Crackdown

October 20, 2009 - (NPR) The people of the West African nation of Guinea are still struggling to deal with the trauma of a deadly military crackdown on a pro-democracy rally last month. It was not the first time troops in Guinea have opened fire on civilians. What has shocked people most is that women were targeted in a wave of alleged sexual violence perpetrated by soldiers in public — in broad daylight. On Sept. 28, security forces turned on demonstrators who had gathered in the national stadium in the capital, Conakry.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/WestAfrica/October09/GuineaStillShaken.html  

Q&A: ‘Cambodia’s Penal Code Aims to Silence Gov’t Critics’

October 20, 2009- (IPS) To be an outspoken critic of the government brings a heavy price in Cambodia, the South-east Asian country struggling to put behind decades of war and brutality, including the Khmer Rouge genocide.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/AsiaPacific/Oct09/Cambodia_Q&A.html  

Calling for more female police, UN officer welcomes new pact with INTERPOL

October, 20 2009 – (UNNews) A senior United Nations official today welcomed a recent landmark agreement with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to strengthen police units in peacekeeping missions around the world, and called on Member States to contribute more women officers to those operations.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/Oct09/UN_FemalePolice.html  

The Importance of Resolution 1888 to End Violence Against Women

October 19, 2009 - (Huffington Post) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last month chaired a session of the United Nations Security Council during which the 15-member Council unanimously adopted landmark resolution 1888, which aims to protect women and children from horrific violence in armed conflict and post-conflict situations. While Clinton's efforts provide evidence of the United States' increasing commitment to multilateralism as a means to solve global problems, they further demonstrate her resolve to bring an end to a major global crisis that may otherwise continue unabated.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/Oct09/Importanceof1888.html  

RIGHTS-UGANDA: Female Circumcision Still a Vote Winner

October 19, 2009 - (IPS) Over three decades ago a 14-year-old girl, her sister and a group of young teenagers from Bukwo headed to the River Amana for a ceremony that would change their lives forever. Since her childhood, Gertrude Chebet had been told of the day she would become a woman. She was led to believe it would be a great moment of change and it was something to look forward to with much joy. As she and her sister began that early morning trek, from their village in eastern Uganda, in the cold and through the bushes to the place of initiation, she expected it to be the best day of her life. But she was wrong. It turned out to be the most harrowing.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/GreatLakes/October09/Uganda_FGMStillAVote.html  

Antiwar protest draws hundreds from NORTHEAST region

October 18, 2009 - (Boston Globe) Pink wigged-protesters and hundreds of other demonstrators wielding posters calling for peace converged on Copley Square in an antiwar rally yesterday. The regional gathering in Boston - one of more than 40 nationwide - brought protesters from throughout New England to shout, sing, and march against conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/MiddleEast/October09/Boston_AntiwarProtests.htm  

SOUTH ASIA: Women’s Peace Offensive

October 18, 2009- (IPS) ‘Give peace a chance’ may just be another cliché for many, but for women who have suffered the ravages of war, endless strife and other forms of conflict, joining hands to find meaningful solutions to their collective aspiration lends it a whole new meaning.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/SouthAsia/Oct09/PeaceWomenSA.html  

Whipped for wearing a 'deceptive' bra: Hardline Islamists in Somalia publicly flog women in Sharia crackdown

October 16, 2009 - (Mail Online) A hardline Islamist group in Somalia has begun publicly whipping women for wearing bras that they claim violate Islam as they are 'deceptive'. The insurgent group Al Shabaab has sent gunmen into the streets of Mogadishu to round up any women who appear to have a firm bust, residents claimed yesterday.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/EastAfrica/Oct09/BeatenForABra.html  

Violation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression continues in Honduras: Closing of ‘Feminists in Resistance’ Radio Programmes

