REPORT from
Expert Seminar Women in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management
June 20, 2005
Vienna, Austria
Contents
Foreword by Laila Freivalds, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sweden
Summary of plenary and workshop discussions ...... 4 Introduction:...... 4 Summary:...... 4 UNSCR 1325 and the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality: ...... 5 Recruitment:...... 5 Capacity building:...... 6 Networking and cooperating with civil society organisations:...... 6 Prevention at an early stage:...... 6 Recommendations:...... 7 Welcoming Remarks by Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, Chairman of the Permanent Council, Representative of the OSCE Chairman in Office, Slovenia...... 9 Opening Statement by Laila Freivalds, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sweden ...... 10 Plenary Session ...... 13 UN Security Councilresolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security Ms Rachel N. Mayanja...... 14 OSCE-ODIHR on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 H.E. Christian Strohal ...... 20 Women as Actors in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management Ms Elisabeth Rehn ...... 24 Lessons Learned H.E. Daan W. Everts...... 26 Colonel Patricia Mulcahy ...... 30 Statements: EU Statement...... 34 Ireland ...... 35 Norway ...... 37 Slovenia ...... 39 Denmark...... 41 Republic of Macedonia ...... 42 Workshop 1 Implementation of UNSCR 1325 ...... 45 Workshop 2 Women as Actors in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management...... 47 Workshop 3 Lessons Learned from International Missions ...... 48
Closing Session: ...... 51 Statements: Arab Republic of Egypt ...... 52 Permanent Mission of Turkey to the OSCE ...... 54 OSCE Field Office in Osh, Kyrgyzstan...... 57 Closing Statement by H.E. Krister Bringéus,...... 59
Appendices: Appendix I: Programme Appendix II: Participants Appendix III: Keynote speakers Appendix IV: Background material
2
Foreword
By H.E Minister Laila Freivalds Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Sweden
It is great pleasure for me to write the foreword to the report from the Expert Seminar on Women in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management held at Hofburg in Vienna, Austria, on 20 June 2005.
The seminar was organized by the Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in co-operation with Folke Bernadotte Academy, and with the support of the Slovenian OSCE Chairman-in-Office.
The objective of the seminar was to promote the implementation in the OSCE of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security. There is a clear role for the OSCE in implementing the Resolution, as manifested in the 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality. In this context, the aim of the seminar was to discuss and identify possible actions in order to fully implement UNSCR 1325 in the OSCE. A further purpose of the seminar was to exchange information about women’s participation in conflict prevention and crisis management and to exchange experience and lessons learned from participation in conflict prevention and international missions.
I am pleased to note that some 200 participants from OSCE participating States, partners for co-operation, international organizations and non-governmental organizations took part in the event. The seminar brought together keynote speakers with a range of experience of working with UNSCR 1325 as well as with women as actors in conflict prevention and crisis management. It is especially satisfying that the workshops led to such lively discussions and fruitful exchanges of views.
I am confident that the seminar succeeded in its ambition of making a contribution to the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in the OSCE. Many recommendations were presented by participants, and I believe that these will prove very useful in the continued process. This important work must now continue in the OSCE.
I would like to express my gratitude to those who accepted my invitation and who helped to make the expert seminar a success – above all the keynote speakers and respondents for their personal and candid contributions. Particular thanks go to the moderator Alyson J.K. Bailes, Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, and to the workshop moderators and rapporteurs.
Laila Freivalds
3 Summary of plenary and workshop discussions
Introduction: The Expert Seminar “Women in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management”, which was held in Vienna, Austria, on 20 June 2005, was organised by the Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the OSCE in co-operation with Folke Bernadotte Academy, and with the support of the Slovenian OSCE Chairman-in-Office following an initiative of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The main objective was to promote the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) in the OSCE and thereby contribute to the equal and active participation of both women and men in common efforts to prevent conflicts and promote peace and security in the region. The seminar gathered representatives from OSCE participating States, OSCE partners for co-operation, OSCE field missions, international organisations, NGOs and military staffs. Some 200 experts participated in the event to exchange experience and lessons learned from participation in conflict prevention and international missions. The seminar was organized in plenary sessions and workshops, which offered an opportunity to discuss and identify possible actions to implement UNSCR 1325 in the OSCE. The outcome of the seminar will help to identify and support concrete measures for action. Statements made by participants during the seminar are annexed to this report.
The OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality was adopted in 2004. The Action Plan aims to set out the priorities of the OSCE in promoting gender equality through its operations, in its organization and in all participating States, and to ensure the monitoring of its implementation. In order to achieve these goals, the plan addresses the activities, policies, projects and programmes of the organization concerning gender mainstreaming, as well as assistance by the OSCE to participating States in promoting gender equality. The plan contains specific references to the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in the OSCE.
Summary: During the course of the seminar a number of important questions were discussed, experience and lessons learned were shared, and the flow of suggestions and recommendations was vivid. The main lines of the discussions are reflected in this summary. The important roles of women in conflict and crisis management as well as in peace-building and reconstruction are acknowledged in UN Security Council Resolution 1325. Women possess knowledge and experience, not least when it comes to organising and mobilising their own communities, and contributing to national welfare and development through dialogue and reconciliation. For efficiency reasons, better use must be made of women’s capacity to prevent the outbreak or resurgence of violence and to rebuild stable societies. The critical role of women’s peace building efforts must be taken seriously to ensure accountability and sustainable, democratic post-conflict development and peace. At the Expert Seminar on “Women in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management”, which was held in Vienna on 20 June 2005, a number of important issues related to this theme were highlighted and discussed. Some inspiring examples of how to work with gender issues were presented at this occasion, as were several areas where there is a need to make substantial progress. Almost five years have passed since the adoption of UNSCR 1325. The OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality was adopted in 2004. The framework is set, and now it is high time for the OSCE as a whole and its participating States to focus on implementation.
4 UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality: UNSCR1325 (2000) focuses on women not only as victims in need of protection from gender-based violence in times of conflict and crises, but above all as key actors in all activities related to conflict prevention and peace building, including implementation of peace agreements. The Resolution states that women must be represented at all levels. Furthermore, the Resolution clearly states that the perspectives and experiences of women should be included at all levels of decision-making in conflict resolution and peace processes. The Resolution has been translated into more than 60 languages and is widely spread. It has been used as a training and advocacy tool, also by many civil society organisations, to strengthen the role of women in the prevention and management of violent conflict and in peace building efforts. However, it is being argued that, to some extent, there is a lack of political will and accountability to implement the Resolution. Further, the Resolution needs to be explained and translated into more accessible language to reach out to all levels and all actors. In some participating States the use of radio programmes could prove efficient in spreading the message.
The OSCE was created to ensure security and stability in Europe. Reaching this goal requires maximum participation of women and men on equal terms. The OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality obliges OSCE structures to implement UNSCR 1325. It holds the OSCE Secretariat, Institutions, Field Missions and participating States responsible for its implementation. To move forward in this process, operational creativity will be needed. It will also be necessary to identify short-term measurable objectives and establish National Action Plans in the participating States to speed up the implementation.
Recruitment: To increase the number of women in all work related to peace and security, existing recruitment procedures will have to be looked into and revised. Within the OSCE, there is a tendency that female professionals are, to a large extent, recruited at lower levels. At higher levels the statistics reveal a very clear imbalance. There is currently no female Head of Mission, and no women were represented in the Panel of Eminent Persons, which was tasked with presenting a report on reforming the OSCE in late June 2005. The presence of women in missions and Field Offices is very important in order to increase representativity, serve as role models and set examples for women in areas where OSCE is present. A larger proportion of women in missions will also increase the ability to reach out to all groups and thereby become more efficient. It is important that women be seen to operate on a level with male colleagues. The participating States have a responsibility in nominating more women candidates, and the Secretary General and the OSCE Secretariat are key actors in the recruitment process as well. An improved outreach programme, set up by the Secretariat, in the participating States was suggested in order to broaden knowledge – and hence the base of recruitment – among women’s networks and NGOs. To address numerical imbalances, many participants stated that quotas could possibly be used, at least for a limited period of time. Different opinions regarding this issue were expressed, such as the fact that quotas may lead to a misinterpretation as reverse discrimination. Some argued that Human Resource Departments must be professionalized and trained in gender issues. The establishment of special rosters of qualified female candidates could further advance the recruitment of women. It was also stated that qualifications required for different postings need to be reviewed and revised to increase the number of women
5 employees. One suggestion was to make it mandatory for Human Resource Departments to short-list both men and women. Some kind of “awards and penalty policy” could be used as a tool to promote gender balance.
Some suggested that the possibility of combining professional and private life should be facilitated through support to families and other allowances as an important factor in the efforts to recruit more women. To increase the female recruitment base, it is essential to focus on women’s opportunities to develop professionally and to create the institutional framework that will enable access to key positions.
Capacity building: There is an urgent need for enhanced and improved capacity building to raise awareness and knowledge about gender issues. The importance of training senior management was stressed, not least in the light of their role in decision-making, and emphasizing the fact that both men and women need to be involved in capacity building and mainstreaming regarding gender issues. The inclusion of a gender equality perspective in all training was stressed. There is an evident need to share experience and to have access to documentation on lessons learned.
Networking and cooperating with civil society organisations: The role of local women’s groups and other civil society organisations was emphasized throughout the discussions, given the fact that they often possess vast knowledge and experience regarding social structure and the current situation in a country or a region. It is therefore vital that such groups and organisations are included in the process. Also, in many cases the presence and visibility of women has helped to diffuse tension. Local women’s organisations and networks should therefore be encouraged and supported and integrated into the structure of international efforts regarding peace and security.
Values: It was stated that to address historically rooted unequal gender structures, it is necessary to discuss values and stereotypes. Advocacy is important in fighting negative stereotypes preventing women from taking an equal part in conflict prevention and peace building. However, changing mindsets and behaviour is a long-term effort. Gender equality reaches beyond numerical imbalances to the acknowledgement, respect and appreciation for women’s perspectives on leadership and real access to equal opportunities and participation. Dialogue and participatory processes were mentioned as means to achieve this long-term change in mindsets and behaviour.
Prevention at an early stage: In an increasingly interdependent world, the concept of security is increasingly perceived as linked to development and respect for human rights. In this context, the role of women must be highlighted. Prevention includes strengthening human rights and thereby the rights of women. But women also play a crucial and active role working for democracy through efforts to bring about inclusive dialogue among relevant stakeholders to solve conflicts at an early stage. Through their knowledge of and influence on basic structures in their communities and in society, women are in the forefront of promoting a culture of non-violence and peace in society, not least among children.
6 Recommendations: There were no formal conclusions from the seminar on Women in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management, but the event resulted in a number of useful recommendations. The main recommendations are presented below:
• UNSCR 1325 (2000) links equality with global security and sustainable peace. The implementation of the Resolution touches upon the core values of the OSCE and has a bearing on the organization’s three dimensions – the politico-military, the economic-environmental, and the human dimension.
• It is important to highlight women’s central role as actors in conflict prevention and crisis management. The inclusion of more women in international missions leads to increased efficiency, and strengthens the legitimacy of the mission. It also improves the possibility of reaching out to the whole population in the host country.
