Through years of working with grassroots communities in east and central Africa, ALARM has found that for peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts to be sustainable, they must specifically target women.

Guests this week, Emma O’Hara, Catherine Morgan, Hanna Weidered, Patricia McGee discuss young women and feminism. Emma explains her feminist group which she established in school and the mixed reaction from the other girls, boys and the teachers. Catherine talks about her work with young women and peacebuilding, the difference between young men and women and dealing with the troubles. In her work she asks women to question gender roles.

Poonam Gupta is one of a 105 strong paramilitary police women from India who went to Liberia on January 2007 to help keep the peace in a country which is still recovering from 14 years of civil war. In 2006, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 which calls for a full and effective participation of women in peace building, peacekeeping and reconstructing efforts.

Woman in peace-keeping mission. Anneli Boman Berg, police inspector from Örebro, worked in a EU peace-keeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina to inspect parts of the security sector. The National Criminal Police Agency is one of the Swedish acencies working with resolution 1325.

Given the special contributions that women can make to peacekeeping operations, a United Nations-backed conference has called for more female staffers in the world body’s operational requirements… I don;t know whether you realize it or not, that on most vacancy announcement, it has always said: “Women applicant is highly encouraged”. - from

“Low Numbers, High Impact: Involvement of Women in Peacekeeping Operations”

Gender-Based Violence continues to be “The most pervasive yet least recognized human rights abuse in the world.” It is an issue that cuts across all cultures, races, religions, and socio-economic levels. Forms of gender-based violence include rape, domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking of women and girls, prostitution, female genital mutilation, harassment, and forced marriage. The majority of GBV cases involves women and girls but also affects men and boys.

Delegates attend the UN Security Council meeting on women and peace and security at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, Oct. 26, 2010. The UN Security Council issued a presidential statement here on Tuesday to reaffirming its “commitment to the continuing and full implementation” of the Resolution 1325, a Security Council measure adopted ten years ago. Resolution 1325 seeks to help protect women from sexual violence associated with conflict and to involve women more in the processes of peacekeeping, peace-building, and peace negotiations. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

Country Situations
The analysis concludes that a relatively low number of relevant presidential statements contain references to women, peace and security. The lowest point was 2003 when there were no references. The highest point was 2009 when close to 30 percent contained a reference. So far in 2010 one (out of two) relevant country-situation presidential statements (issued in February on Guinea) contained a reference to resolution 1888, reiterating ‘the call it made in its resolution 1888 (2009) to increase the representation of women in mediation processes and decision-making processes with regard to conflict resolution and peacebuilding’.

Analysis
The years with the highest number of resolutions mentioning women, peace and security issues, such as 2003 and 2007, correspond to the years with the lowest number of presidential statements, suggesting that the Council was reinforcing its key points in resolutions rather than presidential statements in those years. 

The references to the women, peace and security vary significantly in quality between different statements. Some, such as that quoted above on Guinea, are specific to issues raised in 1325 or a related resolution, whereas others may simply call upon the women in a given country to vote in an upcoming election.  

Over the past ten years the Council has included a reference to women, peace and security in the presidential statements it has issued on Liberia, Kenya and Zimbabwe (one statement has been issued for each in the last ten years). References to women were sporadic in statements issued on other country situations: Great Lakes/Uganda (three out of four); DRC (five out of thirty); Kosovo (two out of 11); Somalia (four out of 22); Sudan (one out of nine); Afghanistan (three out of eight); Haiti (one out of nine); Sierra Leone (one out of three); Burundi (one out of 15); and Chad/CAR (one out of 13). Not one of the 19 presidential statements issued on Côte d’Ivoire mentioned women, peace and security issues.

Excerpt from:

Cross-Cutting Report No. 2
Women, Peace and Security
1 October 2010