October 16, 2009 - (AWID) "Today by way of written communication the administration of Radio Cadena Voces, owned by Ricardo Maduro Joest, ex-President of Honduras, informed the feminist organisations Centro de Derechos de Mujeres (CDM) and the Centro de Estudios de la Mujer -Honduras (CEM-H), that their radio programmes “Tiempo de Hablar” and “La Bullaranga” would be closed.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/LatinAmerica&Carib/Oct09/radio.html  

SOMALIA: Women take on men's jobs to feed their families

October 15, 2009 - (IRIN) Khadijo Mahamud, a mother of five, goes to Bakara market every day to look for work, despite the constant shelling. Her youngest child is 10 months old but Mahamud knows she has no choice but to leave him with her 10-year-old and venture out to find food for the family.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/EastAfrica/Oct09/SomaliaWomen.html  

GLOBAL: Empower women to stem global hunger, say experts

October 15, 2009 - (IRIN) Countries where women's literacy rates and access to education are significantly worse than men's tend to have higher levels of hunger, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). "Wherever women are not empowered you see high levels of hunger," Suresh Babu, a senior research fellow with IFPRI, told IRIN.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/Oct09/WomenNeeded2EndHunger.html  

UN chief renews call for women's equality

October 13, 2009 - (AP) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon marked the 15th anniversary of a "watershed" U.N. conference that called for women's equality by urging all countries Monday to renew their commitment to educate girls, end sexual violence, and provide access to modern birth control.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/Oct09/UNWomensEquality.html  

Guinea Rapes Threaten to Destabilize Region

October 13, 2009 — (ABC News) The world was outraged when security forces in the small West African nation of Guinea brutalized pro-democracy protesters two weeks ago. There were reports that soldiers opened fire on thousands of Guineans taking part in a peace demonstration, killing nearly 200 people. Thousands were beaten as well. But it was the graphic and public sexual violence committed by the soldiers that has caused the most fury. The shock waves from those allegations, experts fear, will be felt in neighboring countries and could help destabilize the region.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/WestAfrica/October09/RapeDestabilizeReg.html

  Suu Kyi back in Myanmar’s political arena

October 13, 2009 - (Agence France Press) Although still under house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi has returned to an active political role by initiating dialogue with both Myanmar’s junta and Western nations, analysts say.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/SouthAsia/Oct09/SuiKyiEntersArena.html  

"Get Your Rosaries Out of Our Ovaries!" War on Mexican Women

October 13, 2009 - (CounterPunch) "Sacan Sus Rosarios De Nuestras Ovarios!" The women, some of them bare-breasted, linked arms and chanted at the men in suits who were dashing towards the barricaded doors of the colonial edifice that houses the local congress in the central Mexican city of Queretero. Indeed, some of the men were so eager to get to their desks on the floor of the state legislature that they squeezed through basement windows, risking wrinkles to duds that had been freshly pressed for the occasion.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/LatinAmerica&Carib/Oct09/Rosaries.html

  UGANDA: Wanted: New Messengers on Women's Rights

October 12, 2009 – (IPS) Activists have spent decades trying to get new laws passed to secure the rights of Ugandan women in the private sphere. As a fresh set of gender-related laws comes before parliament, activists are this time seeking to enlist male legislators as partners in advocating their passage. Parliament is presently considering legislation on marriage and divorce, domestic violence and female genital mutilation. The Uganda Women Parliamentarians Association (UWOPA) recently held a two-day workshop aimed at bringing as many of the country's 230 male legislators as possible on board.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/GreatLakes/October09/Uganda_NewMessengers.html  

Grace Ushang’s death and the Indecent Dressing Bill

October 8, 2009 - (Pambazuka) Grace Ushang was a young Nigerian woman who had every right to expect a bright future. Now she is dead merely because she was female. On the day that Nigeria celebrated its 49th independence anniversary on 1 October 2009, NEXT newspaper reported that Ms Ushang from Obudu in Cross River State, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) serving in Maiduguri, Borno State, was raped to death by some men still at large, who, according to the story, 'took offence because she was wearing her Khaki trousers – the official uniform of the youth corps.' The cavalier brutality of this morbid tale of criminal vigilante action is compounded by the official response to it.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/WestAfrica/October09/Nig_IndecentDressBill.html  