• There is a framework within the OSCE for increased gender mainstreaming. The real challenge lies in implementation. In the OSCE the Secretary General and the Chairman-in-Office are key actors for strengthening of equality in the organization.
• Gender perspectives should not be treated as a separate set of issues, but be incorporated in all policies and activities. This is also important in the OSCE, which should improve its ways of including a gender perspective in all fields of activity. The implementation of the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality is of central importance. The Secretary General’s plan for the implementation of measures for achieving the overall aims of the Action Plan, which is due in October 2005, will be crucial for the organization’s continued efforts regarding equality.
• Short-term objectives need to be identified to strengthen the implementation of existing commitments, in other words the implementation of the existing Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality. The establishment of benchmarks or a special task force to monitor and promote the implementation of the Action Plan in the OSCE is possible ways of doing this.
• Recruitment is a key issue. The need for a national base for recruitment was stressed. The existence of such a base could make it easier for participating States to nominate qualified women for international missions. The reluctance of participating States to present female candidates constitutes a problem that needs to be addressed.
• It is important that the OSCE leadership acts in a proactive manner to appoint women to leading positions in the organization. It was proposed that the OSCE establishes a list of qualified women candidates.
• Quotas were discussed, but no common position was reached. Most countries have a quite broad base of competent women to recruit from. It was felt,
7 however, that without quotas and benchmarks it will be difficult to register any real change. A proposal was put forward to start with a few pilot projects.
• Training is a key issue. It is important that women, as well as men, get access to training initiatives on gender issues, and that gender perspectives are a part of all training.
• It is important that the OSCE cooperates with other international organizations and NGOs. The need for increased capacity building and awareness raising was stressed.
• A coming decision on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 (2000) in the OSCE was welcomed.
8 Welcoming Remarks
By Ambassador Janez LENARČIČ Chairman of the Permanent Council
Your Excellency, Minister Mrs Laila Freivalds, Distinguished Guests, Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Dr. Dimitrij Rupel I wish to commend the initiative by Sweden to hold this Seminar on Women in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management. This seminar is taking place back to back with the Annual Security Review Conference which is to start tomorrow.
The implementation of the United Nation Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) is indeed relevant to all three dimensions of the OSCE – politico-military, economic-environmental and human dimension. The cross-dimensional approach is also a key element in the 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality.
UN Resolution 1325 on Women’s Role in Peace building and security, passed in October 2000, links gender equality to global security and acknowledges the importance of women’s voices in building lasting peace. International bodies, including the OSCE, have begun the regional follow-up and implementation of this resolution. Women have been shown to be bridge builders over the dividing lines of conflict.
The resolution envisages women as active players, contributing to the peace processes in conflict prevention and crisis management. This very recognition of the need and importance to involve the whole society in the conflict prevention and management is the main contribution of this important resolution. However, I must admit in case of most of the participating states we still have a lot to do.
The OSCE therefore encourages women’s participation in conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict reconstruction as we have committed ourselves in 2004 Gender Action Plan.
The Slovenian Chairmanship therefore warmly supports the initiative and focus of discussions here today. We also look forward to continuing these discussions in the OSCE after today's seminar: the next step in this regard will be the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in September. That will be followed by the interim report of the Secretary General in October on the implementation of the Gender Action Plan. The issue will also be further discussed within the Informal Working Group on Gender Equality and Anti-Trafficking. We also intend to work proactively to a follow-up at the Ministerial Council in Ljubljana in December.
I wish you all a very successful seminar.
Thank you.
9 Opening Intervention
By H.E. Minister Laila Freivalds Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Sweden,
Mr Chairman, Dear Panel and Participants,
It is a great honour for me to open this important expert seminar on the role of women in conflict prevention and crisis management. I am especially pleased to see that so many of you have accepted our invitation and come to this meeting. With the impressive list of keynote speakers, and the broad experience among the participants, I am confident that we are going to have a very interesting debate.
Hopefully today, we will keep a close and constructive focus on our own organization, the OSCE. I also hope that we will be able to jointly propose specific recommendations on how to improve the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) in the OSCE – recommendations that will transform into commitments and to real changes.
A year ago, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, H.E. Miguel Angel Moratinos, and I published a joint article on the importance of involving women at all levels to achieve and maintain sustainable peace – for the benefit of the whole population. We stressed that there can be no sustainable peace and no development if half of the population is systematically excluded from decision-making that concerns their lives and opportunities. Furthermore, we said that we, the Member States of the European Union, should set a good example and set a high standard for the integration of a gender perspective in civil and military crisis management operations.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We must better recognize that women are actors in conflicts, not only victims. This understanding must be reflected in all our work in the area of peace and security. We have to fully include a gender perspective and involve women – as well as men – at all levels in conflict prevention and crisis management. Not only women, but the whole population will benefit from the appropriate use of this potential. In terms of efficiency, it is necessary to involve women. Only with the participation, experience and expertise of women are we able to fulfil the objectives of the OSCE, which also includes the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality.
Why are we here today? I would say because these understandings must be acted upon. We are here today because there is an urgent need to speed up the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in the OSCE. Initiatives have been launched and some progress has been made, but women’s participation in conflict prevention and peace processes is still not really taking off. We are simply not doing well enough - and we can do much better!
The integration of a gender perspective in peace agreements must still be improved. And the full and equal representation of women in decision-making positions remains the exception rather than the rule. This is true not only of the OSCE, but also of the work of the UN, as well as in Member States. We can all work together to improve the situation. The next opportunity for jointly taking stock of actions carried out is the five-year review of 1325 in the UN in
10 October this year. That will be an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the OSCE’s commitment to stepping up implementation of the Resolution.
Allow me to give a few uncomfortable examples to illustrate the current situation. Recent sex- disaggregated OSCE statistics show that although the representation of women has increased slightly in the Secretariat and OSCE Institutions, new female professionals are recruited at low levels and new male professionals at somewhat higher levels. The apparent increase of women as internationally seconded and contracted mission members may be due more to the closure and the downsizing of some missions than anything else. However, at the highest levels female representation is really meagre, and what is even worse, it has decreased from 7% to 5% in December 2004. Today there is no female Head of Mission. Is there not a single woman in the whole OSCE area who is suitable to head one of our missions? Or are we not looking carefully enough?
These numbers are not acceptable. We, the Participating States of the OSCE, have to nominate more women candidates to posts in the organization. Furthermore, the Chairman-in- Office and the Secretariat have to put even more emphasis on the nomination and recruitment process, making sure that no shortlists are presented without women candidates. But I have to stress that, in large measure, the responsibility lies with the Participating States. All of us. We must and can do better.
In the future we have to avoid posts and panels, and other functions, only being filled with persons representing one sex, as was recently the case of the Panel of Eminent Persons. With due respect to this Panel, which will shortly present its report on reforming the OSCE, I do think that it should have contained at least one or two women. Not only to improve the representation on the panel, but also to increase the likelihood of including a gender perspective in its findings and recommendations.
As you know, the OSCE has its own Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality. We should bear in mind that we are all responsible for its implementation – the OSCE Secretariat, Institutions and Field Missions as well as Participating States. Within a few months, before 1 October, the Secretary General of the OSCE has to develop a plan for the implementation of measures for achieving the overall aims of this Action Plan. Furthermore, the Heads of Institutions have to develop their own separate implementation plans by that date.
For Sweden, OSCE is an important and valuable organization. Nevertheless, there is also room for improvements. Let me mention a few areas.
In our continued efforts to implement Resolution 1325, I believe that we, the OSCE Participating States, should increase the representation of women at all decision-making levels for the prevention, management and resolution of conflict. Increasing the number of women in the OSCE, both in the field and at Headquarters, could also inspire and set examples for the participation of women in national and local decision-making in conflict areas where the OSCE is present.
Training in gender equality and gender mainstreaming based on OSCE’s mandate and activities should be enhanced and include personnel at all levels. Also, appropriate reporting on the implementation of Resolution 1325 should be put in place in the OSCE.
11 The outcome of this seminar will be presented at tomorrow’s Annual Security Review Conference. On 27 September this year the ”role of women in conflict prevention and crisis management” will be on the agenda of the Human Dimension Implementations Meeting in Warsaw. On that occasion, Sweden is planning to arrange a side event on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. I would challenge you to use the meeting today to identify recommendations that can be worked on here in Vienna during the autumn – and be adopted in a decision at the forthcoming Ministerial Meeting in Ljubljana in December 2005.
The responsibility for strengthening the role of women in conflict prevention and crisis management is shared among a number of actors, each with its own specific capacity, expertise and range of resources. I am therefore especially glad to see representatives of the United Nations present here today. Sharing experience and ideas between international organizations, such as the UN and the OSCE, is crucial for improving our work in these issues.
We also have a great deal to learn from non-governmental organizations and other civil society representatives. They are taking action in their own activities and putting forward recommendations. Non-governmental organizations also have an important role in advising and sometimes reminding us Member States and organizations of our obligations. We need to work together, state actors and NGOs, to ensure that actions are taken at all levels from the community and field levels to policy and legislative levels.
As a Swedish contribution to the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in the OSCE, I would like to inform you that a decision will shortly be taken to give a contribution of SEK 500 000, approximately EUR 50 000, for an ODIHR project on ”Women’s Rights, Peace and Security Promotion. Implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in the South East European Region.”
I hereby declare this Expert Seminar opened, and I wish you all the best in your discussions and for a constructive and successful outcome.
Thank you.
12 Plenary Session
Moderator: Ms Alyson J.K. Bailes, Director, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Panel of Respondents: Ms Beatrix Attinger-Colijn, Senior Adviser on Gender Issues, Office of the Secretary General, OSCE Secretariat Ms Madeleine Rees, Head of Mission, Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, Bosnia Brigadier General (ret.) Ulf Henricsson, Swedish Armed Forces, Sweden Ms Susanne Ringaard-Pedersen, Head of the Human Rights Department, ODIHR
The presentations from keynote speakers were followed by statements from delegations of participating States to the OSCE. Many ideas and comments brought forward by participants and the Panel of Respondents in the discussion have been included in the summary.
13
Ms Rachel N. Mayanja Assistant Secretary General and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women
UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security: Vienna, Austria-20 June 2005
Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, Colleagues and friends,
It is a pleasure and an honour for me to present a thematic introduction on Women in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management and to discuss the significance and implementation of Security Council Resolution on women, peace and security. I wish to pay special tribute to the Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Folke Bernadotte Academy for organising this seminar. The OSCE is well known for its strong commitment to gender equality.
We meet today at a critical time. The report of the Secretary General “In Larger Freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all”, the report of the High -Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change and the report of the Millennium Project, including its Task Force on Gender Equality, set out a new political framework calling for a conceptual shift from a focus solely on state security to one that encompasses human security as well. It underlines three principles:
First, constructive dialogue must be translated into concrete action on the ground.
Second, today more than ever, threats are interrelated and a threat to one is a threat to all. Poverty and inequality may not necessarily cause conflict but will increase its likelihood or sustain it. In turn, conflict increases poverty and undermines equality. The common trait of these threats is the marginalization and exclusion of vulnerable groups, including women, from societal development.
