WORKING TOWARD IMPLEMENTATION OF 1325: A WHO'S WHO IN THE UN SYSTEM

2. WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY NEWS

WOMEN CAN HELP BRING PEACE IN BURUNDI
June 14, 2004 - (BuaNews) Deputy President Jacob Zuma has called on Burundian women to pressure political factions in that country to end the civil war and commence with democratisation.

UN MISSION SPOTLIGHTS KOSOVO'S GENDER GAP IN EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION
June 8, 2004 – (UN News) Kosovo suffers from a serious gender gap, with the United Nations mission's first comprehensive survey of gender data in the province showing that women are severely under-represented in the workforce and girls' attendance at secondary school is much lower than that of boys.

GHANA: NEW NGO ON PEACE BUILDING INAUGURATED
June 7, 2004 - (Ghanaian Chronicle - Accra) The Voices of African Mothers (VAM), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) aimed at promoting conflict prevention and bringing women together to initiate dialogue on peace building was inaugurated in Accra at the weekend.

MCASKIE ONE OF U.N.'S FEW WOMEN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVES
June 4, 2004 - (UN Wire, Barbara Crossette) The spotlight shining on Lakhdar Brahimi in Iraq, and before that in Afghanistan, has made many more Americans aware that the United Nations has its own corps of very skilled diplomatic troubleshooters known as special representatives of the secretary general. These envoys, like viceroys in the age of empire, can wield considerable administrative power and influence, especially when countries implode and need to be rebuilt, as Cambodia was more than a decade ago, or are in the process of being created anew, as East Timor was under U.N. guidance most recently. A special representative, however, is almost never a woman, and more often than not he drawn from a background in politics or the military.

FEMTALK ENEWS JUNE BULLETIN (PDF)
June 2004 - (femLINKpacific) Includes information about the preparations underway for the 4th Anniversary of Resolution 1325 and, in particular, what Pacific women can do to become involved in the preparations and contribute to the Pacific-specific information sharing for the NGO alternative report, Four Years On.

INTERNATIONAL ALERT'S GENDER AND PEACEBUILDING PROGRAMME ENGENDERING PEACE NEWSLETTER (PDF)
Spring 2004 – (International Alert) The present edition has as a core theme: “The Role of Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality.” The articles on this theme come from Afghanistan, South Africa, Sweden and the USA.

The next edition of ENGENDERING PEACE – summer 2004 – will focus on “Small Arms and Gender.” If you would like to submit an article for this issue, contact the editor Mr. Guillermo Suarez Sebastian at: gsuarez@international-alert.org.

CURRENTS: UNIFEM'S ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER
May-June 2004 – This issue of UNIFEM's newsletter features, among other items, Executive Director Noeleen Heyzer's Address to the Indigenous Peoples' Forum, an update on UNIFEM's activities around the world and UNIFEM's upcoming events calendar.

For more country-specific women, peace and security news, CLICK HERE

For more international women, peace and security news, CLICK HERE

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3. RECENT ADDITION TO PEACEWOMEN.ORG'S GENDER AND PEACEKEEPING SECTION

Gender Content of the Security Council's Resolutions Addressing all Current and Upcoming Peacekeeping Operations: 31 October 2000-Present
Based on an Analysis by the UN Office of the Special Advisor for Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI)
Compiled by the WILPF UN Office, PeaceWomen Project
Last updated: 14 June 2004

Less than 15% of the 261 resolutions adopted by the Security Council since 2000 and the adoption of Resolution 1325, contain specific language relating to women and gender issues (OSAGI). In order to highlight the language on women and gender issues that has been adopted specifically in the Security Council's resolutions addressing all current and upcoming peacekeeping operations, WILPF's PeaceWomen Project has developed this new resource. (This compilation does not examine the Security Council's thematic resolutions nor resolutions on countries currently not hosting peacekeeping operations.)

This resource is intended to serve as an easy reference for those who are actively monitoring the Security Council's resolutions from a gender perspective, and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of this language so as to support efforts to strengthen the gender perspective in all future resolutions of the Security Council.

In addition to compiling language excerpts, this resource also identifies which peacekeeping operations include gender units and/or gender advisors, and women as Special Representatives of the Secretary-General (SRSGs) or Deputy Special Representatives of the Secretary-General (DSRSG).