‘Mourning Mothers Iran’ Stand with Activist Mothers Worldwide

October 8, 2009 - (WNN) A mother protecting her child isn’t anything unique. But in Iran, humanitarian activist mothers are now becoming global icons for human rights causes worldwide. In silent public protest, the ‘Mourning Mothers of Iran,’ known locally in Tehran as the ‘Mothers of Laleh,’ stand together each week, on Saturday evening vigils in Tehran’s Laleh Park.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/MiddleEast/October09/Iran_MourningMothers.htm  

Guinea: African women condemn use of force on unarmed civilians

October 8, 2009 - (Pambazuka) African Women Condemn Use of Force on Unarmed Civilian in Guinea African Women leaders meeting in Lome, Togo at a Women’s Leadership Conference convened by the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) in collaboration with ROFAF condemns in the strongest terms the use of excessive force on unarmed and peaceful demonstrators in Conakry, the capital of Guinea that has resulted in the death of at least 157 persons and injuring over 1,200 people since Monday 28th September 2009.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/WestAfrica/October09/WomenCondemnGuinea.html

  ZIMBABWE: Soldiers involved in rape and other sexual violence on farms

October 8, 2009 - (SW Radio Africa News) Cases of serious sexual violence, including the recent rape of at least one woman by soldiers on an invaded farm, are being investigated, as members of the armed forces continue their illegal seizure of the land.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/SouthernAfrica/Oct09/SoldiersRape.html  

In a Guinea Seized by Violence, Women Are Prey

October 6, 2009 — (NY Times) Cellphone snapshots, ugly and hard to refute, are circulating here and feeding rage: they show that women were the particular targets of the Guinean soldiers who suppressed a political demonstration at a stadium here last week, with victims and witnesses describing rapes, beatings and acts of intentional humiliation.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/WestAfrica/September09/Guinea_WomenPrey.html

DRC: Congolese "brutally deported" from Angola

October 6, 2009 - (IRIN) Thousands of Congolese citizens are being deported from Angola to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) under alarming circumstances, say humanitarian workers. "The deportees have nothing with them, everything was taken; there are cases of violence, rape and sexual abuse," said Severine Flores, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Africa/GreatLakes/October09/CongoleseDeportation.html  

UN Security Council Says Women Essential to Peacekeeping

October 5, 2009 - (Feminist) The UN Security Council met Monday to discuss Security Council Resolution 1325 ("Women and Peace and Security") as part of a greater dialogue on women and peacemaking. The Council urged Member States to increase physical security, socio-economic conditions, education, access to health services, and justice for female citizens.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/Oct09/WomenEssential4Peace.html  

Security Council Backs Advocate for Women in War Zones

October 1, 2009 - (IPS) The U.N. Security Council Wednesday called on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a special representative to intensify efforts to end sexual violence against women and children in conflict situations.

http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/Oct09/WomenWarZones.html  

For more regional women, peace and security news, visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/news/countryindex.html  

For more international women, peace and security news, visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/news/International/Index.html   

3. FEATURE STATEMENT  

Statement by Asha Hagi Elmi Amin, on behalf of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security

5th October 2009  

Mr. President, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,  

Good Morning.  

I would like to thank the Security Council for the invitation to speak here today. I am speaking on behalf of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, a coalition of international civil society organizations that advocates for the equal and full participation of women in all efforts to maintain international peace and security. I am here today in my capacity as an advocate for the political, economic and social rights of women in Somalia. In 2000, my colleagues and I formed the “Sixth Clan” to carve out Somali women’s space in the male-dominated political world. Through this Sixth Clan identity, for the first time Somali women participated as equal partners and decision-makers in the peace process, and we ensured quotas for women in the parliament. This was the first time that women were represented in a peace process in Somalia, and I was the first woman to sign the agreements. The peace and reconciliation process in which we participated was the first to be successful after numerous previous attempts.  

