Blog by Pat Black, SI Advocacy Advisor.
“The current situation in Ukraine has focussed our minds very forcibly on conflict, especially as in the countries impacted by the conflict there are many Soroptimists. There are many other arenas of war in other parts of the world but for many Soroptimists this is on our doorstep, and for many, it brings family and personal memories of involvement in previous and other conflict zones.
As our International President Maureen Maguire says in the SI statement on Ukraine:
“War is never gender-neutral. Women and girls in all their diversity are always disproportionately affected by war, and it is no different in this conflict.”
And yet so many of us are asking ‘why is this happening again? What about the UN Security Council and all those resolutions that have been passed supposedly protecting women and children?
October 2020 was the twentieth anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), unanimously adopted by United Nations Security Council on 31 October 2000. UNSCR 1325 marked the first time the Security Council addressed the disproportionate and diverse impacts of armed conflict on women and recognised the under-valued and under-utilised contributions women make to conflict prevention, peacekeeping, conflict resolution, mediation and peace building. It stressed the importance of women’s equal and full participation as active agents in peace and security.
So where has the involvement of women been? In Ukraine, as ever protecting children and families, being responsible for providing humanitarian aid and shelter for those other women and their children fleeing from the conflict, from the shooting and the bombing. Some young women are fighting in the front line, some have been killed trying to help others. As far as we can tell from news reports not present at any negotiating table. Probably not involved in the decision of Russian President Putin to invade Ukraine. Rarely have women been involved in decisions to wage war.
UNSCR 1325 and the nine subsequent supporting resolutions have been comprehensive, but implementation is sadly lacking and often underfunded. So far, 83 countries out of 190+ UN Member States have developed UNSCR 1325+ National Action Plans with goals and timetables and adopted legislation to implement and advance the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. The UNSCR 1325 came with no targets, no timelines, and no penalties. It can be ignored at will, and has been ignored at will. Even in those countries which have developed a National Action Plan, progress has been extremely limited. Trade still goes on in armaments and other weapons of war.
There are ten UN Women Peace and Security Council Resolutions that form the foundation of the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda. The Security Council has paid special attention to women’s participation in peace building in its resolutions 1325, 1820, 2106, and 2122. The Security Council identifies three principal strategies for mainstreaming a gender equality perspective into peacebuilding:
- Addressing the particular impact of conflict on women’s recovery – especially sexual and gender-based violence;
- Supporting women’s full and equal participation in and ownership of peacebuilding and decision-making processes; and
- Ensuring that national priorities for recovery – political, social, and economic – redress inequalities of the past and positively influence gender relations and contribute to gender equality.
The other UN mechanisms which include provisions to protect women and girls in conflict situations include the UN Committee to End Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) and UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR1325) and its subsequent resolutions. In particular:
- UN SCR 2117 “recognises that the illicit transfer, destabilising accumulation, and misuse of small arms and light weapons exacerbate sexual and gender-based violence”.
- UN SCR 2122 says the Council is “looking forward to the important contribution that implementation of the ATT can make to reducing violence perpetrated against women and girls in armed conflict and post-conflict situations”.
UN SCR 2122 adopted in October 2013 is of particular significance. It creates much stronger measures to include women in peace processes and calls for regular briefing and reports on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) issues to various organisations and UN members. Furthermore, it states that in moving forward the Security Council and UN Missions will increase their attention to WPS themes when they establish or renew mandates and the Security Council, must include provisions that promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Resolution contains specific requests to Member States, including the plea for them to regularly consult with women’s organisations and women leaders, not omitting social and/or economically excluded groups of women such as widows and migrants; and to expedite the appointment of women at senior levels as UN mediators.
Since the passage of UNSCR 1325 in 2000, a large constituency of Civil Society organisations and activists has grown across the world, advocating for its full implementation. In June 2020, as part of the UN Women Gender Equality Forum, a Compact for Women Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action was created to action and realise declared commitments. The Compact will be a voluntary multi-stakeholder monitoring and accountability process, engaging key global, regional and national players to help narrow the gap between aspirations and concrete actions on WPS. The women’s peace movement, comprised of women peacebuilders, women’s networks and organisations was a driving force behind the creation of the Compact.
The WPS agenda is anchored in the principle that effective incorporation of gender perspectives and women’s rights can have a meaningful and positive impact on the lives of women, men, girls, and boys on the ground. Its interlinked and mutually reinforcing aspects – participation, prevention, protection, relief, and recovery – are critical in respecting human rights and dignity and in tackling the root causes of conflict to create sustainable peace. Civil Society organisations have worked hard over the years, mobilising governments and international organisations to act. Implementation of the WPS agenda is more important than ever, and we must continue to push for transformative change. It is important we reflect on the lessons we have learned and propose new and effective strategies and advocate for women’s meaningful inclusion.
The UK Government has also very recently signed the Global Code of Conduct for the Investigation of Conflict Related Sexual Violence (MURAD Code).
Experience to date tells us the WPS Agenda needs to be much better incorporated into all discussions and decision making on policies and legislation related to weapons and the arms trade. Introducing mechanisms including a register of expert women to improve representation overseas and domestically will enable a much more impactful and effective approach to implementing the WPS agenda including the unacceptable outcomes of the arms trade on civil society and women and children in particular.
Two UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are especially applicable to WPS: SDG 5 – achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; and SDG 16 – promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. Other key reference points are the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), specifically CEDAW General Recommendation No.30 on Women in Conflict Prevention, Conflict and Post-Conflict Situations; and the Beijing Platform for Action, central to the achievement of the SDGs and fighting poverty and injustice.”
SI Position Paper: Women Peacekeepers : HERE
SI Position Paper: Women, Peace, and Security: HERE