SC Resolution 1820: Reviewing Initial Progress

1. EDITORIAL
Sam Cook

It has been just over a year since the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1820, which focused primarily on the issue of sexual violence in conflict, and the much-anticipated first report of the Secretary-General on its implementation has just been released. While of course the many issues relating to women and conflict remain relevant – and can be seen in the Women, Peace and Security News (Item 1), Resolution 1820 is clearly the focus of this edition of the PeaceWomen E-News. Our Security Council Monitor (Item 4) features the PeaceWomen 1820 Report Analysis as well as a link to a copy of the Secretary-General's Report. Our Feature Analysis (Item 5) provided to PeaceWomen by Elisabeth Roesch of the IRC, the newest member of the NGO working group on women, peace and security, provides an extremely useful overview of what difference Resolution 1820 can make for women now. She asks what is really the critical question: “Can 1820 do more than recognize the problem and actually change the situation for women who are right now living in conflict?” Her article then provides several concrete ways in which it can make a difference but which, she points out, crucially require both leadership and resources. The Security Council Open Debate on women, peace and security to be held on 6th August 2009 provides the perfect opportunity for Member states to show this leadership and commitment of resources. The NGO Working Group has been actively engaged with member states to ensure that the debate results in concrete action. Our specific recommendations can be found in our Feature Letter (Item 3). Other particularly useful recommendations can be found in this edition's Feature Resource (Item 6) – a report by Human Rights Watch on sexual violence and military reform in the DRC. We look forward to featuring a thematic index of the Open Debate in the next edition of the newsletter and welcome contributions from other NGOs on their views of Resolution 1820 and the Report.
2. WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY NEWS

IRAN'S SADR RELEASED, MORE FREEDOM MUST FOLLOW
July 30, 2009 - (WOMENSENEWS) Shadi Sadr, the Iranian lawyer and women's rights activist, was just released from prison. On July 28 she went free. This is wonderful news. It sends relief and immense joy throughout the ranks of Iran's pro-democracy and humanitarian rights community, all of whom have worked so hard on her behalf.

SUDANESE WOMAN TO GIVE UP IMMUNITY TO STAND TRIAL
July 29, 2009 - (AP) A Sudanese female journalist facing 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public in violation of the country's strict Islamic laws told a packed Khartoum courtroom Wednesday she is resigning from a U.N. job that grants her immunity so she can challenge the law on women's public dress code.

Q&A : REALITY FELL UPON US: WOMEN'S VOICES MUST BE HEARD
July 29, 2009 - (IPS) Fifty-six percent of Rwanda's parliamentarians are women, a manifestation of the active role women have taken in rebuilding the country since the 1994 genocide.

BAN CALLS FOR TOUGH MEASURES AGAINST SEXUAL VIOLENCE
July 28, 2009 - (afrol News) The systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon, mainly against women, is rife in armed conflicts in Africa, Asia and Europe, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned today in his latest report on the scourge, calling for states to strengthen prevention and protection measures against the crime.

EGYPT: DISPUTES RISE OVER QUOTAS FOR WOMEN MPS
July 27, 2009 - (IPS Gender Wire) Disputes have arisen over new legislation setting a quota for female representatives in parliament. Spokesmen for the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) of President Hosni Mubarak describe the quotas as a milestone for women's rights, but some critics say the move threatens to create more problems than it solves.

THE WOMEN WHO CLEAR SUDAN'S MINEFIELDS
July 26, 2009 - (BBC News) Jamba Besta had planned to be a secretary, hoping to find work in an office as her homeland of South Sudan emerged out of a 22-year long civil war.

UN TEAM LOOKING INTO ALLEGED SEXUAL MISCONDUCT BY BLUE HELMETS IN DR CONGO
July 24, 2009 – (UN News) A fact-finding team has been dispatched by the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to investigate rumours of sexual misconduct surrounding some blue helmets stationed in the country's far east.

DRASTIC SHORTFALL IN RESOURCES THREATENS WOMEN'S SAFETY
July 23, 2009 - (UN Foundation) The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women is a global source of support for country and local-level action to end violence against women and girls established by the General Assembly. Due to the global economic and financial crisis, the Fund is facing a dramatic shortfall in donor contributions.

HAITI: WOMEN "MORE PROTECTED" TO REPORT SEXUAL VIOLENCE
July 22, 2009 - (IPS) Shockingly high levels of violence against women in Haiti forced the U.N. to send peacekeepers to the Caribbean country in 2004.

