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Women and the Maintenance of International Peace and Security

Women and the Maintenance of International Peace and Security

October 2001

The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security recognizes the enormous and difficult role of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in addressing international threats to peace and security. Our suggested monitoring and follow-up mechanisms include:

  1. Establish an independent Expert Panel to report, by September 2001, on a) women's role in peacebuilding b) humanitarian issues and protection of women during peacekeeping and post conflict peace support operations;
  2. Request the SG to report on Gender Mainstreaming in Peacekeeping and Peace Support Operations;
  3. Recommend a follow-up consultation between UNSC and NGOs involved in women, armed conflict and peace building issues within a year;
  4. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the Security Council on the implementation of these recommendations within a year.

Below we offer a set of recommendations for action to be taken by the UN Security Council regarding mandates, use of force, rules of engagement, peace accords, and troop-contributing country responsibilities. It is incumbent on the Council to ensure that women are equal participants in decision-making related to the achievement and maintenance of international peace and security, and that gender issues are fully integrated into all UN Peace Support Operations. The Council build on existing resolutions:

  1. Routinely give special consideration to women affected by armed conflict by requiring that all situation reported from the field to the Secretary General and all Secretary General's reports to the Council contain a gender perspective, including gender analysis and sex desegregated data;
  2. Ensure that senior gender experts and women are included in all UNSC fact-finding missions to areas of actual or potential conflict;
  3. Ensure that comprehensive gender considerations are included in the terms of reference of all UNSC fact-finding missions;
  4. Ensure that all UN fact-finding missions are mandated to consult with local women's organisations;
  5. Require the UN system to develop and ulitise common gender-based indicators for conflict early warning and response procedures (building on S/PRST/2000/25);
  6. Adopt a mechanism to ensure that there is a ready flow of information with a gender dimension, from a variety of sources including NGOs to the UNSC on issues of actual or potential conflict;
  7. Ensure that in negotiations for ceasefire and/or peace agreements, all UN-sanctioned third party negotiators, especially all Special Representatives of the Secretary General (SRSG) are mandated to ensure indigenous women and local women's organizations are an integral part of the negotiating team and process, and that gender issues are placed on the agenda and fully addressed in the agreements reached;
  8. Require other third party mediators/facilitators, including regional and sub-regional organizations and their party mediators and encourage warring factions, to also ensure consultation with and the participation of women's groups and civil society in peace processes;
  9. Appoint women as special representatives and envoys to conflict regions, and encourage that 50% of posts at D1 and higher levels of the UN Secretariat and Peace Keeping missions are women;
  10. Ensure that all Peace Support Operations have a adequately staffed gender unit to assist senior management in fully integrating gender into all policies, programmes and operations;
  11. Ensure that all UNSC resolutions setting up or extending peacekeeping/support operations provide for a clear mandate on gender mainstreaming, and address protection of women and girls affected by conflict, against all sexual violence, abduction, forced prostitution, trafficking and threats imposed by military, paramilitary, peacekeeping and other groups (building on S/PRST/2000/25,para13 and S/Res/1296/2000 para 9 and 10);
  12. Ensure that all mandates for Peace Support Operations refer to the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women and relevant international legal instruments where applicable;
  13. Ensure that the human rights components of PK are fully staffed and required to integrate women's rights in all documents and reporting;
  14. Request the Secretary general in consultation with all troops contributing countries to establish uniformed procedures and disciplinary measures for dealing promptly with violations of international law committed by peace keeping personnel, particularly those against women and girls and ensure accountability of force and contingent commanders;
  15. Ensure that all DPKO personnel at headquarters and in the field have training on gender including in the protection, rights and needs of women and girls, DPKO code of conduct, international humanitarian and human rights law including CEDAW, Convention on the Rights of the Child, and are aware of the impact of local culture, history and social norms on the status of women and girls(reaffirming and expanding S/PRST/2000/25 para 14);
  16. The Council should continue to encourage member states and regional organisations to incorporate gender awareness guidelines, training and materials into national training programmes for military and civilian police in preparation for deployment;
  17. Recommend that 50% women are included in all reconciliation, peacekeeping, peace-enforcement, peace building, and conflict preventive posts-including fact-finding and observer missions.