Third, the security of the most powerful state could be held hostage to the ability of the weakest state to contain an outbreak of terrorism or a deadly disease.
As a result, in a globalized and ever more interdependent environment, where States are less able than ever before to insulate themselves from events around them, the world is only as safe as its most vulnerable group of people. In these circumstances, development, security and human rights form the indispensable foundation for collective security and well- being. Consequently, gender equality and the full enjoyment by women of their rights are essential to the advancement of development, security and human rights.
Foreshadowing this thinking in 2000, the Security Council, in its resolution 1325 (2000) binding on the 191 Member States of the UN, fundamentally changed the image of women, as exclusively victims of war to that of active participants as peace-makers, peace-builders and negotiators. The Council stressed the importance of women’s equal participation with men
14 and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security. It highlighted the need to increase their role in decision-making, conflict prevention and resolution, and urged Member States to ensure increased representation of women at all decision making levels in national, regional and international institutions, as well as in mechanisms for the prevention, management and resolution of conflict.
This gives the resolution a unique importance and authority and enters it in public consciousness as only a few resolutions ever have. Resolution 1325 is the only one translated into more than 60 languages. It is increasingly becoming the centrepiece of a global movement reflecting a growing awareness of the importance of enhancing women’s role in conflict prevention and resolution.
Let me briefly review where the United Nations system stands with regard to the implementation of the resolution.
A great deal has been accomplished during the past four years and the reports from Governments and NGOs during Beijing+10 attest to this fact. There have been undoubted gains in many of the broad areas for action set out in the resolution, namely, awareness of the importance of gender, development of gender-action work plans, gender mainstreaming, gender equality training, deployment of gender advisers, work on codes of conduct, and support for greater participation of women in nation-building, including elections and governance.
Gender awareness
The Security Council has led the way by focussing more on gender issues in its debates on specific conflicts and by including specific mandates regarding the status of women, for example, in Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Haiti, Liberia and Darfur, Sudan. Members of the Council met with local women’s groups during all the Council’s missions to West Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Great Lakes Region, Afghanistan and Haiti.
ECOSOC strengthened its agreed conclusions 1997/2 on gender mainstreaming by adopting its resolution 2004/4 in which it called on all UN entities to take concrete steps to implement gender mainstreaming strategies. Last year, the CSW adopted its agreed conclusions on women’s equal participation in conflict prevention, management and resolution and in post- conflict peace building with action oriented recommendations to Governments, civil society and UN entities. During the Beijing + 10 review and appraisal, the theme of women and peace was prominent on the Agenda of the Commission. Gender issues are increasingly discussed in inter-agency for a, such as Executive Committees on Peace and Security, Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Development Group etc.
Gender-action work plans
In October 2004, the security Council adopted a Presidential Statement S/PRST/2004/40 on women and peace, in which it requested the Secretary General to submit in October 2005, an action plan, with time lines, for implementing resolution 1325 across the United Nations system. My Office is coordinating the preparation of the requested action plan. Each department, programme, and specialized agency was requested to provide their inputs into the system-wide action plan based on mandates contained in 1325and the subsequent three Presidential Statements of the Council, in such areas as gender and conflict prevention,
15 peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, peace building, disarmament, training, protection of women and girls in armed conflict, human rights etc. We plan to complete the first stage of the work on the action plan by the end of next month and start discussions with UN entities on ways to enhance accountability for implementation.
Gender mainstreaming
Major strides have been made to mainstream a gender perspective in areas related to peace and security and post-conflict development. An Inter- Agency network on Women and Gender Equality that I chair, coordinates system wide gender mainstreaming activities. The Network’s Task Force on Women, Peace and Security coordinates the preparation of briefing notes for Security Council missions, for example, in Liberia, Sudan and Haiti. Recently the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) completed a comprehensive ”Gender Resource Package for Peacekeeping Operations” and Gender Guidelines for Mine Action”. The Package and the guidelines offer concrete guidance on how to identify the various gender issues and how to mainstream gender. In cooperation with my Office, DPKO will launch a policy statement on gender mainstreaming outlining a top-down strategy for mainstreaming gender in all aspects of peacekeeping. The Department of Political Affairs (DPA) and my Office finalized a handbook on women and elections and are working on a guide for integrating a gender perspective into peace agreements. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights intensified its efforts to mainstream gender in its monitoring and reporting in conflict areas. Other UN agencies, such as UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Fund for Women (UNIFEM), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and International Labour Organization (ILO), to name a few, have developed policies and guidelines for gender mainstreaming.
Training
This is increasingly becoming an important part of our work in integrating a gender perspective into peace operations. DPKO, DPA, OCHA and UN entities such as UNICEF and UNHCR have developed practical training tools and have organized workshops to sensitize staff to the needs of both women and men and assist them in programming for gender equality.
Gender advisers
DPKO and DPA have developed Gender Advisers to the 10 major peacekeeping operations out of 17, including Afghanistan, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kosovo, Haiti, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Timor Leste. In some cases, they have formed Gender Units, in other cases the Gender Advisers sit as part of the Human Rights Unit. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, the Gender Unit has created a strong working relationship with civil society and established a website listing many women’s organizations and NGOs working on women, peace and security issues. In its Presidential Statement S/PRST/2004/40, the Security Council requested the establishment of a post of Gender Adviser in DPA. DPA and my Office are jointly fundraising for this post.
Enforcement of codes of conduct
In response to complaints of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers and humanitarian workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( see document A/59/710),
16 the Secretary –General issued instructions on the expected standard of conduct followed by a zero-tolerance policy, and has also taken drastic measures to enforce them.
A non-fraternization policy, a curfew and a ban on visits by uniformed and civilian staff to the premises and areas frequented by prostitutes have been instituted in peace operations in Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia, Kosovo and Timor Leste. DPKO completed investigations of 98 peacekeepers accused of sexual abuse in Congo:77 military and 19 civilians. Many UN agencies have developed and are issuing new and strengthened codes of conduct calling on them to renew their support for human rights and dignity of all people served by the agency. The Secretary-General is determined to fully enforce the zero-tolerance policy with regard to sexual exploitation and abuse by a few of those who undercut the vital role the Organization plays in peace processes.
Governance
In this area the UN has actively participated in the work regarding the drafting of constitutions and holding of elections. The UN has supported greater participation of women in electoral processes and in nation-building as a whole. As a result, in Afghanistan, women held 20 per cent of seats in the constitutional Loya Jirgas; in Rwanda, in 2003 elections, women won nearly 49 per cent of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and in Timor Leste, 27 per cent of seats in Parliament. Efforts are under way to assist women in the forthcoming elections in Afghanistan, Burundi, Congo, Haiti and other post-conflict countries to register as voters, and participate in political life, voter education and election administration.
While some progress has been made in the appointment of women to decision-making posts in peacekeeping, more still needs to be done. Currently, only two peace missions out of 27 are headed by women as the Secretary-General’s Special Representatives-one in Georgia (UNOMIG) and another in Burundi (ONUB), and two women deputy heads-one in Georgia (UNOMIG) and the other in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
Civil Society
Civil Society, from grass roots level to international for a, has and continues to support the implementation of resolution 1325. Civil society organizations, like the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, the Mano River Women’s Peace Network, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and many others throughout the world have used the resolution at local, regional and global levels as a training and advocacy tool to strengthen women’s role in early warning and their participation in peace processes.
Challenges
Despite these gains, challenges remain in making women equal partners with men in peace processes, principle among them being the lack of political will to see women as equal partners, discrimination against women, the lack of understanding of basic concepts of gender mainstreaming, stereotyping of women as not capable of undertaking peace and security activities, and the inability to replicate best practices.
More specifically: 1. Women have little, if any, say in decision-making on peace and war issues; 2. Women continue to be targets of gender-based and sexual violence;
17 3. Women’s rights are continuously violated and both, State and non-State actors continue to disrespect international law applicable to the rights and protection of women: 4. The critical roles women and girls play in peacemaking and peace building, including by lobbying and organizing fro disarmament and striving to bring about dialogue and reconciliation, are not fully recognized: 5. Appreciation of the full extent of women’s peace related activities does not inform all peacemaking and peace building efforts, including preventive diplomacy and early warning; 6. Local women’s groups and networks are not properly consulted.
While we welcome the steps taken by Member States, particularly members of the European Union, African Union, OSCE and many other regional and sub-regional organizations, much more needs to be done to implement resolution 1325. For example:
At the national level
The international community must sustain the pressure on Member States: 1. To fully implement 1325, including through the development and implementation of national action plans as requested by the Security Council in S/PRST/2004/40; 2. To prevent and eradicate violence against women, particularly in conflict areas, and to insist that such measures be made an integral part of assistance programmes for countries in conflict; and 3. To maintain the rule of law in post-conflict regions and countries; 4. Strategies for women’s equal participation in political life and decision making in conflict and post-conflict areas should be supported, including quota and targets; 5. Gender training and capacity-building of local women in peace processes should be supported and well resourced.
At the international level
6. The mandate of the proposed Peace-building Commission Should include gender equality and the advancement of women in post-conflict situations and it should be a standing item on its agenda; 7. Political and material support to ICC in its mission to punish gender-related crimes should become the rule; 8. Adequately resourced gender units in departments, in particular in DPA and peace operations should be supported; 9. Gender mainstreaming should become a required integral part of all assistance programmes and projects.
Prevention
The conflicts of the recent years have forced us into soul-searching. It has become increasingly clear that more effort must go into conflict prevention. Attention is being given To early warning systems which would enable the detection of potential conflict in ample time in order for corrective action to be initiated. This has transformed the very concept of security, placing greater importance on the linkage between development, human rights and security. Likewise, our perception of prevention has broadened to include such other factors
18 as strengthening democracy, gender equality, human rights, legal and administrative systems, respect for diversity, to name a few, as a means of preventing conflicts at an early stage. Effective prevention also entails monitoring Governments’human rights performance and working with them to improve their record.
The UN is embracing this change in every facet of its activity. The transformation is wide- ranging and its implications are far-reaching. Poverty, armed conflict and violence can no longer be seen in isolation. The eradication of poverty and disease is as important as dealing with terrorism and nuclear proliferation.
Your seminar is one of many events that will take place in all parts of the world to mark the fifth anniversary of Resolution 1325 in October 2005 and the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly when the issues of women and security will be discussed. The push for gender equality, development and peace must now be intensified. Every single one of us here today must consider it our duty to become involved to bring about the changes to which we have committed ourselves, at the United Nations, by our national governments and in our civil society organizations.
I thank you.
19 H.E. Christian Strohal Ambassador, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
OSCE-ODIHR on UN Security Council Resolution 1325:
Vienna 20 June, 2005
Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen. Let me start by thanking the Swedish Government, as well as the Folke Bernadotte Academy for taking the initiative to hold this seminar, and for providing us with an opportunity to highlight issues pertaining to women, peace and security. Let me also thank Sweden for the regular and strong support my office has been receiving for our activities.