PeaceWomen will be regularly updating this resource as the Security Council adopts new resolutions.

For the full compilation CLICK HERE.

PeaceWomen's Gender and Peacekeeping Index: http://www.peacewomen.org/un/pkwatch/pkindex.html

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4. AN UDPATE ON UNIFEM'S WEB PORTAL ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY

www.WomenWarPeace.org

UNIFEM's web portal on Women, Peace and Security has recently undergone some significant changes.

For each country profile, key resources have been made more readily accessible at the top of each page. These include links to the latest CEDAW and Secretary-General's reports, the latest resolution of the Security Council, a list of the treaties signed by that country, as well as links to country profiles, statistics and backgrounders by UN entities and international NGOs.

Each issue brief has also been reconfigured to highlight links to key texts and additional resources. Key texts include checklists, papers, guidelines, relevant chapters from the Beijing Platform for Action and training modules that bring out key aspects of the nexus between gender, conflict, and the issue in question. Key links for each issue provide access to extensive bibliographies, links to women's networks and initiatives, NGO and UN resource collections, and links to ongoing campaigns.

And as always, the gender profiles and issue briefs are updated on a regular basis with information from UN and NGO sources. If you have information to contribute on what your organization is doing to build peace in your region, if you have feedback on any aspect of the portal, or if you have a key paper or other resource that you wish to be featured, please drop a line to contact@womenwarpeace.org or to the e-mail address for your specific country (the format for each is countryname@womenwarpeace.org, for instance rwanda@womenwarpeace.org). We look forward to hearing from you.

UNIFEM Portal Team

Klara Banaszak
Sarah Douglas
Felicity Hill
5. FEATURE REPORT

Report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council on the protection of civilians in armed conflict
28 May 2004

On 14 June 2004, the Security Council held an open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, welcoming the Secretary-General's fourth report on the same theme, which was presented by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland.

The 10 issue areas addressed in the report, already identified by the Security Council as priority issue areas requiring further action, are: (a) improving humanitarian access to civilians in need; (b) improving the safety and security of humanitarian personnel; (c) improving measures to respond to the security needs of refugees and internally displaced persons; (d) ensuring that the special protection and assistance requirements of children in armed conflict are fully addressed; (e) ensuring that the special protection and assistance requirements of women in armed conflict are fully addressed; (f) addressing shortcomings in our approach to disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and rehabilitation; (g) addressing the impact of small arms and light weapons on civilians; (h) combating impunity; (i) developing further measures to promote the responsibility of armed groups and non-State actors; an (j) ensuring the provision of the necessary resources to address the needs of vulnerable populations in “forgotten emergencies”.

While the “Specific issues related to women and children” is only one section of the full report, the issue of violence against women, and sexual and gender-based violence in particular, whether by parties to armed conflict or UN personnel, permeates the entire report. In the introduction of the report, the Secretary-General notes that “sexual violence as a means of warfare, particularly against women and girls, has increased and become even more horrifying, especially when rape is used as a weapon or as a means to spread HIV/AIDS to the enemy.” To address the increase in sexual and gender-based violence, the Secretary-General notes - “extraordinary protection measures are needed.”

Excerpts of the section on women and children are included below, with particular attention given to the recommendation-oriented language:

4. Specific issues related to women and children

…29. In the planning and implementation of all peace support operations, the need to respond to sexual and gender-based violence, including through more effective physical protection and monitoring and reporting must be factored in and ways must be sought to enhance the overall participation of women in all aspects of the mission's mandate. Personnel-contributing countries should ensure that all mission personnel are trained prior to deployment on the rights and specific protection needs of women and children, particularly victims of sexual and gender-based violence.

Increased donor support for programmes focused on the rights of women and girls, particularly those related to sexual violence and to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, is critical. It is essential that the international response link closely with and support the capacity of national and community-based initiatives and women's groups, thus ensuring that actions are contextually relevant and effective.

