WUNRN
By NATSUKO FUKUE -
September 15, 2010
Has the world become safer
and more peaceful for women and girls in the past 10 years? Not so much, says
former United Nations Security Council President Anwarul K. Chowdhury.
|
Anwarul K. Chowdhury |
This October marks the
10th anniversary of the U.N. Security Council's adoption of Resolution 1325 on
women, peace and security. In 2000, the Security Council for the first time in
its 55 years of existence addressed the need for women to be equally involved
with men in postconflict peace-building processes.
Chowdhury, the
But nothing much has
happened, Chowdhury said in a recent interview in
Chowdhury said Resolution
1325 is important because it will change the global concept of peace and
security.
"Involving women
brings in a more sustainable dimension of peace, not the so-called
power-sharing dimension of peace promoted by men," he said.
As a former career
diplomat, Chowdhury said he is still strongly committed to the implementation
of the resolution because of his experience as a U.N. official in conflict-hit
countries such as
During his term as
Security Council chief, he visited Kosovo with his team to see how they could
promote peace there. Women's groups were hoping to talk with him, so he asked a
local representative to organize a meeting.
"When I arrived, I
found no women's meeting in my program. I asked (the representative) what
happened," he said, noting how women can be excluded from the peacemaking
process.
Although he was told he
didn't have the time, he managed to meet the women's groups at 11 p.m. — after
all of his scheduled programs had ended.
"They were so
delighted that they were able to convey their thinking to the Security Council
members."
After hearing the groups'
opinions, he realized "women have a longer term interest in the society,
while men have mostly power-related aspirations out of peace processes."
But the implementation of
his work has been slow.
In April, U.N. Secretary
General Ban Ki Moon announced a set of indicators to implement the resolution.
The indicators basically ask developing countries to collect data on women's
participation in peace and security issues. But the secretary general
acknowledged that it would take two to five years for full implementation,
Chowdhury said.
"(Data collection)
will be a burden for developing countries. As a result, they will not give (it
their) full attention."
Instead of focusing on
statistics, the key to turning the resolution into reality is to make the secretary
general's role more active and engaged, he said.
"I want the secretary
general to discuss it with all the world leaders. He should tell them, 'What is
happening to 1325 in your country?' "
In doing so, Chowdhury
said, the secretary general could eliminate the two- to five-year wait.
He also argued that it is
crucial to involve the private sector, especially multinational corporations,
because they are becoming an important player in peace and security.
"They employ a lot of
people, for example, in
Getting all of the parties
related to Resolution 1325 on board, however, has not been easy.
In the case of U.N.
peacekeepers, some have committed acts of sexual abuse against local women, but
the U.N. has not been able to stop it, according to Chowdhury.
If a man from one of the
member states is involved in sexual violence, a report is made and he is sent
back to his home country. The report is also sent back, asking the army to make
an inquiry and punish him.
This year, 39 cases were
reported, but the U.N. has dealt with only 13 of them.
In many cases, the
punishment — such as being docked a month's salary — is small compared with
what those peacekeepers have done, he said.
"It's a miscarriage
of justice," he said, adding that the head of the U.N. mission should be
held responsible in these cases.
While much still needs to
be done to improve women's involvement in peace and security issues, Chowdhury
is still hopeful.
"The four numbers
(1325) have become known worldwide because of enthusiasm (in society)," he
said. "(The 10th anniversary) is a good occasion for us to get energized
and actually do something (to put the resolution into practice)."