The theme you have chosen for this seminar is a crucial but often neglected part of the mandate of the OSCE and the ODIHR. Our organization was created to ensure security and stability in Europe and equal rights of women and men are essential if we are to reach this goal. Also the timing of today's event is well chosen, given the adoption, at the last Ministerial Council, of the enhanced OSCE Gender Action Plan.
Women as victims of violence, and especially of armed conflict – this is an obvious, and often talked about, fact. Women as key actors in conflict prevention and crisis management – this equally obvious fact is receiving much less attention.
The importance of involving women in peace-building efforts has been demonstrated in research that shows a connection between the status of women in a society and its level of conflict: Violent conflict is more likely to erupt in countries where women are inadequately represented in official institutions and where domestic violence against women is prevalent. This fact, however, comes close to mocking the other fact that it is young males who are most often victims of pre-conflict violence. Strengthening the role of women in society and making full use of their knowledge and expertise, therefore, promotes peace and contributes to conflict-prevention.
Gender equality should be an integral part of any kind of peace building activities, whether it is conflict prevention, conflict resolution or post-conflict reconstruction. Let us not forget that it is where violence and discrimination against women exist prior to a conflict that these are almost certain to remain and even be aggravated throughout conflict. The same applies to women’s participation in decision-making structures of a society. If their participation is limited before the outbreak of a conflict, they are unlikely to be involved in decisions relating to the conflict or a following peace process.
One of the most important features of UN Security Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security is that it does not focus on women as victims, but as invaluable actors in any successful peace-building effort. Resolution 1325 clarifies that not only do women need to be represented, but their perspectives and experiences should also form part of the decision making.
There is a common misunderstanding that one supports women and women organizations so
20 that they alone can promote gender equality; so that the “gender box” can be ticked off. If this was the case we would be working against the very principles of SCR 1325, as well as the OSCE Action Plan.
I say this because resolution 1325 is very clearly echoed in the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality. It obliges OSCE structures to promote the implementation of the resolution in particular in the prevention of conflict and in post-conflict reconstruction. The Action Plan itself is built on the principle of gender mainstreaming. Therefore, also we at ODIHR seek to advance gender mainstreaming in all our activities: this means that we bring perceptions, experiences, knowledge and interest of both women and men to bear on our programme development and planning. However, the strategy of gender mainstreaming does not replace the need for targeted, women specific policies and programmes. It merely complements it.
The OSCE mandate is clear: promotion of gender equality is a commitment made by all 55 participating States. The mandate of the ODIHR is equally clear and relevant to the issue of gender equality: it is to promote and protect human rights, as well as to monitor and support compliance with international human rights standards.
Resolution 1325 refers to the need for full implementation of international human rights law that protects the rights of women and girls during and after conflicts. Also, it calls for measures that ensure the protection of, and respect for, human rights of women and girls, for instance relating to police activities.
The ODIHR directly and indirectly supports the implementation of the Resolution. The integration of a gender perspective and the promotion of women’s role in conflict prevention, post-conflict reconstruction and maintenance of peace, are integral concerns addressed by the ODIHR throughout our activities for democratic development and promotion and protection of human rights.
For a number of years now ODIHR has had several programmes aiming at increasing women’s participation in democratic processes. The need to increase and further establish women’s participation in elections, as voters, candidates and officials, has been an important part of our election-related work. A good example of this is the Handbook on monitoring Women’s participation, which we issued last year. The situation of women also plays a key role in the work of our Contact Point of Roma and Sinti, that aims to address the difficult role Roma women face as more often than not the victims of double discrimination.
I also want to mention an example of direct support and concrete activities of the ODIHR on the issue of women in peace building and conflict resolution. This is a programme that focuses on increased participation of women in decision making in Georgia. Since 2001, the ODIHR supported NGO Coalition on promoting gender equality in Georgia has included the Working Group on Women and Peace building. The Coalition works to raise awareness among women’s groups and build their capacity to take active role in peace building initiatives. The focus is on the role of women in conflict resolution and the provisions of the UN Resolution 1325. The Coalition works together with the Georgian government to increase the involvement of women in conflict resolution processes. As a joint civil society-government effort, a special action plan on increasing women’s role in peace building is currently being developed, in
21 partnership with the Ministry of Conflict Resolution and the Ministry of Defense. The Women’s NGO Coalition also has a close cooperation with the National Security Council.
Of course we aim to build on our experiences in project work and will continue to adapt our programmatic work to changing circumstances to make them as focused and effective as possible.
What have we learned so far?
Internationally, we all have learned the hard way that peace and security depends on rapid response to early indications of a conflict. We know from experience that conflict resolution and peace-building requires creative and flexible approaches. Experience also shows that it is only when we meaningfully involve women in politics and security that we see real, lasting changes in societies.
In these areas, the ODIHR’s efforts to support capacity building of women and of women organizations are examples of how women’s skills are built in order to support and maintain peace and stability. This also involves contributing to the strengthening and development of relevant legislative frameworks, judicial and administrative infrastructures.
While women have often been absent from formal processes of peace negotiations and development of reconstruction plans, they have generally played a vital role at grass root level in sustaining and later rebuilding local economies and communities. For example, women’s organizations have contributed to ensure that peace accords address demands for gender equality in new constitutional, legal and electoral frameworks. Furthermore, women’s organizations at grass root level around the world have found the Resolution an effective tool for bringing greater attention to the needs and priorities of women.
In line with the OSCE’s comprehensive security concept, we should see the promotion of gender equality as a fundamental contribution to achieving sustainable stability and security in our region.
Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, The role of women, and the impact of conflict on them, is connected to changes in the nature of conflict. In present-day conflicts, civilians are often made prime targets and women even more so. Gender-based violence, including sexual violence, has increasingly become a weapon of warfare.
It is essential that we take on the challenge of ensuring the effective protection of women in conflict; conflict prevention must take this into consideration by systematically strengthening the role of women in society, and ensuring their effective participation in public and economic life.
Threats to women in conflict situations underscore the need to incorporate gender analysis into early warning activities. Women’s experiences are a valuable but overlooked indicator of conflict.
Five years ago, when adopting Resolution 1325, the Security Council for the first time truly addressed women’s role in security. Let me conclude by saying that making women’s concerns an integral part of policy making and activity implementation, is setting gender
22 equality as a prerequisite for sustainable security and stability. Just as our work promotes gender equality, so does gender equality increase the likelihood of our work succeeding.
The Chairman of the Permanent Council in his intervention today laid out the road map of the Organization for meetings and Conferences related to the implementation of commitments in the area of gender equality. I hope that this road map will be filled with content in the form of concrete activities. For our part, the ODIHR will certainly continue to contribute actively.
Thank you.
23 Ms Elisabeth Rehn Former UN Under Secretary-General, Special Envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Independent Expert and co-author of “Women War Peace”at UNIFEM, former Minister of Defence of Finland
Women as Actors in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management:
The SC Resolution 1325/2000 was received with a lot of enthusiasm by crowds of women groups, activists’ organisations, individuals who had tried to get the issue on the SC table for such a long time. Perhaps even too many expectations were put on the implementation of the resolution.
As one contribution to get more “flesh on the bones” was the decision made by UNIFEM and recommended by Garca Machel, to appoint two Independent Experts who would assess the real situation of women and girls in wars and conflicts. The mission took Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and myself to 14 regions on conflict- from East Timor to Colombia, the Balkans, to Liberia DRC and Sierra Leone, Palestine and Israel to Somalia, with direct talks and interviews with the victims themselves, but also brave women groups, women who wanted to be a part of the decision-making, after “the main failed”, as they told us. The mission resulted in the report “Women War Peace”, presented by SG to the SC in October 2002 in connection to the debate on his own report on 1325.
What did we find out? First of all, the wars have changed nature to mostly civil wars, to get political or economical power, mostly both. Diamonds, oil, cocaine, play essential roles, and like always, in civil wars there are no limits in the brutality shown to civilians. As told in our report, wars are fought in homes and communities – and on women’s bodies- in battle for resource and in the name of religion and ethnicity. Women have become the greatest victims of war- and the biggest stakeholders of peace.
We know today even too well that women and girls are victims, but the strength to fight for peace in their everyday life is perhaps less known, and surely not supported enough. The picture of women created by media, governmental statements and reports from organisations has not been helpful at all for the support of women. Women in war and post- war are mostly shown as helpless, shy creatures without own will. This is a strike in the face of all those brave, intelligent women, who are ready on different levels to participate in the rebuilding of their country and who exactly know what is needed of measures taken.
Let us look at the post-conflict theatre, quite similar in most cases. Destroyed buildings, bridges, roads, and infrastructure. Not difficult to reconstruct if the funding is found. But the more serious part is the destroyed educational system, health and social care. A big part of the population suffers from war trauma and needs psychosocial care. Not even to mention the lack of the rule of law, functioning police system and nonpartial judiciary, by the way especially important for women.
The international community is followed by a new bunch of problems: trafficking in women mastered by organized criminals. Not until very lately the IC in charge has fully understood and taken steps against these problems: UN, OSCE, NATO and hopefully EU too, have drawn up strong rules for their own people.
This has been a long preword to the topic for my presentation.
24 Who are the experts on the destroyed elementary functions of the society? In whose interest is it that women and girls will not be misused? Who are those who still carry the strongest burden and responsibility for the children, often as the sole caretaker of the family? Who are those know what should be included in the peace negotiations to make the everyday life some easier? And who are those who almost never are seen at the peace negotiation tables- whatever 1325 demands?
Of course I am talking about women, who due to 1325 should be guaranteed a role in the whole peace process, starting from peace negotiations. Unfortunately member states have not taken this demand seriously enough- I have to say that I strongly appreciate the efforts by OSCE and the Swedish Government when arranging this Vienna Expert Seminar.
Internationally much more women should be appointed to the leading positions in peace missions. The importance of having role models cannot be underestimated. Rapes, domestic violence, sexual harassment, trafficking in women are forming a much too big part of the crimes in post-war life. It is important that there are enough women police both internationally and nationally to handle these crimes. It is sometimes impossible for a woman to talk to a male police about what happened. Unfortunately we have too many examples of IC leaders, men, who have not taken the trafficking in human beings seriously enough. Perhaps I am wrong, but I believe this is natural for a woman to take steps against. At least my own experiences from IC women have been encouraging.
In this context I have to mention the impunity rules. Justice is one of the main rebuilders of reconciliation. If the wide impunity rules remain unchanged, whatever crime has been committed, it is very difficult for women to believe in any kind of justice and future. It is most important that rape has become acknowledge as a war crime and crime against humanity in the ICC and the ad hoc tribunals. But the people must know that also internationals when committing a crime are not beyond justice. It has an enormous impact on the respect against the IC.
Women want to take their responsibility in political leadership. There must be a genuine will and support from the IC to get women involved, on all different levels of the political life. Quotas are one way to achieve the participation, and have been successfully implemented in some countries of transition. Training of women is one good method (East Timor 27% in the first independent parliament. Rwanda almost 50/50)
We should be listening to what the women know and tell in the pre-conflict situation. A lot of information is transmitted by women, but unfortunately it is not noted in a serous way. The women in Kosovo told me as SR for Human Rights about their fears for a disaster to come 1995-97, I reported to the Human Rights Commission but got a resolution as answer “ Yes, she is right, something should be done” And then the disaster came, and nothing had been done.