30. In such violent and distressing circumstances, peacekeepers and United Nations staff must demonstrate exemplary personal conduct and behaviour. As a follow-up to the Secretary-General's bulletin on sexual exploitation and abuse, transparent monitoring and accountability structures will be established to ensure a gender-sensitive response to allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as complaint, reporting and follow-up procedures. The bulletin should also inspire the inclusion of gender considerations as a priority in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. The bulletin is not binding on uniformed personnel, however, as they fall under the jurisdiction of their own Governments. In order to be truly effective, therefore, the efforts within the United Nations system need to be reinforced by demonstrated action on the part of national Governments whose military and police personnel serve in peacekeeping operations, including punitive measures against offending personnel. I encourage the Security Council to urge personnel contributing countries to cooperate fully in this effort. Minimum standards of behaviour required of peacekeepers, based on the Secretary-General's bulletin, should be incorporated into the standards and codes of conduct for national armed forces and police forces, and information should be provided on any legal action taken against those charged with violations, an area in which the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has received woefully inadequate information.

…35. …Disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and rehabilitation programmes are increasingly incorporating gender perspectives and child- and female-specific components that are planned, executed and evaluated within the framework of the central disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and rehabilitation committees and monitoring bodies (e.g., provision for children to enter programmes without being required to produce weapons or perform weapon tests and the establishment of interim care centres, staffed by female caregivers, to assess and address health issues specific to women and girls). In order to enable child soldiers to be transferred to civilian care as soon as possible, their demobilization should not be delayed pending formal disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and rehabilitation processes. I encourage the Security Council to continue to support measures aimed at ensuring that women and children affected by armed conflict are involved in and benefit equitably from all such processes. All relevant resolutions including disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and rehabilitation measures should address the specific roles, needs and capacities of women and girls. Greater emphasis also needs to be placed on girl soldiers as a priority group, the reinsertion of female combatants and dependants and the specific stigmatization that women often face…

For the full report, CLICK HERE (PDF).

In his statement to the Security Council, Mr. Egeland urged the Council to consider adopting a new resolution on the protection of civilians in armed conflict (previous resolutions: 1265 (1999) and 1296 (2000). We are aware that drafting of a new resolution has begun, and will provide an update as soon as we receive more information.

For a summary of the Security Council Open Debate, CLICK HERE.

For NGO and civil society reports, papers and statements, UN and government reports, and books, journals and articles on women, peace and security issues, CLICK HERE.

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6. FEATURE INITIATIVE

“Peace Support Operations: Consolidating Progress and Closing Gaps in the Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325” – An Upcoming Roundtable With Security Council Members
Hosted by the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security and the Permanent Missions of Canada, Chile and the United Kingdom to the United Nations
1 July 2004, New York

The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, together with the Permanent Missions of Canada, Chile and the United Kingdom to the United Nations, will host a working roundtable with UN Security Council members on 1 July 2004 entitled “Peace Support Operations: Consolidating Progress and Closing Gaps in the Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325.”

This event builds on a first roundtable held in January 2004 entitled “Towards International Peace and Human Security: Advancing Prevention, Participation and Protection in the Work of the Security Council,” in which participants discussed how to strengthen the Council's work to implement five thematic resolutions: 1266 and 1296 on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict; 1366 on Prevention of Armed Conflict; 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; and 1460 on Children in Armed Conflict. The framework known as 'the 3 Ps'—conflict "prevention," the "participation" of women in peace and security, and the "protection" of civilians—formed an entry point for discussion.

This second roundtable will focus on developing a strategy for advancing implementation of Resolution 1325. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in a forward-looking discussion on expectations, outcomes and strategies for further implementation of the resolution in advance of the fourth anniversary and the release of the Secretary-General's report on Resolution 1325 in October 2004.

For the concept note, background paper and other resources and outcome documents from the first roundtable, CLICK HERE.

For more information about the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, CLICK HERE.

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7. FEATURE RESOURCE

Working Toward Implementation of 1325: A Who's Who in the UN System
A Working Document
PeaceWomen Project, WILPF UN Office

PeaceWomen has initiated this working document to highlight UN and governmental bodies (see below) that should be working towards the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325. You will find in Who's Who a list of UN and governmental actors; a short description of their work; the relevant provisions of 1325 according to their mandate; and examples of actions they might take to implement 1325. This document will continue to grow and change as we intend to expand the list of actors and the means of implementation of 1325 for each actor. If you have any comments or suggestions, please write to info@peacewomen.org.

