Women,
Peace and Security in Afghanistan:
Implementation of United Nation Security Council Resolution 1325
Photo
- IDMC = Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
Selay
Ghaffar
HAWCA
- Afghanistan
20
August, 2010
Acronyms
UNSCR 1325
United Nation Security Council Resolution 1325
EVAW Law Elimination of Violence Against
Women Law
NAWPA
National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan
ANDS Afghanistan
National Development Strategy
DDR Disarmament,
Demobilization and Reintegration
IDP Internally
Displaced Person
NATO North Atlantic treaty
Organization
MOWA
Ministry of Women’s Affairs (Afghan Government)
Shura Consultative Council
Jirga National
Assembly
Abstract
The paper
highlights the lobbying efforts of civil society organizations particularly women
and human rights associations to bring into the notice of the policy maker to
incorporate UNSCR 1325 to the national laws, policies and strategies such as
EVAW Law, Family Law, NAPWA, ANDS and etc. Afghanistan
is an ongoing-conflict state where the lack of strong
mechanism to protect the internal displaced people, makes women and
children more vulnerable. The long-term commitment and efforts from both
national and international community is needed to establish strategic and
systematic mechanism to protect women and increase their access to fair
justice. And to end up their symbolic role; increase their participation in
decision making levels and guarantee their presence in all peace talks with
insurgent groups.
It has been ten years since the United
Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 and nine years
since the fall of the Taliban and the drafting of the Bonn Agreement, the
international agreement which set the stage for initiating Afghanistan’s
peace process, democratization and reconstruction. Over these years, what steps
have been taken to protect women from a war which continues to rage in many
parts of the country? Have the principles of Resolution 1325 been realized to
any degree for Afghan women?
This landmark piece of international
law resulted from over 20 years of advocacy and lobbying by women activists
from war zones and post-conflict states around the world. The Resolution
recognizes that women and children constitute the majority of victims of armed
conflicts that women and girls are affected by conflict differently from men
and boys and that women have a role to play and a right to participate in all
levels of a peace building process. Resolution 1325 calls attention to the
consequences of war on women’s lives - including sexualized violence, the
spread of HIV/AIDS, the displacement of women and girls as refugees and
internally displaced. Resolution 1325 recognizes the importance of women’s
place at the decision-making table and their positive contribution to conflict
prevention, conflict resolution and the promotion of peace and security.
Resolution 1325 is not specifically
referred to in key documents that guide the reconstruction and peace building
process in Afghanistan; its provisions
are nevertheless echoed in many of these documents, such as the Berlin
Declaration that followed the meeting of donors to Afghanistan’s
reconstruction (Berlin 2004). This Declaration clarified commitments previously
made by donors concerned with Afghanistan’s
reconstruction process (Tokyo Conference, 2002). Recently this year it’s
incorporated by the efforts of national and international civil societies in London
and Kabul Communiqués. Besides these it has also been incorporated into the
NAPWA and ANDS All these documents pledge to assist the Afghan government with
security and peace needs – including entrenching the rule of law, implementing
DDR processes, realizing women’s rights and political participation and
developing the capacity of an independent civil society, among other issues.
The Kabul
communiqué states: “Participants reiterated the centrality of women's
rights, including political, economic and social equality, to the future of Afghanistan,
as enshrined in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic
of Afghanistan. Participants
commended the mainstreaming of gender into all priority programs and reiterated
their commitment to assist all national ministries and sub-national government
bodies in implementing their respective responsibilities under the National
Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA), and to ensure that all
training and civic education programs contribute to concrete advancements in
its implementation. In addition, the Government of Afghanistan, over the next
six months, is to identify and prioritize NAPWA benchmarks for implementation
within each cluster; and develop a strategy to implement the Elimination of
Violence Against Women Law (EVAW), including services for victims. Participants
committed to respect and prioritize the fulfillment of the rights of Afghan
children, and to invest in girls’ and boys’ education, protection and
healthcare.”[i][1]
The final communiqué of the London
Conference clearly reflects the advocacy efforts of the Afghan women who
traveled to London, and the document includes central
priorities of the women of Afghanistan
they were charged to represent.