MOZAMBIQUE: ASSEMBLY PASSES AMENDED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE BILL
July 21, 2009 — (allAfrica) The Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on Tuesday passed the second and final reading of a bill on domestic violence against women, but with a clause tacked onto the end to placate the howls of rage from some male quarters that the bill was "unconstitutional" because it "discriminated against men".

DISPLACED IRAQI WOMEN INCREASINGLY VULNERABLE TO EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE
July 15, 2009 - (Refugees International) Iraqi women who have been uprooted by violence in their country are increasingly susceptible to exploitation and abuse because of extreme financial pressures, a new field report from Refugees International (RI) described today. The report states that domestic violence among Iraqi refugees is increasing in Syria, and that reports of domestic violence are higher among the displaced population in northern Iraq. Displaced women are also more vulnerable to forced early marriages, “temporary marriages,” prostitution, trafficking, and domestic violence.

ANGOLAN GANGS, RAPE GROWING LIKE MUSHROOMS - POLICE
July 15, 2009 - (Reuters) Police in Angola, one of Africa's biggest oil producers, are struggling to contain a surge in gang-related crime and rape cases in a nation where the majority of the population is young and poor, a senior police official was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

SOUTH AFRICA: ACCOUNTABILITY TO WOMEN COULD UPSET BUSINESS-AS-USUAL
July 15, 2009 - (allAfrica) Pretoria — A public presentation of the "Progress of the World's Women" report by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in Pretoria, South Africa this week suggests that one of the most powerful constraints on realising women's rights and achieving the Millennium Development Goals is a lack of accountability to women's needs.

UN AGENCIES HELP SET UP SUPPORT CENTRE FOR RWANDAN SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE
July 13, 2009 (UN News) - Survivors of child, domestic and gender-based violence in Rwanda will now be able to access the support and services they need at a new “one-stop” centre that will open in the capital, Kigali, thanks to a partnership between national authorities and several United Nations agencies.

BRAZIL: ELECTORAL REFORM "JUST A SOP" TO WOMEN
July 10, 2009 - (IPS) The Brazilian government is congratulating itself on the first-stage approval of a draft electoral law that increases women's participation in party politics. However, the women's movement says it introduces no changes to a power structure that excludes women from politics.

IDP HEALTH IN THE SPOTLIGHT
July 7 2009 - (IRIN) The health problems faced by internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the over 20 camps in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) are being made worse by a combination of lack of funds, a lack of women doctors and cultural constraints which dictate that it is not appropriate for male doctors to tend to women or girls.

BRAZIL: WOMEN 'PEACE WORKERS' IN THE FAVELAS
July 4, 2009 - (IPS) It's another day marked by gunfire in the Morro da Providencia "favela", one of the most dangerous slums in this Brazilian city, and the only area where people can move around in relative safety is in the lower part of the neighbourhood, towards the foot of the hill. Alessandra da Cunha is one of the 11,000 women "peace workers" recruited by the Ministry of Justice's National Public Security and Citizenship Programme (PRONASCI) to try to create a peaceful haven in the favelas, as the shantytowns on the outskirts of Brazil's cities are known.

WOMEN'S CENTRES RE-OPEN IN DARFUR WITH HELP FROM AU-UN MISSION
July 2, 2009 – (UN News Centre) Female internally displaced persons (IDPs) will again be able to learn job skills, take literacy classes and receive awareness programmes on reproductive health after the joint African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) helped reactivate women's centres at an IDP camp in the Sudanese region.

UGANDA: MUSEVENI CONDEMNS GENITAL CUTTING
July 2, 2009 - (allAfrica) A law against female circumcision will soon be enacted, President Yoweri Museveni has said. Launching a campaign against female genital mutilation in Nakapiripirit in Karamoja, Museveni described the practice among the Sabiny and Pokot communities as brutal and backward.

HEARTACHE FOR WIVES OF BHUTANESE REFUGEES
July 2, 2009 - (IRIN) More than a thousand Nepalese women married to Bhutanese refugees fear they may be left out of the third country resettlement programme and end up separated from their families

INDIA: DOUSING TRIBAL FLARE-UPS IN ASSAM'S HILLS
July 2009 - (Women's Feature Service) Even as the Karbi Ningso Chingthur Asong (KNCA), the apex women body of the Karbi tribe in Assam, continues to work towards its goal of social and political upliftment of Karbi women, the organisation that was set up in 1986 has also taken up peace-building measures in a region afflicted by a decade-long ethnic conflict. Through its 96 branches, the KNCA mobilises women to jointly raise a voice for an end to all kinds of violence; and also helps to provide justice to women victims of insurgency.