This Open Debate comes at a time of increased international attention to women in conflict situations. The Security Council last week adopted resolution 1888, and today we see the Council adopting resolution 1889, which lays out important next steps on international obligations to ensuring women’s rights in conflict. We welcome the advancements these resolutions herald, such as the new support structure to combat the use of sexual violence in conflict situations, and to ensure justice for survivors of such violence. We also welcome the continued recognition that women in conflict situations are not only victims, but also powerful agents for peace and security in their communities.  

However, without accountability for in these resolutions, persistent impediments to their implementation will remain. Your support is needed in ensuring the strong, high-level leadership, the coherent and systematic approach towards implementation, and the concrete monitoring mechanism to address gaps in the system that these resolutions necessitate.

  As the Security Council rightly noted in 9 years ago in resolution 1325, women’s meaningful participation in all levels of decision-making is integral to conflict transformation; to post-conflict stability; and to post-conflict re-building. The Council has reinforced this sentiment in its subsequent resolutions on women, peace and security, as well as in many country-specific resolutions—but without providing an accountability structure for implementation.  As a result, women remain at the margins of peace-talks – to the detriment of society as a whole.  

As I know from my experience in Somalia, women have the potential to add immense value to peace processes and negotiations. The women I worked with brought tolerance, compassion, forgiveness, and practical solutions that are the basic tenets of reconciliation. In the Somali process, women often represented and spoke for the silent majority; for the unarmed civilians, who are mainly women and children. That silent majority needs the voice that these women brought to the table.  

We know that women’s contribution the peace process is vital and worthy. Women speak not only about so-called “women’s issues,” but, as we can see from the practical lessons learned in Somalia, women can speak at the highest level on key political, social and economic issues relevant to sustainable peace, such as clean water and health.  

Women’s participation in peace processes is not optional: it is a requirement. However, it is not only the job of women to bring these voices and issues into all conflict resolution and rebuilding efforts. Men must also ensure that women’s rights and interests are meaningfully addressed in all peace processes, and included in peace agreements and conflict transformation planning, such as security sector and judicial reform, service provision, in addressing impunity, and in the truth and reconciliation process.  

Twelve months from now, the international community will again turn its focus on resolution 1325 to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the its adoption by the Security Council. We now look to you, the international community, to live up to your obligations to women in conflict by ensuring that women are engaged in all levels of decision-making in conflict resolution processes; that the rights and interests of women are addressed in these processes; and by demonstrating marked improvement in the number of women in any peacebuilding and civilian peacekeeping support your Government provides. 

Your concrete support for accountability, leadership, and resourcing is essential. Over the next 12 months, we urge each of you to support key developments within the UN system: by ensuring that the new consolidated UN gender entity for women and its Under Secretary-General is well-resourced; and by supporting the Secretary-General’s appointment of the Special Representative on women, peace and security; and by ensuring gender expertise is further mainstreamed in UN entities like the Department of Political Affairs.  

Finally, I thank you for this opportunity to address the Council today. We women are not only victims in conflict, but agents for positive change. Women have shown courage, commitment, and determination in these situations. We have been positive contributors to peace processes. We often risk our lives to take these actions.  

What women still lack is coherent and practical support from the international community. Women need this support to secure their places in decision-making positions; to help end these conflicts; and to rebuild the country to ensure sustainable peace after these conflicts have devastated our communities.  

We look forward to all of you - here in this room, and in the broader international community - providing that concrete support. Without your support to women in conflict, we put at risk our dreams of a safer world, and of ensuring true international peace and security.  

