Ten-year Impact Study on Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women

Peace and Security in Peacekeeping

Context and Background

• Conduct of peacekeeping has changed as a result of resolution 1325

• The operational landscape has evolved in last 10 years: many more actors on the ground

• New mandates that present new opportunities for enhancing implementation of resolution 1325

• Study commissioned to mark 10th anniversary of resolution 1325

• First global review of impact of peacekeeping missions in advancing women’s rights and gender equality in line with resolution 1325

Study Methodology

• 12 peacekeeping and Special Political missions in 11 countries participated in the Study

• A total of seven thematic issues relevant to resolution 1325 were reviewed: Women’s participation in peace negotiations, political participation, DDR, SSR, Legal and

judicial reform, sexual and gender-based violence, protection of IDP and refugee women)

• Each mission reviewed five themes

• Cross-cutting issues were also reviewed, including: Representation of women in peacekeeping, accountability of senior managers and role of

gender advisers

• Standard Interview Guide was developed and facilitated consultations with national partners in government and civil society, and also UN staff

• Focus on peacekeeping activities whilst acknowledging role of other partners

• Recognition of long-term impact as work in progress

Participation in Peace Negotiations

Good Offices of SRSGAfghanistan, DRC, Darfur: facilitated women’s involvement in peace consultations

Outreach to women not sufficiently inclusive

Absence of a coherent overall strategy to mobilize women’s participation

Progress due to pressure from below, not deliberate push from above

Participation in Political/Electoral Processes

Constitutional reform: quota guaranteesAfghanistan (25%), Burundi (30%)

Electoral Laws: gender-sensitive provisionsDRC; Timor-Leste (25% quota in Electoral Law)

Voting ProcessHigh rates of registration of women; high voter turn-out among women; specific outreach to

women provision of electoral security for women voters

Training support to women candidatesCoaching of women candidates in Haiti ; training political candidates in Burundi, Liberia, DRC

Capacity-building support to women elected officials is an outstanding challenge

Disarmament Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR)

• Eligibility criteria has generally tended to exclude women – Liberia as exception

• Inconsistent application of gender and DDR standards

• Improved security for women in and around cantonment sites

• Access to reintegration support: DRC, Burundi, Liberia

• Women not fairly considered in all phases of DDR process

• Lukewarm commitment of senior DDR staff to strengthen gender-sensitive approaches

• Women still not fairly considered in all phases of DDR process

Security Sector Reform

• Increased representation of women in national security institutions: between 12%-20% in police service in Timor-Leste, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Kosovo – higher than global average

• Adoption of gender policies for some security sector institutions: Police in Liberia, Sierra Leone

• Important role modeling effect due to deployment of female peacekeepers – example of Timor and Liberia

• Support for reform of security sector has not sufficiently addressed reform of institutional barriers to women’s participation in this sector

– Widespread discrimination persists against women in national security sector institutions

– Sexual harassment and lack of challenging professional opportunities commonplace

Legal and Judicial Reform

• Ratification of CEDAW in some countries with support of peacekeeping mission - Timor and Afghanistan

• Representation o f women in legal and judicial sector has increased in some cases – Timor and Sierra Leone, though in overall terms women remain underrepresented

• Support for adoption of laws to protect women’s rights in some cases, though implementation of laws remain a challenge

• Challenge of customary vs formal law in many cases – Afghanistan, Sudan, Timor

• Conditions of women in corrections institutions generally poor

Sexual and Gender-based Violence

Progress

Support for adoption of laws related to sexual and gender-based violence DRC, Liberia, Afghanistan, Timor-Leste

Support for National Strategies to combat SGBVLiberia, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC

Support for establishment of special police units to deal with SGBV VPU (Timor-Leste), FSU (Sierra Leone), WCPS (Liberia), Special Protection Cells /DIS

(Chad), Haiti

Deployment of Mixed Teams and Joint Protection TeamsDRC, Darfur

Challenges

• Sexual violence remains high in DRC, Liberia, Burundi, Darfur

• Enhancing peacekeeping strategies, whilst communicating limits of peacekeeping

• Lack of accurate data

Protection of Women IDPs and Refugees

• Enhanced protection due to presence of peacekeepers:

Joint Protection Teams in DRC, Detachement Integre de Securite in Chad

• Presence of female humanitarian workers welcomed by women IDPs

• Coverage, consistency and effectiveness remains limited

• Limited empowerment of women IDPs

• Limited efforts to facilitate women’s participation in camp governance committees

30%

8.7

3.3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Int.Civilian

National Police Military

Int. Civilian

National

Police

Military

20%

Key Messages from Impact Review

• Huge potential of peacekeeping missions to influence agenda of women’s rights and participation in peace processes

• The potential to engage local women in peace processes has not been sufficiently tapped by peacekeepers.

• Increasing women’s representation in post-conflict institutions (political or security) is not enough. Capacity-building for women to enable them serve optimally and removal of institutional barriers that impede women’s success is equally key

• Partnership with local women in post-conflict countries must expand beyond urban elites and engage women from diverse sectors of society who have been impacted by the conflict

Key Messages cont.

• Senior managers must lead by example in demonstrating commitment to advancing women’s rights in post-conflict countries.

• Policies, guidelines and training tools are all important tools to support gender mainstreaming and to enhance accountability

• Peacekeeping missions are only one among key players who can support implementation of resolution 1325 at the country level. Partnership is key to ensure sustainability

• Presence of women peacekeepers matters greatly; male champions of gender equality are equally effective

Looking Ahead: The Next Decade

• Key Issues and Opportunities• Keeping women’s participation high on the agenda; situating

protection in wider context

• Clarifying niche and comparative advantage of peacekeeping missions within context of increasing number of actors: UN Women as opportunity

• Opportunity to enhance accountability through use of monitoring indicators

• Expanding the availability of gender specialists within different peacekeeping components – SSR, DDR

• Strengthening partnership strategy with Member States

Forward-Looking Strategy

• Build on comparative advantage of peacekeeping missions:– Strengthen gender technical expertise in peacekeeping missions

to facilitate gender mainstreaming

– Facilitate and support leadership role of local women in efforts to re-establish security and stability in post-conflict transitions

• Broaden and deepen support to women in post-conflict countries: – Emphasize capacity-building support to women in post-conflict

institutions

– Engage partnership with women at all levels: national and local

• Expand regional partnerships to advance implementation of resolution 1325

QUESTIONS?