RIGHTS-PARAGUAY: JUSTICE SYSTEM TACKLES GENDER VIOLENCE
June 27, 2009 - (IPS) Paraguay's justice system is seeking to address a major pending issue: eliminating the hurdles and inequalities in cases of violence against women. When victims turn to the police and the courts, instead of finding a solution, they are often only revictimised.

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3. FEATURE LETTER

27th July 2009

OPEN LETTER TO PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVES TO THE UN: RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE SECURITY COUNCIL OPEN DEBATE ON “WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY”

Dear Ambassador,

We non-governmental organizations, working with survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, welcome the UN Security Council's intention to hold an Open Debate on Women Peace and Security on the 6th August 2009. We urge you to make every effort to ensure that this Open Debate results in action by the Council, UN system and Member States that decisively addresses the use of sexual violence against women and girls in conflict-affected situations and ensures more effective protection and assistance for survivors.

In 2000, we and other women's human rights defenders and peace organizations successfully advocated for the landmark Security Council resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security to better protect and promote women's human rights in conflict situations and their engagement in matters of peace and security. We also advocated for and welcomed the follow-up resolution 1820 adopted last year, to advance efforts to prevent and respond to the use of sexual violence.
These resolutions have successfully resulted in a greater awareness of the specific concerns of women and girls in conflict. An increasing number of authorities at the international and national levels have since demonstrated growing political will to address their obligations highlighted in 1325 and 1820. Tangible, positive change in the lives of most of these women and girls nevertheless remains elusive, particularly regarding their protection from sexual violence in conflict, and their participation in peace talks.

The first report of the Secretary General on SCR 1820 demonstrates a number of challenges facing the international community's efforts to effect that change. There are a number of recommendations in the report, including that concerning the appointment of a high-level official to drive this agenda forward, to which the Council and Member States should give serious consideration, and which reflect the concerns we have previously raised regarding Member States and the UN system responses to sexual violence. Although the report does not effectively address the Security Council's concerns regarding information collection, or the lack of systematic and coherent response to sexual violence, we look forward to the upcoming Open Debate as an opportunity to address these issues, as well as the integrally related issues of access to assistance, services, and justice and reparations for survivors.
We therefore urge you to expressly support the following recommendations in your statement at the Open Debate and for inclusion in any outcome for specific action negotiated by the Council:

Increase the provision of accessible and quality assistance, especially life-saving health services, for survivors of sexual violence. The prevalence of sexual violence goes undetected without such services, and fails to inform necessary UN action, including action by the Security Council.

The involvement of civil society in the design, implementation and evaluation of UN system and Member State strategies to address sexual and gender-based violence. This should include regular consultations with survivors, their communities, and women human rights defenders.

The immediate appointment of a much needed high-level, highly experienced and respected United Nations official, such as a new Special Representative on Women, Peace and Security, with responsibility across the UN system to reinforce, support and help drive existing UN efforts forward to address the needs and interests of women in conflict-affected situations, and particularly to prevent and respond to the use of sexual violence.

Greater and sustained investment in national and international justice mechanisms to ensure sexual violence survivors' safety and dignity throughout the justice processes; and to ensure suspected perpetrators are promptly brought to justice in accordance with international fair trial standards.

Promote the attainment of relevant benchmarks in preventing and addressing sexual violence, including, inter alia, the implementation of measures to reduce the proliferation and misuse of small arms & light weapons, which facilitate the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war.

A follow-up report on pressing issues left unresolved by the current report, including, inter alia, the timely and ethical collection of information, and the systematic and coherent UN response to sexual violence, as discussed in paragraph 56(k) of the current Secretary General's report.

The creation of an appropriate Security Council mechanism to consider and act on information of the measures taken, or lack thereof, by parties to armed conflict, to comply with their obligations regarding women, peace and security under international law. The establishment of a mechanism to monitor implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security was earlier recommended by the Secretary-General (2007 report on Women Peace and Security - S/2007/575; 2006 in-depth study on all forms of violence against women A/61/122/Add.1), and has our full support.