“The
Government of Afghanistan’s
commitment to continue development of a National Security Strategy must be
consistent with UN Security Council resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888 and 1889. A
National Action Plan on Women peace and security should be integrated as a core
element of the national security policy, and a quota of women’s representation
in all peace and security deliberations be established” [ii][2]
“Women should be consulted by and represented by the authorities developing the
national Peace and Reintegration Programme. The proposed Peace and
Reintegration Trust Fund to finance the Afghan-led Peace and Reintegration
Programme should ensure that a proportion of the financial incentives to
communities to support reintegration are used to support women’s empowerment
and development and the protection of their human rights through rigorous
monitoring and redress” [iii][3]
Afghanistan
presents a particularly challenging environment for the implementation of
Resolution 1325 and the full realization of the obligations it imposes on
States. A long series of violent wars, and the pervasive insecurity that
continues in many parts of the country have left many Afghans – both men and
women - traumatized and in need of psychosocial counseling. Healing after
trauma is one aspect of post conflict recovery that is missing from the otherwise
very comprehensive support embodied in the principles set out in 1325.
The
unpredictable tensions between the will of Afghans to build peace and the
complex forces still at play against peace in Afghanistan,
make real change for the women of Afghanistan
seem illusory and even unobtainable. Yet the foundations are in place which can
be built upon, provided there is a sustained effort towards meeting the
security needs of women and the demands of a lasting peace in a country
tormented by war for over a quarter of a century.
Protection of Women
and Girls in Conflict Zones from Violence:
Resolution 1325 imposes a direct duty
on all parties to an armed conflict to take special measures to protect women
and girls both from the conflict itself and from gender- based and sexualized
violence.
“The security situation in Afghanistan
is critical. It is like a ticking bomb, and it is very possible that at any
time a civil war will break out. Women and girls have been particularly
affected by the insecurity. There are hundreds of attacks on teachers, students
and schools across Afghanistan,
with girls' schools being particularly hard hit. In most remote villages there
are not even any signs of schools for girls. Hundreds of Afghan women have
committed suicide due to these intense pressures and hopelessness. When the
entire nation is living under the shadow of guns and warlords, how can its
women enjoy their basic freedoms?”[iv][4]
Violence against women and girls in Afghanistan
is gender based and pervasive. It is both domestic and structural and takes
place in both the public and private spheres. The prevalence of gender based
violence in the society results from, among other factors, pre-existing
cultural roles which allow the abuse of women, a tribal structure that largely
co-modifies women, and deeply entrenched patriarchal norms. These factors have
been further aggravated by war, militarization, poverty, and the lack of social
services.
Resolution 1325 specifically calls on
all member states to take special to protect women and girls from violence
particularly from rape and other forms of sexualized violence. Yet, in Afghanistan,
institutional and state protection for women and girls remains weak. Sexualized
violence is an ever-looming threat. Women and girls are vulnerable to rape
outside their homes by insurgents, warlords’ henchmen and men unknown to them.
They are equally vulnerable to sexualized violence at the hands of men known to
them. Sexualized abuse is very common and often starts at a young age. Girls
might be abused in their birth homes, and may also experience sexualized
violence in their marriage homes at the hands of their husband or other male
family members. The pervasiveness of child marriage makes girls much more
vulnerable to sexual abuse and rape, often leaving long-term physical and
emotional damage.
The recent signed EVAW Law has in some
how protecting the victims from violence and repeating violence but
unfortunately due the strong culture of impunity the perpetrators are free and
are not punished in according to the existing laws. To protect the women from
further violence there are number of shelters around the country managed by the
national civil society organization despite of facing enormous challenges both
from state and society.
Protection
of Refugees and IDP’s in Conflict Zones:
Internal migration has continued as
Afghans flee from less secure areas of the country to larger cities such as Kabul.