For the full statement, please click here: http://www.peacewomen.org/un/9thAnniversary/Open_Debate/NGOWG%20Statement.pdf  

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •  

For more women, peace and security initiatives – in country, regional, global and international, visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/campaigns/global/index.html  

4. SECURITY COUNCIL MONITOR  

Security Council Adopts Resolution 1889 on Women, Peace and Security – 5 October 2009

Sam Cook – PeaceWomen Project  

An Open Debate of the Security Council marked the 9th Anniversary of Resolution 1325 on 5 October 2009. The outcome of this session held under the presidency of Vietnam was the unanimous adoption of Resolution 1889 on women, peace and security – the fourth resolution of the Council under this agenda item. 

The Open Debate focused on post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding and SCR 1889 has a similar focus. Although SCR 1325 and aspects of SCRs 1820 and 1888 do touch upon aspects of post-conflict peacebuilding, this new resolution takes forward some crucial issues and lays the groundwork for progress on monitoring and reporting on women, peace and security commitments.   

In relation to the thematic focus of the debate and the resolution, it remains the case that the needs of women remain marginalized and often excluded from peacebuilding and reconstruction efforts. As a result, not only do their needs remain unmet, but the chances of successful and sustainable peacebuilding are vastly reduced. As UNIFEM noted in their issue brief for this debate, their research reveals that:  

“women’s needs in early recovery receive only a small proportion of post-conflict funding. This apparent failure to give due priority to women’s recovery needs is compounded by the continuing marginalization of women from the peace table. Not only are key decisions for post-conflict planning taken during peace negotiations, but t he mobilization of constituencies often spills over from these processes into the institutional arrangements set up to develop recovery plans and allocate funds for them. It becomes much more difficult to engage women in post-conflict planning if they have been excluded from peace talks that, often, make crucial decisions about power-sharing, wealth-sharing, and socioeconomic recovery and development.”  

SCR 1889 addresses one of the key reasons for the failures to address the needs and interests of women in post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. That is, it addresses the exclusion of women and of their interests from the early stages of these processes and from the institutions that are central to them.  

In SCR 1889’s opening operative paragraph (OP1) the Council urges further measures to improve women’s participation during all stages of peace processes. This in itself does not seem to be anything new but the resolution does then go beyond this general exhortation to explicit mention of what such measures could entail:  

Including by enhancing their political and economic decision-making at early stages of recovery processes, through inter alia promoting women’s leadership and capacity to engage in aid management and planning, supporting women’s organizations, and countering negative societal attitudes about women’s capacity to participate equally.  

The resolution goes on to urge Member States to “ensure gender mainstreaming in all post-conflict peacebuilding and recovery processes and sectors.” (OP8) It does, however, go into more detail on this (see OP9) and explicitly addresses the need to ensure that “women’s empowerment” is taken into account in the earliest planning stages and in relation to the very critical issue of resource allocation. As UNIFEM’s research has shown, without this inclusion in the early stages it is unlikely that women’s needs will be taken into account or projects relevant to these needs funded. Although the resolution does not contain strong language to ensure that the necessary funding is provided, it does encourage the UN’s peacebuilding structures (the PBC and PBSO) to ensure the mobilization of resources for gender equality and women’s empowerment (OP14) and urges the development of “transparent analysis and tracking of funds allocated for addressing women’s needs in the post-conflict phase.” (OP10) Ensuring ease of access to such information will be of great assistance in demanding accountability for addressing women’s needs.   

The importance of the participation of women is emphasized throughout the resolution and engagement with civil society and women’s groups is explicitly encouraged (see OP10) in the specification of the detailed post-conflict needs of women and girls and the design of strategies to meet those needs. The resolution helpfully sets out the needs and priorities of girls as including:  

Support for greater physical security and better socio-economic conditions, through education, income generating activities, access to basic services, in particular health services, including sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights and mental health, gender-responsive law enforcement and access to justice, as well as enhancing capacity to engage in public decision-making at all levels.   