In addition to the immediate action to respond to and prevent sexual violence in conflict zones, the General Assembly is urged to establish a new strong UN entity for women, headed by an Under-Secretary-General and with extensive country operations and the necessary funding. The entity must have a mandate that enables the UN system and member states to implement their obligations under Security Council resolutions on Women Peace and Security.
Recalling the historic outpouring of support for 1820, we look forward to next month's Open Debate strongly endorsing concrete and substantive measures for the implementation of resolution 1820. Before the next surge of violence captures the front pages of our daily media, you have a unique opportunity to demonstrate to the world your seriousness and determination to respond to sexual violence, and to end the impunity currently enjoyed by its perpetrators
4. SECURITY COUNCIL MONITOR

Resolution 1820 – A Review of the Report of the Secretary General
Sam Cook, PeaceWomen Project Director, WILPF, July 2009

The adoption of Security Council Resolution 1820 in June 2008 was an important step in improving the Security Council's response to sexual violence in conflict. The resolution did not of course address every concern put forward by NGOs. It was felt, however, that at least some of these concerns would be addressed in the Secretary General's report requested by the Council in SCR 1820 (see paragraph 15). Primary responsibility for preparation of the report was assigned to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations with coordinated input from relevant UN agencies. Input was, to some extent, also sought from NGOs at the field and headquarters level.

That report has now been issued (S/2009/362) and it contains a number of promising recommendations – including the possibility of the appointment of a high-level official to drive forward efforts to prevent and respond to sexual violence. There are, however, some critical areas that are inadequately addressed. These gaps are all the more obvious when the content of the report is considered in light of the specifics of the Security Council's report request.

Of the many critical matters to be covered by the report, it was felt by several NGOs, and communicated to those preparing the report, that the highest priority should be given to the requests for “proposals for strategies to minimize the susceptibility of women and girls to such violence” and the Secretary General's “plans for facilitating the collection of timely, objective, accurate, and reliable information on the use of sexual violence . . . including through improved coordination of UN activities on the ground and at Headquarters.” These are, unfortunately, not the strongest areas of the report. Although there are some very informative sections and some solid recommendations, the report and recommendations overall do not seem to address the Security Council's own concerns as expressed in SCR 1820. The first part of the report is devoted to setting up an understanding of how sexual violence is used and how it can be seen as a matter of international peace and security – the latter being an issue that we had hoped the very adoption of SCR 1820 had settled.
Of course there were certain unavoidable limitations on the report. First, the resolution itself limited the report to the context of situations on the agenda of the Council. Although these situations go beyond those of armed conflict, the report is focused on sexual violence “during and in the aftermath of armed conflict.” This, the report notes, is because of the focus of the resolution itself. It also notes that sexual violence also occurs in conflict situations that are not on the Council's agenda. While seemingly obvious, it is useful, for those who would argue that the occurrence of sexual violence in conflict should be taken into account as a factor in prompting or triggering Security Council engagement, to have this acknowledged in this report.
In setting the report's parameters there is also a note that consideration must be given to “the complexities of gathering comprehensive information on sexual violence, even in the best of conditions” and that these are exacerbated in situations of conflict. The challenges in data and information collection have been of primary concern for NGOs – particularly those humanitarian organizations that know full well that without the provision of services it is unlikely that information will be revealed and that there are serious ethical and safety concerns to take into account.

Many NGOs were in fact wary of the request in SCR 1820 for this report to provide analysis of the prevalence and trends of sexual violence for the very reasons that such an analysis would likely be incomplete given the difficulties and safety and ethical concerns of gathering such information. It is very significant that the report points out (in line with earlier NGO input) that “any lack of comprehensive information should not preclude efforts to prevent and to respond to sexual violence.” However, the report does not dispel the notion that prevalence data is ultimately what is needed. Given that international law is not focused solely on the “widespread” nature of attacks this should not be the only focus.

The issue of “information” gathering and transmission is of course one that initially drove advocacy efforts around SCR 1820. In advocating for an improved Security Council response to sexual violence in conflict, we noted that insufficient information in country-specific Secretary-General's reports to the Council meant that the Security Council lacked “credible” information on which to act – for example through the mandates given to peacekeeping missions or in considering arms embargoes or sanctions. It was hoped that this report would comprehensively deal with the Council's request to the SG to give information on his “plans to facilitate the collection of timely, objective and accurate and reliable information.” The report does contain a section on improving data collection but this does not fully address the need for systematic and timely information collection.