Gender-specific security threats contribute to increased internal displacement
as families flee to safer areas due to the threat of rape. At the same time
some refugees have returned to find their homes destroyed or occupied by new
“owners”. Refugee camps outside of Afghanistan
offer women little protection, restricted access to employment and other
opportunities, and continue to be poverty-stricken, easy recruiting grounds for
the Taliban.
“Tens of thousands of people from Helmand,
Zabul and Uruzgan provinces have been displaced from their villages as a result
of the US/NATO bombardments and Taliban insurgency. Over 700 families are
living in a IDPs camp in Charahi Qambar area of Kabul.
The livings conditions of people in this camp are deplorable and they say neither
government nor any NGO provide help to them so their children are starving.”[v][5]
As Resolution 1325 recognizes, women
and girls have special needs during repatriation and resettlement and for
rehabilitation and reintegration as well as post conflict reconstruction. In
addition, the needs of women and girls must be considered in the design of
refugee camps and in the implementation of humanitarian measures. Over the last
30 years Afghanistan
has had the world’s largest refugee population. Given the prevailing
insecurity, conditions on the ground are conducive to the return neither of
refugees nor of IDPs to their place of origin within Afghanistan.
Insecurity results in continuous refugee and IDP movements from unstable areas
such as the south as people seek refuge within the comparative safety of Kabul
or Pakistan.
Currently the problem of IDPs within
the country is so crucial. Neither government nor NGOs take serious steps to
help the life situation of IDPs particularly women and children.
“Most IDPs said they had received no
assistance from the government or aid agencies, and faced food, health, water
and cold-related problems”[vi][6]
To
ensure the protection of women, NGOs have been active in working with the MOWA,
are drafting new family, marriage and violence against women laws. There has
also been lobbying and advocating for gender mainstreaming within other newly
drafted and reformed laws. Such legislation is crucial in ensuring the basic
legal system is in place to ensure women are able to claim their rights. In
addition, NGOs have been working with MOWA to establish women’s shelters and
support centers for those experiencing violence and abuse, and ensuring some of
women’s most basic health and economic needs are met. Training and empowering
women is also being undertaken by different national and international
organizations to enable women to advocate for and protect themselves at a
household and community level.
Recommendations
- The Afghan
President should issue a decree referencing the Constitution, the ANDS and
NAPWA. Such a decree should be applicable to all Ministries ordering them
to priorities gender equality and in this respect, establish Clear plans
and implement practical strategies towards gender equality and women’s leadership
within the civil service. High officials should be held accountable for
the implementation of the decree.
- The
government of Afghanistan should
create a National Action Plan for the implementation of Resolution 1325 in
Afghanistan
and should appoint a Committee of committed, competent and qualified women
and men to oversee the implementation of the Action Plan
- The
Ministry of Women’s Affairs should integrate the implementation of UN
SC resolution 1325 into its Action
Plan
- The
Security Council should create a monitoring mechanism for 1325’s
implementation, within the UN system-wide Action Plan on SCR 1325.
- Include
the Resolution 1325 as an essential tool for peace- and state building in
capacity-building programmes for state institutions like ministries, the
judiciary and police but also for civil society organizations and
traditional policy-making organs like shuras and jirgas.
- Carry out
capacity building on sexualized violence against women, traumatization and
its consequences as a tool for peace building and reconciliation.
- Establish
awareness raising programs for young men in schools on gender equality and
gender roles as a tool of prevention for gender based violence and peace
building
- Support
the peace building activities of Afghan women’s organizations throughout
the country and provide technical assistance and capacity-building for the
local implementation of the provisions of Resolution 1325
- Women’s
organizations should use a common peace building agenda to overcome
divisions and collaborate on advocacy and service provision activities.
- Establish
a strong and systematic support and protect the rights of IDPs
particularly women and children
- Afghanistan
should increase civic education on UNSCR 1325.
References: