INTERNATIONAL: Resolution 1325 and Peace Agreements: An Insight into the Gender of Peacemaking

For a very long time women and gender issues remained outside the formal peace forums. Women were absent from the negotiation tables and matters that affect them were marginalised in peace agreements. The adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325 in October 2000 was welcomed by most women activists, NGOs and international organisations as a watershed. The resolution came about as a result of transnational mass mobilisation and alliance building between women with various political and ideological allegiances and interests (Cockburn 2007; Anderlini 2007). The eighteen-point resolution was seen as a revolutionary document that will change the nature of peacemaking (Cohn 2004; Anderlini 2007). Resolution 1325 was perceived to provide women with the necessary political framework and that will allow for their participation in peacemaking and for gender consideration in armed conflicts, peace agreements as well as in peacebuilding and post conflict reconstruction (Shepherd 2008; Anderlini 2007). While the implementation of 1325 has been criticised as patchy and limited, the resolution has effectively led to the debate on gender issues taking stage within the formal channels at the international and national level (Anderlini 2007; Shepherd 2008; Cohn, et al. 2004). More importantly 1325 has proved to be useful tool for global deployment of women around the globe (Cohn 2004). The resolution has been translated into 98 languages and become familiar to grassroots women as well as politicians (Peace women 2009).

Almost ten years after the passage of 1325, it is important to examine whether any gains have been achieved for women in peacemaking. This article provides a review of implementation of resolution 1325 within peace agreements signed since the year 2000 by focusing on three issues: the quantitative review of gender in peace agreements since the passage of the resolution, the representation of women in agreements and the patterns of provisions on women in peace agreements. The first part of this article provides background information on peace agreements and on the place of gender within this peacemaking framework. The second part of this article briefly explains the methodology adopted for the research investigation. The rest of the articles develop each of the research issues in separate sections.