As a “medium-term strategy” the Secretary-General states his intention “to ensure that guidance and support is provided to the country-level to improve data collection and reporting both by the various components of peacekeeping missions and United Nations Country Teams.” This does not sound like a particularly concrete plan but some further explanation is provided. The report indicates the SG's intention to continue the “system” of Senior-level Mission Focal Points to “ensure more coherent, comprehensive and regular reporting” on perpetrators and actions taken to comply with international law. Although the report does not set out how this approach will be resourced, it seems the mandate of the focal point will be to cover a broad range of tasks including expanding efforts to monitor, investigate and document sexual violence and to report to UN headquarters. Perhaps most interestingly in terms of the development of systems, the Senior-level Mission Focal Points will also be expected to coordinate with the UN country team (presumably where there is an integrated mission) to review and streamline current data collection methods and databases. There is also useful information provided on efforts within the UN and with implementing partners in the field to develop appropriate and standardized instruments for data collection and analysis. All of these efforts sound promising but they do not necessarily solve the need for information to be flowing to the Security Council in a manner that is timely and enables appropriate responsive action to protect civilians and prevent sexual violence.

In fact the major recommendation in the section on improving data collection is focused on past violations rather than on the timely (real-time) provision of information that would enable a strategic response to protect and prevent – issues identified in the adoption of 1820 as requiring urgent attention. The recommendation (see para 52) is for the Security Council to “deploy an expert commission of inquiry to ongoing conflict areas to investigate and document violations.”

This idea of a commission of enquiry is first suggested earlier in the report (see paragraph 45) in the section on “United Nations efforts to prevent and respond to sexual violence” in the context of ending impunity. Although ending impunity is one important strategy for preventing future sexual violence, it is a longer-term approach and does not take the place of more immediate protection and prevention approaches. For the latter, real time strategic information is what is needed and it is not clear how a commission of enquiry will satisfy that requirement.

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Report of the Secretary-General pursuant to Security Council resolution 1820
15 July 2009

The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 1820 (2008), in which the Council requested me to submit a progress report on implementation of resolution 1820 (2008), including information on, inter alia, situations of armed conflict in which sexual violence has been widely or systematically employed against civilians; analysis of the prevalence and trends of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict; proposals for strategies to minimize the susceptibility of women and girls to such violence; benchmarks for measuring progress in preventing and addressing sexual violence; information on my plans to facilitate the collection of timely, objective, accurate and reliable information on the use of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict; and information on actions taken by parties to armed conflict to implement their obligations as described in resolution 1820.

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To view other Security Council analysis, please visit PeaceWomen 1325 Monitoring, here.
5. FEATURE ANALYSIS

What Difference Can Resolution 1820 Make For Women Now?
Elisabeth Roesch, Gender-based Violence Advocacy Officer,
International Rescue Committee, July 2009

The June 2008 adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1820 was a landmark event in recognizing the widespread and systematic use of sexual violence in war as a security issue and therefore a relevant concern for the Security Council.

The resolution gives words to what NGOs have known for decades, that there can be neither peace nor security if women are targeted for attack and rape. While sexual violence has always been seen as tragic it has also often been portrayed as an inevitable, albeit regrettable feature of conflict. 1820 overturns that viewpoint by stating that sexual violence is not just unacceptable but preventable. It acknowledges that this violence is devastating, not just to the individual, but to peace itself. And it recognizes that responding is not optional but rather an obligation.

Recognition is powerful. It provides the basis for a call to action. Yet, can 1820 do more than recognize the problem and actually change the situation for women who are right now living in conflict?

Currently, 1820 remains a promise, one that will require significant resources and attention to yield results. But beyond the words, this resolution can have an impact. The International Rescue Committee has worked with survivors of sexual violence across the globe from Sierra Leone, to Iraq, to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Patterns have emerged that point to chronic gaps. By calling on the United Nations and member states to address these gaps, 1820 is laying the foundation for action. Here are just a few ways that 1820 can make a difference.

Early action: Despite recent attention to the problem, sexual violence is frequently ignored in the early stages of a crisis. This stems in large part from a general failure to acknowledge violence against women as an urgent, life-threatening, and widespread problem. Further impeding action is the fact that while threats to women may be evident, the violence itself is often hidden as few women report during crises where health and psychological services have collapsed. 1820 can enhance early action by ensuring that all UN actors, both peacekeeping and humanitarian, have the proper training to recognize and respond to sexual violence. This means that UN agencies will be quicker in establishing the coordinating structures that will help NGOs to get urgent medical and psychosocial assistance to survivors, in leading assessments to identify gaps in service provision to reach women in isolated areas, and in mobilizing resources for survivors by making sure that funding for critical programs is provided from the very outset of an emergency.

