WUNRN
http://www.unwomen.org/2011/03/un-womens-bachelet-outlines-new-peacebuilding-initiative/
The
roster will help women’s associations organize themselves so that they can
participate fully and effectively in peace processes.
“It
will act as a force multiplier for local women’s movements that have seen their
ranks decimated by conflict and instability,” Ms. Bachelet said. “Timely
technical support will translate their concerns into lasting institutional
reforms to maintain women’s participation.”
In
her address, Ms. Bachelet also discussed challenges in implementing the UN
Security Council’s five resolutions on women, peace and security. She described
the international community’s response to the protection of women during and
after conflict, and its efforts to engage women in peacebuilding as “at best,
mixed.”
The
international community has lately improved its ability to address women’s
needs when they are survivors of conflict, she argued. Efforts to combat
widespread and systematic sexual violence have been particularly noteworthy.
Recent Security Council resolutions have enabled a shift from responding to
women’s needs as survivors to more proactively recognizing the need for
customized security measures to prevent mass-atrocity crimes. In support of
this shift from humanitarian reaction to protective response, UN Women
contributes to pre-deployment training for peacekeepers to prevent sexual violence,
which is often rampant even after the formal cessation of hostilities.
Ms.
Bachelet noted markedly little progress in engaging women in conflict
resolution and long-term peacebuilding. She cited women’s persistently low
participation in peace talks, where women average fewer than 1 in 10
negotiators. There is continued under-investment in women’s employment or
livelihood needs after conflict, with only an estimated 5 percent of
post-conflict funds available for activities specific to women and gender
equality.
A
lack of funding for women’s organizations typically leaves them poorly equipped
to insist on inclusion in conflict resolution and recovery efforts. Limited
expertise in governance, judicial processes and economic recovery also delays
women’s ability to share in the peace dividend.
A
recently adopted UN-wide strategy aims to address some of these constraints.
The Secretary-General’s 2010 Action Plan on Gender-Responsive Peacebuilding is
being implemented by the Peacebuilding Support Office in partnership with UN
Women. The plan is geared to ensure that women are consulted during peace
talks, that measures such as quotas bolster women’s engagement in post conflict
elections, that post-conflict jobs programmes benefit women and men equally, and
that reforms to security and justice institutions address threats to women. The
Secretary-General has committed all UN entities to dedicating at least 15
percent of post-conflict spending to initiatives for women’s empowerment.
Hunter
College’s Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute is housed in the first New
York City home of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Mrs. Roosevelt lived there in
1948, as she participated in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. The Phyllis L. Kossoff Lecture is an annual forum that brings leading
figures in public life to Roosevelt House for conversation and reflection on
pressing issues of international and domestic concern. It has hosted
guest-speakers from the Dalai Lama to Bill Gates.
UN
Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment
of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established in
2010 to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.
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