WUNRN
Direct Link to Full 64-Page 2010
Report:
A
year-long study in six countries has found that the goals of U.N. Security
Council Resolution 1325, enacted 10 years ago, have not been fulfilled and that
implementation is generally poor. The U.N. itself, major industrial powers,
other international organizations, and conflict states have all failed to
include women in peace processes and peacebuilding, two key goals of the
resolution.
The
study, “What the Women Say: Participation and UNSCR 1325,” was organized by the
MIT Center for International Studies, Cambridge, Mass., and the International
Civil Society Action Network, a NGO based in Washington DC.
In
the six countries—Aceh (Indonesia), Colombia, Israel and Palestine, Liberia,
Sri Lanka, and Uganda—researchers found that the governments had essentially
failed to take the necessary steps to raise women’s participation. In some of
these countries, formal legislation had been enacted but had not been
implemented. In others, special advisers or commissions have been created, but
the offices are ineffective, politicized, or diverting resources from women
NGOs. “The cases show that by limiting peace talks to only belligerents – state
and non-state actors – and marginalizing peace groups, the international
community is de facto legitimizing violence. ” said Sanam N. Anderlini, the
study’s principal author and co-organizer of the project. “The way things are,
as long as women are not a security threat, their concerns and interests will
be sidelined. Peace processes are about ceasefires and power deals, not real
peace.” The study was based on extensive interviews in each country, government
documents, press accounts, and the experience of the study team. The work was
supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Irish Aid, Forum for
Women and Development, Channel Foundation, among others. The case studies were
conducted by Cerue Garlo, Liberia; Shyamala Gomez, Sri Lanka; Suraiya
Kamaruzzaman, Aceh; Turid Smith Polfus, Palestine/Israel; Elena Rey, Colombia;
and Lina Zedriga, Uganda.