Safe refuge: Having fled their homes, women often hope to find safety and refuge at the end of their journey. Unfortunately, many camps for refugees and displaced persons continue to be places of insecurity for women and girls. Camps may be crowded, a lack of fuel may force women outside to look for firewood, latrines may be ill-lit and far away, and the camps themselves may be located near armed actors. All of these factors increase risks for women. By requesting greater protection for women in these camps, 1820 can ensure that women who seek to escape conflict can find safety at the end of their flight.

Sustained commitment: The IRC has found that addressing sexual violence requires sustained commitment. Survivors will continue to come forward long after conflict ends when they feel safe to finally report. By stressing the need to strengthen national health and judicial systems in the long-term, 1820 can ensure that services will be available to women when they decide to seek help, whether it be during the war or after. IRC is already doing such work and found it to be vitally important. In Sierra Leone, a program to establish free medical, counseling and legal services to survivors during the war is now being adopted by the Ministries of Health, Justice and Gender, providing a model for sustainable, holistic survivor response. This work was accomplished because of the IRC's long-term dedication to building national-level capacity, making a decade-long commitment to working with national structures to address violence against women.

In addition, 1820 can enhance action in other areas. It can help to:

* Ensure that perpetrators of sexual violence during conflict do not go on to become leaders in military, government and judicial structures when the war ends.
* Ensure that during peace negotiations, mediators do not turn a blind eye to crimes of sexual violence by allowing armed groups to negotiate immunity for themselves.
* Keep sexual violence on the agenda of the Council through regular reports, ensuring that attention to this issue does not wane.

1820 can bring tangible improvements to the well-being and security of women at every stage of conflict, at the outbreak of war, during displacement, and upon return home. However, implementation to achieve these goals requires leadership and resources. It is now up to the UN and member states to see if they want to make the promise of 1820 a reality.

For more information on the International Rescue Committee's work, please click here.
6. FEATURE resource

Soldiers Who Rape, Commanders Who Condone: Sexual Violence and Military Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Human Rights Watch, July 2009

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, tens of thousands of women and girls have suffered horrific acts of sexual violence. The government army, the Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC), is one of the main perpetrators, contributing to the current climate of insecurity and impunity in eastern Congo. This report looks at abuses of sexual violence committed by the FARDC, efforts to stop it, and why such efforts have failed so far. More specifically, the report looks at the 14th brigade as an example of the wider problem of impunity. Since its creation in 2006, this brigade has committed many crimes of sexual violence in different areas of North and South Kivu in eastern Congo. It has also been responsible for abductions, killings, torture, looting and extortion. Without sufficient food or pay, soldiers have attacked the civilian population to loot and extort goods.

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7. FEATURE initiative

Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL): 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence: Fundraising for 16 Days Activities

Based on the survey sent to 16 Days Campaign participants after last year's campaign, one of the primary challenges that many groups face when organizing for the 16 Days Campaign is securing funding and other resources for their activities. Therefore, in an effort to help organizations obtain as much information as possible on where and how to look for grants to support their 16 Days Campaign activities, CWGL has put together a list of potential funding sources.

The document (see link below) was compiled using resources from the Global Fund for Women, the Women's Funding Network, AWID, the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, and other websites. Please note that this is not a complete list of funding sources, but rather a working document to help organizations begin to look for funding for their 16 Days Campaign activities. In publishing this information, CWGL is not endorsing any of these as possible funders or guaranteeing funding, but simply sharing information. Please see the funders' websites for details on their specific program requirements and deadlines.
Please contact CWGL if you have additional funders you would like to recommend for the list.

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8. WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY CALENDAR

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: 2009 West Africa Peacebuilding Institute (WAPI)
August 31st - September 18th, 2009
Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre

Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, Ghana.
Admission to WAPI is open to practitioners, students, and policy makers interested in peacebuilding, human rights awareness and advocacy, development, arms control, humanitarian aid, social welfare, and gender.

WAPI is a three-week intensive training program that aims to strengthen the capacity of civil society-based peacebuilding practitioners and institutions in order to promote the development of indigenous responses to conflict.