A visit of a group of SC- members a few years ago to Kosovo, reported by Kvinna till Kvinna, tells a lot of the attitude to the importance of listening to women. A group of women wanted to meet the delegation, but got the answer that there is no time for that. They were stubborn, and got a time about 11 pm- UNMIK thought they will not take that late night time. They all were there, from throughout Kosovo, and got their half an hour informing SC- members. That became a healthy scandal and lessons learned- never underestimate the power of women!
25 H.E. Daan W. Everts Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the OSCE, former Head of the OSCE Mission to Kosovo, OMIK
Lessons Learned from Kosovo:
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
When we talk about women in armed conflict, we usually talk about their role as victims. This seminar provides an excellent opportunity for discussing the positive part women can play in resolving violent conflict helping to rebuild war-torn societies and preventing the outbreak of violence.
Most strategies that have been applied to peace negotiations have almost entirely ignored women’s visions for peace and contributions for social change.
Despite their peace building efforts, women are rarely presented at the peace table. Political parties that are building democracy rarely turn to them.
In conflict situations, political activists and their organisations frequently face security threats; women are particularly vulnerable
The OSCE and SCR 1325
In SCR 1325 the Security Council confirmed the relevance of routinely including gender perspectives when executing peacekeeping missions. “Women are half of every community… Are they, therefore, not also half of every solution?” Dr Theo Ben Gurirab, Namibian Minister of Foreign Affairs (2000)
Introducing a gender perspective in peace keeping and post conflict rehabilitation is an indispensable part of safeguarding the comprehensive security towards which the OSCE strives.
The OSCE therefore has an important role to play in the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325.
As expressed in a UN General Assembly Resolution, “the peace and welfare of the world require maximum participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields”
In the 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality, the SCR 1325 is specifically mentioned: the OSCE participating states literally committed themselves to ”encouraging women’s participating in conflict prevention, crisis management and post conflict reconstruction”
OSCE Field Missions
Developing the capacity of institutions to engender peace and reconstruction processes is a priority within the OSCE.
26 A goal should be to increase the participation of women in conflict resolution and decision- making levels, to promote non- violent forms of conflict resolution and to promote women’s contribution to fostering a culture of peace. In this regard, a great deal of responsibility lies with the OSCE Field Missions. The main task of Field Missions does not really lie in conflict prevention, but rather in post conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction. Indirectly of course, this contributes to preventing the re-emergence of violent conflict.
It is of utmost importance for Field Missions to pay attention to the role women can play in improvement of the human rights situation and in conflict prevention
The Kosovo Experience
Kosovo is a traditional and patriarchal society
Armed conflict unfortunately in many cases causes disruption in gender relations. In Kosovo, the violent conflict caused a re-emergence of conservative patriarchal rule and the exclusion of women from participation in public life, in spite of gains made during the pre-conflict years.
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo OMiK established in 1999, faced the challenge of rebuilding a torn and shattered society emerging from ethnic violence.
The Mission was mandated to take the lead role in matters relating to institution- and democracy building and human rights.
Right from the start, we chose to actively involve women in the process of rehabilitation, reconciliation and reconstruction for a number of reasons. a) First of all; gender equity point of view: women and men should have equal rights and opportunities. b) Secondly; utility point of view: women can make a positive difference in conflict management, conflict resolution, peace negotiations and peace building. Female politicians often introduce other experiences with conflict; set other priorities for peace building and rehabilitation; are the sole voices speaking out for women’s rights and concerns. c) Furthermore, we were lucky to have many very competent and devoted women on the OMiK staff drawing attention to specific problems overseen by men. d) Apart from that, in order to better incorporate a gender perspective into the Mission programme activities, co-ordinators on gender issues have been nominated in the fields of democratisation and human rights e) Another important circumstance was the presence of many women’s Non Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) in Kosovo. The presence of these women’s groups was an additional cause for the increased attention the mission paid to gender issues. These organisations were and are still indispensable in the process of post- conflict rehabilitation and reconciliation between the different ethnic groups in Kosovo.
Here I would like to mention three main policy areas specifically; civil society, politics and decision making, and law enforcement.
27 1. Firstly, to make towards the advancement of women in civil society, OMiK provides support for women’s organisations and NGO’s at a grass root level.
The Democratisation Department started projects to support women’s initiatives at the community level and at the central level. (inter alia supporting network of women’s groups and establishment of links between women’s NGO’s and local government structures).
Since the arrival of the KFOR and the Interim Administration women’s initiatives and organisations have rapidly increased in number1
2. Another field of OMiK’s activities I would like to mention is the promotion of women’s participation in politics and decision-making.
Quotas, brought in by UNMIK regulation, require that at least 33% of persons on candidate lists for elections, and 40% of persons in legislative, executive and judicial bodies and all public institutions must be women.
However, quota alone cannot guarantee the emergence of a “gender perspective” in the political process. Quotas can only put women in power: they cannot guarantee that grass- roots concerns will be addressed. They are, however, a valuable first step on the path to gender equality, as both practical and a symbolic measure to support women’s leadership.
Empowering women in the institution- building process means to encourage them to exercise their political responsibilities as citizens.
OMiK has advocated the introduction of electoral provisions promoting the participation of women in the electoral process. The successful incorporation of women candidates on the electoral lists and the attention devote to the female electorate for example in the 2000 municipal elections was a boost for the image and self-esteem of Kosovar women.
3. A third effort OMiK made to promote the participation of woman in the rehabilitation process relates to the Kosovo Police Service School (KPSS).
Security sector reform- specifically police reform- is a crucial realm for conflict prevention, crisis management, and post-conflict reconstruction.
In creating the KPSS, UNMIK and OMiK set the goal of a 15 % representation of females into the new Kosovar Police Force. This policy has resulted in a law enforcement body with one of the highest proportions of female police officers in Europe.
This presence of women police officers makes the new police officers more representative of the society it is serving.
Experience has shown that in some cases, women are better at defusing potentially violent confrontations and are generally more likely to negotiate and strive for resolution rather than attempt to win through competitive approaches or the use of excessive force.
1 Report on the Implementation of the Action Plan on Gender Issues 2001, SEC.GAL/159/01/Rev.2
28 In traditionally patriarchal society, visible female police officers are role models for girls and women.
The advancement of women in Kosovo’s Police Service is a major step in addressing the shortcomings of women’s participation in security sector reform, crisis management, conflict prevention and post- conflict peace building.
Conclusions Moving towards gender equality is an important part of the culture of peace.
Women’s participation and the incorporations of their perspectives into peace agreement make peace more sustainable.
As an organisation involved in conflict prevention and post-conflict rehabilitation aimed at achieving comprehensive security, the OSCE has an important role to play in the implementation of SCR 1325.
Times of reconstruction offer a good opportunity for change and improvement with regard to existing gender inequalities.
My experiences in Kosovo convinced me that women’s participation contributes to ensuring social justice in a post-conflict situation, especially in the process of reconstruction of political, social and economic institutions.
The way our Missions in Kosovo addressed gender issues in the process of rehabilitation, reconstruction and reconciliation can serve as an example for the way the OSCE can contribute to the implementation of SCR 1325.
29 Colonel Patricia Mulcahy Director Manpower, Personnel and Administration Directorate United States European Command United States Army
I would like to start by thanking the organization for security and cooperation in Europe, the United States Department of Defense and European Command for allowing me to address this session on women in crisis and conflict. I intend to address some of my remarks today first towards conflict prevention, and then crisis management. I’d also like to offer some conclusions from my personal experiences in both areas.
By way of introduction, I am a human resource or personnel officer in the army, with twenty five years of military service. I currently serving as the director of personnel in European Command, so my views are influenced from my work in the military support disciplines as is required to plan and execute US participation in crisis management and conflict prevention around the world.
My experience in crisis management includes deployment to both the Gulf War in Iraq and provides comfort in Turkey in 1991, deployment to Afghanistan in 2002 and deployment back to Iraq in 2003. The majority of my career, though; has been in conflict prevention activity – mostly by participating in building and maintaining the human capital of our US Military – so the US Military can do their job helping to prevent conflict by deterrence.
I will start first with the conflict prevention, when I served in the first Gulf war, my experience was a liaison officer from United States Army Europe to Seventh Corps in Iraq and Kuwait. My job was to support Ltg Franks by ensuring that leaders and troops returning to Germany understood what was going to happen next to them. Many of them had stayed long past their planned departure date in Germany due to the war, and were concerned as to where and when they’d go next. Many were part of units that we were going to announce for inactivation, the US Army was going to come down from 770 000 in strength to 480 000- we were going to cut our army personnel in half. There were many soldiers who fought in the Gulf War that we would need to leave active duty, that is, before their time in service commitment came due. As you could imagine, there were many considerations for these troops, but as importantly, we wanted to make sure we took great care of those departing families, as well. And we did just that with very robust transition/job search programs, extended medical benefits and very lucrative bonuses. This is an important readiness consideration in our military; since we are a thirty year total voluntary force experiment. We are an older, more married with children, force than when we last went to war in Vietnam. We had learned many difficult lessons in human dynamics, and senior leadership was anxious not to repeat those mistakes. So my first message in crisis management and conflict prevention, is that it takes thousands of talented, dedicated people, and many of them women to play the very vital role that establishes the policies, strategies and resources to ensure we take outstanding care of our volunteer troops and their family members, each and everyday. An unhappy troop or family will not reenlist – this is a basic fact of the volunteer military life. So, my first point in lessons learned in conflict prevention, is that to maintain a viable volunteer and professional military that helps to keep the world secure, we in the United States must be willing to resource the quality of life programs such as schools and medical support, for our
30 troops and their families. We have a saying in the US Army, “you enlist a soldier, but reenlist a family”.
I was also struck during the first Gulf War in Kuwait and Iraq, that I had much more mobility than the average soldier, because I was an LNO and part of a very small team that had dedicated civilian transportation. I went into the cities of Riyadh and Dhahran, and was amazed at the way women were treated in this society. It was very hard for me as an officer in the US military to relate to the fact that women had been arrested that same year for driving downtown by themselves without the covering of the burka. When I visited the marketplace and looked into the eyes of women selling their wares, they were very empty. They were also clearly envious of who I was, what I had the liberty to do, and what I represent being an American women. I will tell you that I was very angry in my burka, which I relented to wearing because that was the custom that Americans would abide by in the more religious cities. On the other hand, I thought it ridiculous that I could not drive a civilian vehicle across Kuwait and Iraq, but had to have a more senior major drive me, because I was a woman. Conflict management was my job at the time, and I began to understand first hand that there is constantly a battle of ideas in the world- and I could not help but think that these women in Saudi Arabia were looking to be a more equal part of their nation and its future.
I was in the Pentagon working in the same office as Ltg Tim Maude, the Army’s Senior Personnel Officer up until June 2001, when I took command of a support brigade down at Fort Bragg as part of 18th airborne corps. I did go on jump status and knew that it would only be a matter of when our highly deployable brigade would deploy. Unfortunately, I never knew that it would be in response to an attack on my home town’s financial district, in New York City, where I lost an elementary school friend, nor most of the office I worked in the Pentagon, because Ltg Maude and his directorate was at Ground Zero the day that Usama Bin Laden attacked the Pentagon. Of all the friends and colleagues that I lost that day, I really think the toughest was my 28 year old graphic artist and administrative assistant who was married with two small children the same age as mine.
My initial efforts in conflict management, after helping many families morn and grieve during funerals that fall, was to prepare that October, a personnel and finance company to deploy into Uzbekistan to support US troops assisting the Northern Alliance in the overthrow of the Taliban and finding Usama Bin Laden, several of the officers, NCOs and soldiers in that unit were in fact women and the commander was a young female officer- Cpt Lisa Boeckx. Responsibilities of that unit included keeping track of all the US military that we had in that area of responsibility, setting up the postal system for the troops, and keeping up with the injured and deceased soldiers and ensuring that critical and timely information made it back to the United States for commanders, department of defense, and families alike. By 2002, I had routinely put three personnel units into Afghanistan to take care of the troops- in K2, Bag Ram and Kabul. In November of that year, I traveled for several weeks with my command sergeant major to visit the troops, and see the progress in the surrounding communities, now that the Taliban was gone. I began to get a feel for what it means to not be allowed to go to school for ten years, and then have those freedoms given back to you. Clearly Afghanistan is a country in a harsh environment and at war for much of its recent history, but it is a nation that is filled with people who love culture, history and want to live in security and give their children hope.
By the time I got back from Afghanistan, my brigade HQS got notified we were headed to Iraq to support V Corps. In this deployment, I had both the responsibility of command of my
31 troops, but also senior staff level planning/operations as part of V Corps working for Ltg Scott Wallace.
There were two very important projects that I was involved in during conflict management; Postal and post conflict reintegration for the army. We know that mail from home is so important to our troop’s morale- a letter one week can keep you going for a month. Many of our troops do not have daily access to email, nor the amenities of the post exchange. My postal companies handled and moved packages and letter mail in the thousands of tons each day, clearly a critical lifeline to the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in the dust and sand of Kuwait and Iraq. Think abut a small town that you know in your country that is the size of 150 000 people, spread out in an area the size of Poland, accustomed to getting mail daily when in base camps of Kuwait, and now in Iraq without any system of deliver mail. That was the mission and challenged that my brigade had, which was to set up, secure and establish routine mail runs from around the world, thru Kuwait and UAE, and into Iraq. That system is free for the troops and families as they send their letters back and forth.
We also learned a very hard lesson as a US Military in June of 2002 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina .It is difficult to take soldiers right out of combat and put them back into normal life, and it can be very stressful – so much so that we had five suicide/murders at Fort Bragg that month after the first year in Afghanistan. Now, we start a very detailed reintegration process in deployed theater where the soldiers sees the doctor, chaplain, finance and personnel officers, to ensure they are beginning to think about the change in front of them, and how they will interact with the family and friends after having been gone for up to a year. It also gives the military chain of command some insights into our high risk troops, so that we can stay better connected as they reintegrate into a more normal life back into the States or when they return to their post here in Europe.
My message from this experience is that you must continue to take care of your troops most closely involved in conflict management- in this case, actual war, if you want to continue to have professional military. So, for me, as a personnel officer, I could see the tie in taking care of people both in conflict prevention and crisis management. But I think you might even be a little more interested in some more macro lessons learn from me, in what I would call conflict prevention while finishing up crisis management.
Let me illustrate how this can work, while deployed to Iraq with V Corps, I had a young female Civil Affaires Captain brief US Commanders on how to get out into the community and provide support. At that time back in May 2003, we were in Balad, just north of Baghdad. One day, I took her up on her offer and visited three schools of which my brigade adopted two and encouraged a sister unit to adopt the other. We went and met with principal several times over the course of a month, to see what she wanted fixed in the school (basically she needed everything: there was no running water, no electricity, no sewage system); and what other supplies and other support she might need. At the second meeting, we brought back digital photos produced by some color printers we had back at our command post. The principal thought the pictures were great, and asked for such a camera. Well, here we are trying to explain the concept of a digital camera and how it would be necessary to have this special printer, when we stopped and asked her if she would want some computers as well. I should inject here that the principal spoke some English, but not so for any of her assembled teachers, one of the teachers that relied on the captain translating when she asked the question about computers in Arabic, started to tear up, she went on and on in her native tongue, all the while crying openly. I would tell you that this display of emotion did unnerve me a little.
32 Apparently, she was the school’s physics teacher. She had heard about computers and what they could do for the children in their learning and understanding of the world outside her farm village. She said she had never seen or been on a computer, but if she could learn physics, she could certainly learn computer science. Moreover, she told me if I got her those computers, she would be in charge of the computer science department for the school. We moved out and purchased ten computers for them. That was a very powerful moment for me. It reminded me that I have so much to be thankful for. That we can as women can reach out and make difference: across a boarder, across a nation, or across a region of the world. And that many women want the same thing for their daughters that I want for mine, to give them opportunities to explore being who they want to be. To be really effective and influencial women leaders, we ourselves should take a lesson from Iraq physics teacher. We must always be in the business of learning, and, we must never be too proud to relearn old, but tested lessons.
There are many women in the US military who are going out in the towns of Afghanistan and Iraq, talking to women, and sharing their experiences of having rights and freedoms: as well as the struggles we in the United States have had in our own nation, between our past radical and gender inequalities.
As hard as it might be to imagine this task as conflict prevention, we do have a strong belief in the United States military, that the sooner you can achieve stability and sustainment operations and establish a new, viable government such as in Iraq, the better one can prevent the next conflict. I am a believer that as terrible as conflicts are, whether you are preparing to prevent them or trying to manage in the middle of one, there is an underlining theme of the importance of taking care of people. For me, that starts with the soldier and their family back in the United States and providing tangible, cradle to grave support throughout an entire career, most of which is spent supporting conflict prevention to help make the world a more secure place to live . For me personally, it has also meant taking care of the people in the area of conflict. I will never forget my Iraqi school principal: I know she and I are both doing our parts as women, mothers, teachers, principal and military professionals, to make the world a better, more secure place for our children.
33 EU Statement
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. First of all we would like to congratulate the Swedish government for organising this seminar and thank the Foreign Minister of Sweden, Madame Laila Freivalds, for focusing on a crucial question for this Organisation and its Participating States.
The EU would like to emphasise the importance which it attaches to the role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in crisis management. This is a cross dimensional issue relating to all three dimensions of the OSCE, as is the Code of Conduct on Politico- Military Aspects of Security.
During the Conference of EU Ministers of Gender Equality that took place in Luxembourg on 4th of February, the EU has reaffirmed its commitment to implement and encourage initiatives, policies and programmes following the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 concerning women, peace and security. In particular, the European Union has supported and will continue to support grassroots initiatives for conflict prevention and peace-building by women’s organisations in many parts of the world. In addition, on May 23rd, the European Council has adopted Generic Standards of Behaviour for ESDP Operations in which relevant bodies are encouraged to carry out further work in areas related to the implementation of specific aspects of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. European Union member States can point to very positive practical experiences from the deployment of women in operational roles in peace-keeping and crisis management missions.
The international community has indeed increasingly recognized the positive contributions women can make to preventing conflicts and consolidating peace. In that regard the 2004 OSCE Action Plan, endorsed by the Sofia Ministerial Council, is a first step in improving the effectiveness of the OSCE.
The EU strongly supports the full implementation of the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality. The aims of the plan are relevant to the work of the OSCE in all three dimensions and must be implemented by the Participating States, the Secretariat, the Institutions and Field Missions. We encourage all concerned, in particular the Secretary General, to ensure a comprehensive integration of Resolution 1325 related issues into OSCE activities in a systematic manner. The implementation plans called for in the Gender Action Plan should provide for concrete measures in this regard. We are looking forward to the first annual evaluation report on gender issues to be presented by the Secretary General.
In closing, Madame Moderator, the EU would like to stress that we are looking forward to the follow up to this seminar at the Ministerial council in Ljubljana.
The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania and the Candidate Countries Turkey and Croatia* align themselves with this statement.
* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process
34 Ireland
Madam Minister etc.
I am pleased to address this distinguished gathering today both in my capacity as Head of the Delegation of Ireland and as current Chair of the OSCE Informal Working Group on Gender and anti-Trafficking.
Ireland’s experience of international peacekeeping goes back almost half a century to the earliest days of the concept. Our country first sent its Defence Forces abroad to serve in a United Nations peacekeeping mission in 1958. Our policy of sending our Defence Forces and other personnel abroad to help in bringing peace to the conflict-torn regions of the world has not wavered over the years. That policy has been sustained, despite the loss of Irish lives in conflicts, some far from Ireland, and often far from our immediate interests. It demonstrates Ireland’s constant and continuing willingness to support, with personnel and material, the central theme of our foreign policy, or practical and committed support for collective security. That policy continues to enjoy the support of the Irish people.
Women have served in Irish contingents in the years since their recruitment to the Defence forces began a quarter of a century ago. A highly experienced officer will give a more detailed presentation on the experience of women with peace keeping contingents in a working session this afternoon. Women diplomats, development experts, lawyers and police have also served with the international missions in the Balkans and in Asia. Our experience shows that the presence of women in visible positions within missions, particularly in positions of authority can have a positive and empowering effect on local women who may have suffered traumatic losses in conflict. This is not to say that women should be in missions merely as sympathetic eras or shoulders to cry on. On the contrary it is important that they be seen to operate on a level with male colleagues. The statement of Jadrenka Milicevic of Zena Zenama quoted in the background paper says it all ”The existence of a few women high up in the international community has meant a lot for local women’s organisations. They gave us hope-if they can do it so can we”.
In the past two decades the conflicts which the international community has been called on to resolve have differed in many ways from earlier cases where a UN military force was the obvious solution. It has also become clear that in many cases regional organisations such as OSCE are the most appropriate organiser of conflict prevention and resolution efforts. Operations in the Balkans, in East Timor and in Africa have demonstrated the need for broader expertise in the approach to peace keeping and conflict resolution. Along with traditional military tasks, other elements now form core parts of any operation, including disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of combatants, the promotion of national reconciliation and respect for human rights, organising and monitoring elections, humanitarian tasks and the reestablishment of policing, judicial and other state functions and, effectively, the re-establishment of civil society as we know it.
Conflict resolution is, therefore, now seen in a much more holistic manner involving the full spectrum of responses required to build peace and to establish a functional civil society based on respect for law and human rights. I am happy to say that Ireland has been able to contribute to meeting these new challenges and Irish police, diplomats and other specialists and experts,
35 both men and women, have served and are currently serving in missions of the UN, OSCE and the European Union.
Lessons learned from our experience of our own contingents and from international best practice, are integrated into our training programmes. Along with that, the extensive local liaison, where the military engage with local populations in the provision of support and humanitarian assistance, is one of the hallmarks of the Irish approach to involvement in conflict resolutions missions.
