WUNRN
Direct Link to Full 38-Page UNDP
Report:
Women’s
needs not met in post-conflict recovery & reconstruction
New
report examines conflicts in four countries and shows financing for gender
equality fell far short of addressing critical gender gaps
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Women at a camp for displaced persons
in Zam Zam, North Darfur, |
New York -- Commemorating
10 years since the United Nations adopted its first resolution on women, peace
and security, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released a report
showing how women's needs are not being met in post-conflict recovery and reconstruction.
According to the report entitled "The Price of Peace: Financing for Gender
Equality in Post-conflict Recovery and Reconstruction," despite the
disproportionate impact on women in conflict, women were rarely included in
decision-making and planning processes and the voices of ordinary women were
absent.
“The question of who participates in and has influence over setting priorities,
making decisions and allocating resources that flow into post-conflict
countries is critical for gender equality and peace and security more broadly,”
said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, who moderated a panel discussion
where the report was launched. The discussion marked the 10th anniversary of UN
Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. “Women play a
big role resettling families, reconstructing communities, and building
livelihoods. It is therefore important to ensure that funding flows to them
too.”
The Report analyses four case studies – in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Southern Sudan
and Timor Leste – and examines whether and how resources were allocated and
used in post-conflict reconstruction initiatives to promote gender equality and
address women’s needs.
The Report found that financing for gender equality fell far short of
addressing critical gaps in sectors such as health, the police and judiciary,
education, local governments and security.
Several panelists – from each of the countries included in the report –
discussed how difficult it was to get women’s issues onto the agenda in
post-conflict peace talks. Betty Achan Ogwaro, a Parliamentarian in the
government of Southern Sudan, recalled how during peace talks for Sudan
women had to resort to such tactics as camping out at the site of negotiations
and cornering delegates in hallways to get attention for women’s issues. She
joined the other panelists in pointing out the critical importance of having
women in decision-making positions and getting donors to allocate resources for
women’s priorities including supporting women’s political participation.
For
Remarks by Helen Clark
UNDP Administrator at UNDP SCR 1325 Side Event:
“The Price of Peace: Financing for Gender Equality in Post-Conflict Recovery
and Reconstruction.”