It is unusual but encouraging that the Security Council has addressed these socio-economic issues and particularly encouraging that sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights issues are recognized (although the apparently deliberate exclusion of sexual rights is disappointing).  

The Secretary-General is requested to submit a report to the Security Council within a year on the participation and inclusion of women in peacebuilding and post-conflict planning – including information and recommendations on various vital institutional and financial aspects. This report is an important one and we look forward to the Peacebuilding Commission’s engagement in leading and preparing it.   

The request for this report is one of several within 1889 and adds to a somewhat daunting number of reports requested on women, peace and security issues in the past year.   

However, SCR 1889 does contain several provisions that will likely improve more generally the monitoring and reporting, and thus mechanisms for accountability, for the implementation of obligations and commitments on women, peace and security – including the implementation of SCR 1325.   

First, in stronger language than previously seen, the Secretary-General is requested to ensure that all of his country reports to the Council “provide information on the impact of situations of armed conflict on women and girls, their particular needs in post-conflict situations and obstacles to obtaining those needs.”   

In addition, SCR 1889 requests that the report on the implementation of 1325 expected in October 2010 includes “an assessment of the process by which the Security Council receives, analyses and takes action on information pertinent to resolution 1325 (2000).” This information has long been requested by civil society (particularly during advocacy efforts leading up to SCR 1820) and it is hoped that this assessment will then prompt real improvement in information flows to the Council and then hopefully improvements in the response of the Council to women, peace and security issues.  

Another critical element of SCR 1889 is the request for the Secretary-General to submit (by early April 2010) a set of global indicators to track implementation of SCR 1325 (see OP17) and to thus serve as a basis for reporting by the UN and other entities on 1325 implementation. It is hoped that the Secretary-General ensures that all relevant UN agencies are part of this effort and that provision is also made for the means by which these indicators will be tracked and monitored.   

For the full text of the resolution, please visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/un/9thAnniversary/SCR1889.pdf

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •  

To view other Security Council analysis, please visit PeaceWomen 1325 Monitoring: http://www.peacewomen.org/un/sc/1325_Monitor/index.htm

5. FEATURE EVENT 

SECURITY COUNCIL OPEN DEBATE ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY

5 October 2009  

The Security Council, under the Presidency of Viet Nam, held an Open Debate on women, peace and security with the theme “Responding to the needs of women and girls in post-conflict situations for sustainable peace and security.” During the Open Debate, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1889 on “Women, peace and security.”  

Open Debate Governmental, UN & other Statements:  

Security Council Members:

Austria, Burkina Faso, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, France, Japan, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mexico, Russian Federation, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States, Viet Nam.  

Non-Security Council Members:

Afghanistan, African Union, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Federated States of Micronesia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden (on behalf of the EU), Switzerland, Ukraine, United Republic of Tanzania, Venezuela  

UN & Other:

·        Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, UN Deputy Secretary General

·        Ms. Rachel Mayanja, Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues & the Advancement of Women

·        Inés Alberdi, Executive Director of the UN Development Fund for Women

·        Ms. Asha Hagi Elmi Amin, Representative of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security

 

To access the Member States and speaker statements index, please visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/un/9thAnniversary/Open_Debate/index.html   

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •  

The PeaceWomen Thematic Index  

The PeaceWomen Project has compiled excerpts, arranged by theme, from statements made during the Security Council Open Debate held on 5 October 2009. The compilation deals with the following themes:  

For the full index please visit:

http://www.peacewomen.org/un/9thAnniversary/Compilation/index_2009.html  

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Sam Cook
PeaceWomen Project Director,
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
UN Office
777 UN Plaza, 6th Floor
New York, New York 10017
www.peacewomen.org
sam@peacewomen.org
+ 1 212 682 1265
+ 1 212 286 8211





================================================================
To contact the list administrator, or to leave the list, send an email to: wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.