A final point I would make is that a significant indicator of OSCE’s seriousness about the role of women in this important field will be its success in meeting the objectives of the Gender Action Plan. My delegation raised in the Permanent Council the absence of women from the Panel of Eminent Persons when they were nominated in February. The latest figures on gender balance in the Secretariat, Institutions and Field Missions suggest that OSCE has a long way to go before it can be said to have fully embraced the goals of Security Council Resolution 1325.
36 Norway
Statement at the Plenary Session by H.E. Mrs. Mette Kongshem, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Norway.
Madame Moderator,
Allow me first of all to thank the Swedish Foreign Minister for her welcome initiative to organize this seminar on ” Women in conflict prevention and crisis management”, and also to thank the many key- note speakers for their valuable contributions to our discussion.
The important UN Security Council resolution 1325 was first adressed here in the OSCE through the work last year on the Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality, which was then adopted at the OSCE Ministerial Meeting in Sofia last December. Sad to say, it took this Organization 4 years to focus on this important document and the committments therein. As a security Organization the OSCE should be actively seized with following up the provisions of resolution 1325, in particular on the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and in stressing the importance of women`s equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security. Increasing women`s role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution is long overdue.
We therefore welcome Minister Freivalds` challenge to us today to identify recommendations, or probably even a strategy, for implementing 1325 in the OSCE. This is a challenge we must and will take on. And in so doing I would like to echo what the Director of ODIHR, Mr. Strohal, referred to in his statement today, namely that the 2004 Gender Action Plan actually reflects all the principles in resolution 1325. If we look at the Section on Goals and Objectives in the Action Plan, we will find all necessary elements which are vital for including women in conflict prevention, management and reconstruction :
Promote the role of women in conflict prevention and peace reconstruction processes Training programmes on gender awareness in order to sensitize participants in conflict and peace-building operations Promote a gender-sensitive management culture and working environment Strengthen recruitment strategies in the OSCE to encourage the appointment of more women to decision-making positions in the OSCE and peace-building and conflict resolution missions Support local women`s peace initiatives and processes for conflict resolution, and involve women in all the implementation mechanisms of peace agreements.
And what is really important is that the Chairman-in -Office and the Secretary General now take the lead for a systematic and consistent implementation of the 2004 Gender Action Plan.
So I will argue, that if the OSCE and the participating States seriously and strongly follow up on the commitments embodied in the Action Plan, we will have come a long way in also implementing 1325 in the OSCE.
37 But we have to move further, and this seminar is a most welcome opportunity to do just that. My Delegation therefore looks forward to the working groups in order to identify measures and mechanisms needed in order to bring a much needed impetus into our work to have resolution 1325 well integrated in the activities of this Organization.
What is called for Madame Moderator is systematic, consistent attention and much more awareness about the need to include women in order for the OSCE to more successfully take on threats and challenges to security.
I thank you for your attention.
38 Slovenia
Intervention by Dr.Milan Jazbec, OSCE Task Force, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia
Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies And Gentlemen
I would first like to express my strong support for carrying on this project. This seminar has managed to gather a distinguished expert and diplomatic audience who will focus on one of the most important issues of this Organization and its member States.
Having in mind the fact that in the late nineties of the previous century, Swedish respected government was the first in Europe where the number of female ministers exceeded the number of the male ones, I have no doubt in the success of this seminar. We will be glad to hear the conclusions of this Seminar, presented at the Annual Security Conference Review, which starts tomorrow, and later have them included in the OSCE Ministerial Council Documents.
The issue you focus on is important, complex and sensitive. This all only stimulates your research and debates, but also our common responsibility to try to implement the conclusion that you will reach today.
Allow me, therefore, to mention only a few aspects of the topic on which you are focusing today here in Vienna.
Firstly, I would say that one easily gets the impression that there is a far too low proportion of women included in peace processes, having in mind both conflict prevention and crisis management. There are several reasons for this, they are all more or less well known and it is not my intention to further dwell on them. But we have to make this fact our point of departure in social research of this phenomenon and not only for political implementation of this research.
Secondly, I think it is not only my guess that among the various social roles of women in this context, being the victim is exposed the most.
This can not be neglected though we have to stress that women play also other roles, which are important: some of them participate in crisis and armed conflicts as fighters, some of them carry in these situations roles which are otherwise played by men (and they accomplish this at least as successfully), they take care of their families while men are absent; in short they are present all around. But, however, problems appear, when, after the conflict is finished, women are primarily pushed back into their previous roles. It is more than understandable that nobody likes to see his/her own social role reduced.
Thirdly, we have to say and admit, of course, that on the local level, particularly in families, women play a highly important role in conflict prevention. They raise their children; teach them, in direct or indirect manner, non violent behaviour and socialization; they participate in educational processes; some, depending also on the institutional environment, are active in
39 various peace institutions. We could recall activities, when women, after the conflicts have been settled down, have organized themselves to demand on NGO basis, more rights for prisoners, respect of Geneva Conventions, the right to have contact with prisoners etc.
Fourthly, there is a far too low participation of women in different peace keeping operations. Therefore, we have to strongly support the UN activities to raise the proportion of women in mentioned activities, encourage women for this participation, and do our best to guarantee the institutional framework that will enable access to these positions. As it was significant that only in 1992 the first woman was appointed as a SG Special Representative (it was for Angola), it is stimulating that more and more applications for various international posts and with formulations which guarantee equal employment opportunities for both sexes. The UN Founding Charter in its Chapter 3, Article 8 is the starting point here.
And last, but not least, allow med also to mention that the academic and research community in Slovenia is engaged in various projects and research in this field. The Defence Studies Research Centre at the Faculty for Social Sciences in Ljubljana holds two long-term projects where they follow women activities and study this topic; one of them is the “Slovene Armed Forces in peace keeping operations” and the other is the “Human factor in military system”. I am sure they would be glad to cooperate with you and share their valuable experiences.
40 Denmark
Intervention by Ambassador Kirsten Biering, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the OSCE
Madam Chair, I wholeheartedly welcome the Swedish initiative to discuss in the OSCE the role of women in conflict prevention and crisis management.
It is time the OSCE, as regional organization under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, decides how to secure our contribution to the fulfilment of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. A resolution which states that an understanding of the impact of armed conflict on women, effective institutional arrangements to guarantee their protection and full participation in the peace process can significantly contribute to the maintenance and promotion of international peace and security.
The resolution, which was adopted in October 2000, focuses not only on women as victims in armed conflicts but also as resources in the many phases before, under and after armed conflicts. The OSCE Gender Action Plan further provides that gender equality contributes to comprehensive security, and the Action Plan contains specific provisions as regards the fulfilment of Resolution 1325.
Madam Chair,
The OSCE has a sound normative platform for getting down to business now, almost five years after Resolution 1325 was adopted. Our commitments must be implemented. Denmark encourages all concerned, including the Secretary General, to take steps to ensure that 1325 related issues are duly taken into account in a systematic fashion in all relevant OSCE activities. In other words, that they are mainstreamed into our daily work
Such an integrated effort would require a detailed plan for incorporation these issues into the decision making process. It may be necessary to discuss among all those concerned, possibly in a task force, how to go about this. Such a task force could include, amongst others, representative from the Secretariat, including the CPC, field missions, ODIHR and the Gender Adviser.
Within the next few days, the Danish Government will provide Parliament with a report on Danish initiatives regarding the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325. The basis of this report was a process of meetings, inter alia with staff from the Defence Ministry and Foreign Ministry, which involved also the design of a questionnaire to which the concerned governmental bodies were asked to respond. The result has been a list of specific initiatives both at the political and the operational level. By way of a more coordinate and systematic approach, the aim is to further strengthen and qualify the efforts nationally as well as internationally, including also the UN, the EU and NATO.
Denmark has been looking forward t participating in this seminar and will attend the workshops with great interest. We expect that conclusions will emerge from the seminar which can be taken forward in the form of recommendation to the OSCE and its Participating States at the Ministerial Conference in Ljubljana in December this year. Thank you, Madam Chair.
41 Republic of Macedonia Ministry of labour and social policy
The role of the Macedonian Women’s movement in the Peace Building and Post-Conflict Reconciliation
Women’s movement in Republic f Macedonia is a specific and successful story. It is very active, especially in the last 1, 5 decade of pluralism in the country. But the greatest achievements have been reached since the Macedonian Women’s lobby was founded, 5 years ago.
Macedonian Women’s Lobby is a women’s network of women from different structures (NGOs, political parties, Governmental structures, Parliament, Local Government, media, trade unions, experts) with different political, ethnic and religious background. It was formed on the 1 March 2000, as an initiative of the Gender Task Force – Stability Pact. But it was also a result of the critical mass of emancipated women in our country who needed coordination to step forward and to improve gender balance. This network has an opened unformale structure with focal points of the Stability Pact, Coordinative Body with a Coordinator, local branches, Women’s Parliamentary Club with a Parliamentary Coordinator, and a National Office with and Executive Director as a logistical support.
The long-term goals are: 1) more women in political and public life, on decision-making positions; 2) improving the status of women in the society by improving the legislation and its implementation in the sense of women’s rights: 3) peace building and increasing the stability and cohesion of the country and society.
The main achievements during this five years of activity are: - increasment of the women in politics, for 3 times in the Parliament (from 6,7 to 20,8% according to the last parliamentary elections in 2002), and for 4 times in the Local Government (from 5,5% to 22,7% according to the last local elections in 2005);
- improvement of the legislation from gender prospective (in the field of domestic violence, women’s health, equal opportunity and non-discrimination, gender quotas in electing processes etc.);
-promoting peace activities during the conflict in 2001 and post-conflict activities afterwards.
In 2003 the Macedonian Women’s Lobby got an award for contribution to the civic society and democracy by the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation
During the war crisis 2001 and afterwards the Macedonian Women’s Lobby replaced lobbing for women with lobbying for peace in the country. Numerous activities have been undertaken, such as appeals, roundtables, public meetings and humanitarian actions for everyone who needed help, regardless of its ethnicity. The most important are; - Appeal to the international Community for support of the integrity and sovereignty of the country, given personally to Mr Bodo Hombah, the Stability Pact Special Coordinator, during his visit to Skopje on the 22 March 2001;
42 - Open discussion on a weekly basis “One thousand dialogues” regarding the hot war issues, March –May 2001 - Round Table “Are we prepared for the civic society?” in the crowded conference hall, lasting 5 hours, discussion about citizen-state relations, expectations and fears after changes in the Constitution (at that time the talks in the President’s cabinet for the future organisation of the country were ongoing), covered by all the media on the 12 July 2001); - Public Adress, calling the citizens to support the process and activities that lead to peace and interethnic tolerance, also asking the international community to help the country in process of disarmament and getting back the displaced persons, few days after the signing of the Framework Ohrid Agreement by the political leaders, on the 16 August 2001; - Standing for peace in the main square in Skopje, in coordination with the peace network “Women in Black”, with transparents in different languages against weapons, ethnic intolerance and ethnic cleansing, for Macedonia as a joint home, on the 5 September 2001; -Participation in the regional pilot-project of GTF – Stability pact “SEE Women’s role in conflict and prevention, resolution and post-conflict dialogue” dealing with Macedonian and Roma displaced persons from Macedonia and Kosovo, trying to use women from different ethnicities as bridges for building confidence and bringing everybody to their homes.