Preliminary List of Actors
Secretary-General, Office of Internal Oversight Services, Executive Committee on Peace and Security, Office for the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality, Department of Political Affairs, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Commission on the Status of Women, Commission on Human Rights, Security Council, UNDP Resident Coordinators, UNIFEM, and Friends of 1325 (Governmental Group).

The full document can be found at: http://www.peacewomen.org/un/UN1325/1325whoswho.html

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8. FEATURE CONTACT

Southern African Women's Peace Forum (SAWPF)

The Southern African Women's Peace Forum is a newly established, international non-governmental organisation dedicated to achieving the full, equal and effective participation of women in formal and informal peace processes in Southern Africa.

The Southern African Women's Peace Forum aims to:

• Contribute to the emergence of a critical mass of Southern African women working on women, peace and security issues in Southern Africa and the Southern African diaspora;

• Publish and disseminate research on peace and security issues in Southern Africa and the Southern African diaspora from a women-centred perspective;

• Promote laws, policies, research and services that respond to Southern African women's peace and security needs;

• Build public support for the vital contributions Southern African women make to regional peace processes;

• Monitor and promote the implementation of regional, continental and international commitments relating to women, peace and security such as the African Union's Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security; and

• Facilitate communication and cooperation among individuals and organisations working on women, peace and security issues in Southern Africa and beyond.

For more information, contact:
Bokani Moyo
Southern African Women's Peace Forum
57 Corporation Street
Stafford ST16 3LT
Staffordshire, UK
T: +44-1785-214 071
F: +44-870-131 5824
E: bokani@ntlworld.com

Listed in our International Directory at: http://www.peacewomen.org/contacts/int/dir_s/s_index.html

For an extensive database of organizations worldwide working on women, peace and security issues, CLICK HERE.

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9. WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY CALENDAR

Seminar: Exploring the Links and Challenges to Policy: Guns and Violence Against Women in South Africa
Arms Management Programme at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa
22 June 2004, Pretoria, South Africa
With the new Firearms Control Act (FCA) entering into force in the next few months in South Africa, discussions on issues and concerns regarding its implementation are ongoing in South Africa's policy community. One element of the FCA requiring further discussion is the impact of the legislation on cases of domestic violence. As implementation strategies are being prepared, this is an opportune time to explore points of conversion or diversion between South Africa's Firearm Control Act and the Domestic Violence Act, examining implications regarding both policy and implementation. Organized by the Arms Management Programme at the Institute for Security Studies, seminar speakers will include: Fatima Bayat, Advice Desk for Abused Women, on cases of domestic violence involving firearms; Jacklyn Cock, University of the Witwatersrand, on gender and gun culture in South Africa; Margy Keegan, Gun Free South Africa, on implementation of the Firearms Control Act and implications regarding violence against women; Anthony Minnaar, Professor of Criminal Justice Studies, UNISA, on the role of the criminal justice system in excluding unfit persons from firearm ownership; Representatives of South African Police Service (SAPS) Central Firearms Registry and the Social Crimes Unit, to discuss police perspectives; Lisa Vetten, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, on problem of femicide in South Africa; and Taya Weiss, Institute for Security Studies research consultant, on policing violence against women and children. For more information and to RSVP, contact Emily Schroeder at emily@iss.org.za, tel: (012) 346 9500, ext.244, fax: (012) 346-4569.

Gender, Peacebuilding and Reconstruction: Oxfam's journal Gender and Development
Proposal Deadline: 15 June 2004
In November 2004, Oxfam's international journal, Gender and Development will host the theme Gender, Peacebuilding and Reconstruction. The Peacebuilding and Reconstruction issue should be enabling and practical offering ways to help identify solutions and move past dilemmas into action. In particular, articles would be welcome on: peacebuilding and livelihoods; peacebuilding and gender stereotyping; the impact of civil war on gender relations after conflict ends; international aid and reconstruction; and the impact of aid on gender equality. For more information, contact Caroline Sweetman, Editor of 'Gender and Development' at: csweetman@oxfam.org.uk. Articles will be finalised by 15 August 2004.

For the complete calendar items as well as more calendar events, CLICK HERE.

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