Six courses will be offered during the three-week period, each week having two 5-day intensive courses running concurrently. The courses are highly interactive and participatory, blending theory and practice in the field of peacebuilding.

Send the completed application form to:
wapi@wanep.org or facquah@wanep.org or wanep@wanep.org

Deadline for application is July 30, 2009

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2nd Women's International Grassroots Peace Congress
August 6 - 9, 2009, Meru, Kenya
International Peace Initiatives (IPI)

This Congress will be a forum for networking and creating global alliances and partnerships for women working on grassroots peace initiatives around the world. It will also launch a continental women's grassroots peace movement in Africa . The Women's International Grassroots Peace Congress invites grassroots women to share with the world their contribution to the UN Decade of a Culture of Peace.

The theme of the Congress is: “Weaving Partnerships, Building Relationships, Empowering Community" The focus of this gathering is to celebrate the gains women have made in choosing to speak for themselves and working toward prosperity (overcoming poverty), health (living with HIV/AIDS positively), and peace (fighting for their human rights towards ending violence in their lives and communities and that of their children). We endeavor to showcase best grassroots practices and sharing solutions to the many challenges women face to day around the world in general and in Africa specifically. This will be a multi-cultural, international Forum aimed at crafting new and informed strategies for thought and action.

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Sexuality Institute 2009
August 8 - 16, 2009, Beirut, Lebanon

CSBR (Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies) Institute

CSBR Institute will bring together leading NGO representatives, researchers, practitioners and policymakers for a holistic interdisciplinary program combining history, theory, research and politics of sexuality with applications of advocacy, and fieldwork. The CSBR Sexuality Institute is designed as a comprehensive curriculum on sexuality in Muslim societies with an in depth discussion on the research on the linkages between sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Deadline for applications: May 10, 2009.

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Women and politics in asia: A Springboard for Democracy?
September 30 -October 2, 2009, University of Hildesheim, Germany

The conference is organized in cooperation with the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation and with the support of the University of Hildesheim, ZIF - Centre for Interdisciplinary Women and Gender Studies at the University of Hildesheim and the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony*.

The conference series “Women and Politics in Asia” started 2003 in Sweden, at Halmstad University, and was continued 2004 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and 2005 in Islamabad, Pakistan. In 2009, the fourth international conference of its kind will be convened by the Institute of Social Science at the University of Hildesheim, Germany.

Building upon “Women and Politics in Asia 2005: Discovering the Gender Face of Politics”, Women and Politics in Asia: A Springboard for Democracy? aims to reflect upon the links between

- democracy and the feminisation of the halls of political power
- gender and (power) politics
- gender relations and gender ideologies and their impact on specific socio-political systems, modes of interaction / participation and citizenship discourses
- gendered forms of political participation and agency within Greater Asia in an integrated comparative perspective.

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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Africa Regional Women Peace Makers Program
September 14th-18th, 2009, Johannesburg, South Africa

The Africa Regional Women Peace Makers Program (ARWPP) a Program of International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) is committed to projecting Africa as a beacon for peaceful co-existence by enhancing the capacities of Africa women peace makers to promote gender sensitive active non-violence.

Goal
The WPP- Africa Desk intends to hold one-week Training in Advocacy skills for African women peacemakers /activists to enhance their skills in advocating for gender and nonviolence and, to strengthen their capacities to influence public policy at all levels so as to re-define peace on the continent. Advocacy is a skill that can be learnt, hence WPP's desire to organize the training.

Details
The training has space for only 20 participants. To ensure fairness and equity, 4 spaces will be allocated to each of the five regions of Africa The training comes off in Johannesburg, South Africa from 14th to 18th September 2009.

Requirements
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
• Come from an environment of violent conflict or an environment prone to violent conflict in Africa
• Be involved in gender and non-violence peacebuilding
• Be a peace activist
• Have strong communication and inter-cultural skills
• Be commitment to promoting active non violence as a way of life
• Fluency in English or French is required

If you satisfy these requirements, please proceed to answer the questions on the next page and return your application to the address below:

Africa Regional Coordinator Women Peacemakers Program (WPP) West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP)
P. O. Box CT 4434 Cantonments, Accra - Ghana
Tel. +233-21-775977 / 21-775975
Fax +233-21-776018
Email: edzathor@wanep.org or wanep@wanep.org

Deadline for application is July 30, 2009