All these activities were held with great efforts of the women from different origine, who were maintaining the communication even when they had completely opposite attitudes to what was ongoing in the country. It was not easy, but it was necessary. These bridges were precious for continuation and normalisation of the life after war.
The role of the Macedonian Women’s Lobby in the peace building and post- conflict reconciliation is significant, but it is only a part of the entire contribution to the democracy, civic society and greater cohesion of the country, by crossing the political, ethnic and religious border while working together on the gender equality causas. It is a good role model for Macedonia, but also for the wider region, how successful can citizens bee, when they are focused on some issues of common interest.
In January 2003, for the first time, my country hosted a Ministerial Conference of the Council of Europe. Macedonian women were very proud that this first Conference had been the 5th European Ministerial Conference on Equality between Women and Men of the Council of Europe. They were also very proud that for the first time there has been discussion at ministerial level of highly political subject: the perspectives and the roles of women in conflict prevention, peace building and democratisation.
The Declaration and Programme of Action on “Gender Equality: a core issue in changing societies” and the Resolution on “the role of women and men in conflict prevention, peace building and post- conflict democratic processes – a gender perspective” adopted by the 5th European ministerial Conference on equality between women and men reflect the will of the member states of the Council of Europe that women must take part in conflict prevention, peace building and democratisation of society after conflict and that these texts should serve as a framework for the promotion of equality as a fundamental criterion of democracy.
I would like to underline that the Conference Resolution on “The roles of women and men in conflict prevention, peace building and post- conflict democratic processes – a gender perspective” contains proposal for gender mainstreaming in this field, thus reinforcing the measures taken by the United Nations, and in particular Resolution 1325 regarding the role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace building. Regional
43 documents such as the final declaration of the Conference: “Gender equality: a core issue in changing societies” also supplement the United Nations resolution very effectively.
The experience and examples of good practice brought during the Conference confirm that changes are possible. We are more than ever aware that this is a question of justice, of civilisation and of the development of human rights.
44 Workshop 1 Implementation of UNSCR 1325:
Moderator: H.E. Carlos Sánchez de Boado, Head of the Permanent Mission of Spain to the OSCE Rapporteur : Ms. Andrea Matisová, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Slovakia to the OSCE
The group had a frank and open exchange of views which provided a good opportunity to reflect on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 since its adoption 5 years ago.
1325 was described as a unique resolution that was translated into 60 languages. Despite of that, it hasn’t not been addressed by the relevant actors properly.
The group tried to identify the reasons behind and many participants underlined that there is: 1) lack of political will to implement 1325 2) lack of operational creativity 3) stereotypes in perception of a woman’s role in the society
Substantial discussion was devoted to the role of the OSCE in promoting 1325. There was a general understanding that there is no need for creation of the additional papers; the emphasis should be primarily given on the implementation of the existing documents, particularly the OSCE Gender Action Plan inspired by the UNSCR 1325. The OSCE should also focus more on the awareness raising vis-a-vis its participating states. The need for elaboration of the National Gender Action Plans taking into consideration the specifics of a given country was highlighted by several participants as well.
Many recommendations concerning the improvement of the 1325 implementation were expressed. The participants called for: a) identification of short-term objectives in order to materialize the commitments taken b) better cooperation and coordination among the international organizations and civil society c) better use of experience of the local women’s organizations d) enhancement of capacity building e) mobilization of adequate financial resources f) need to professionalize the interpersonnel management and mainstreaming of the gender perspective g) introduction of possible „awards and punishment policy“ as a toll to promote gender balance policy h) support for families, education for children
These, translated into the OSCE reality, should focus our activities on:
a) mainstreaming of the gender perspective into the whole organization b) improvement of the OSCE recruitment system, including the secondments c) strengthening the ODIHR´s role in the implementation of 1325 through the concrete actions of the OSCE Action Plan.
An option of a Ministerial Declaration to be adopted by the Ministerial Council in Ljubljana could be considered in this regard.
45
The general feeling in the group was that we have not been doing enough and we must do better! The emphasis at this stage should be given to the shift from the paperwork to the practical implementation.
46 Workshop 2 Women as Actors in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management
Moderator: H.E. Barbara Gibson, Ambassador of Canada Rapporteur: Brendan Ward, Permanent Mission of Ireland to the OSCE
The workshop provided a useful opportunity for professionals to exchange views on their first hand experience in field missions, NGO networks and other work in conflict resolution. A number of participants spoke about the experience of gender mainstreaming in armed forces and the difficulties which can be created by a strong tradition of professional identity. A number of common themes emerged in the discussions and on the basis of these we would offer the following points for further consideration and development.
1.) All participants agreed on the importance of women as visible role models in conflict resolution activities. This is equally true in institutions, field missions and in local representative bodies. 2.) It was generally acknowledged that OSCE institutions and field operations had not yet fully achieved gender mainstreaming and that this was a matter which should be raised with Heads of Missions and Institutions in their appearances at the Permanent Council. 3.) For the presence of women to have an effect it is necessary for a critical mass of presence to be attained. Some participants suggested that a realistic level of representation was 30%. The recently published statistics on gender representation in the organisation show how far the OSCE is from the ideal. 4.) For this to be achieved consideration would have to be given to action to address numerical imbalances (quotas), at least for a limited period. 5.) There was also general agreement on the importance of education and training, for both men and women in promoting gender mainstreaming. Particular emphasis was placed on the need for education in shared values. 6.) Where it is felt that specific gender training would meet resistance, e.g. in armed forces it was suggested by a number of speakers that gender awareness should be raised through more general diversity training. 7.) The lack of awareness of the informal networks and connections among women’s groups was highlighted. The need for greater publicity for these efforts was raised and it was considered that the media units of OSCE field missions might play a useful role. 8.) The exclusion of women from formal decision making structures was cited as the basis of discrimination. Participants mentioned that even in States which have seen major political upheavals in the recent past this has not always resulted in an improvement in gender equality.
47 Workshop 3 Lessons Learned from International Missions.
Moderator : H.E. Mrs.Mette Kongshem, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Norway to the OSCE Rapporteur: Mr. Nairi Petrossian, Second Secretary of the Delegation of the Republic of Armenia to the OSCE
The Moderator noted by way of introduction that the OSCE is or have been involved in many peace-building missions and dialogues. Many of the 18 Field operations are engaged in assisting in such discussions, but women have basically been - and still are - excluded. And that is certainly the case as far as management positions are concerned. Their role has largely been ignored. It is high time for the OSCE to integrate a gender perspective in its policy practices by looking at, among others, mandates, structures, policies, operational procedures and policy implementation as well as gender expertise. She opined that peace-building also must be seen in a broader context, where rule of law plays an important part in security building. Police education programmes, and efforts within the whole judicial system are necessary elements and also in these areas women must be included.
The importance of taking women`s needs and priorities into account through their access to conflict resolution and peace building discussions and missions would also profit from participation of women in such foras.
In the following discussion many participants pointed out that although the interrelationship between gender and conflict has been a topic of discussion for many years and acknowledged by various institutions at global and regional levels, and despite the fact that a number of strategic objectives has been formulated and declarations and concepts elaborated, women continue to be marginalized, including in the important work in the field. It is all in the books, but not followed up in practice. The importance of the issue is just not understood. And traditional attitudes linger on. Several participants noted that international missions thereby loose a valuable asset, as women in general constitute a resource for defusing tension and potential conflict. They can, often more easily than men, play a role in developing dialogue and building trust between the parties as they have a good ability to reach out to the population. Some participants also felt that women were better listeners than men, which can be an important advantage in discussions and negotiations.
It was added by several participants that local women in a conflict situation would be more ready to assume a position of confidence vis-a-vis other women, and that grass root women’s movements would constitute an important mechanism for confidence building within local societies. Such grass root women’s movements should be encouraged in their activities in general. Furthermore, local NGOs were also considered vital channels for confidence building and therefore important contacts where often women have a better possibility of reaching out. The voice of women victims of conflict would be of crucial importance in the reconstruction efforts. On the whole participants agreed that it is important to take into account and understand the culture of a society in order to be able to assist.
On a national level the setting of benchmarks was also pointed out in the discussion as an important procedure for moving forward on women’s equal participation and full involvement
48 in all international efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security. Such setting of benchmarks would also increase public awareness of the importance of involving women. Political will to take action is a necessity. Introduction of quotas was mentioned as another useful mechanism, at least on a temporary basis, in order to improve the the situation and create a sustainable development in the long run. It was underlined by many participants that the various national and local organizations would be empowered in fulfilling their task when women are included.
But it was also pointed out that for the message of the role of women to be fully realized at the grass root level, it is important that it is conveyed in a language which is easily accessible. Furthermore, translation of international documents, conventions and resolutions into the local language was underlined as a necessity for the local female population in order for them to become aquainted with and aware of their rights.
Also because of traditional attitudes vis-a-vis women and lack of readiness and interest to involve women in international missions, women are often reluctant to join. Several participants pointed out that it would be helpful to have some role models profiled in order to attract other women. The issue of recruiting qualified personnel was discussed. More work needs to be done to address the recruitment base. Both on the military and civilian side there is an evident imbalance as well on the national as on the international levels. Short term and long term strategies are needed in terms of human resource management, probably also in the form of a centralized roster. Human resource departments both nationally, and in international and regional organizations like the OSCE, should short-list men as well as women in order to increase the possibilities for female candidates.
In this connection many participants complained that the OSCE has no female Head of Mission and too few women on higher levels and noted that there is a lack of progress on this issue in the Organization. They stated that they are looking forward to the upcoming report by the Secretary General on the implementation of the 2004 Gender Action Plan, and that by 1 October 2005 the Secretary General shall develop a plan for the implementation of measures for achieving the overall aims of the Action Plan and that Heads of Institutions shall by that same date develop their own plans.
It was underlined that the OSCE now should take the initiative to be in the forefront among international organizations in promoting in practice - and not only in words – the role of women in conflict prevention and peace reconstruction processes.
Lessons learned:
• Action-plans, declarations and resolutions on women’s role and contribution in conflict prevention and peace reconstruction must be translated into practice. Women continue to be marginalized.
• Peace-building must also be seen in the broader context of rule of law and strengthening the judicial system and women must be included in these efforts.
• Women are a valuable resource in defusing tension and potential conflict and better at developing dialogue and at confidence building.
49 • Women will be more attentive to the needs of local women’s needs and priorities in conflict resolution and peace-building.
• Grass root women’s movements and local NGOs constitute a valuable mechanism for confidence building within local societies.
• Avoid that women are marginalized in the political processes after a conflict and develop practical tools for ensuring the inclusion of women in civil administration and in reconstruction processes.
• The culture of the country in question must be respected and understood.
• Benchmarks and temporary quotas may assist in moving forward on women’s equal participation in international efforts for peace and security.
• Role models will be helpful in attracting other women to international missions and recruitment mechanisms must be addressed.
• OSCE `s ambition should be to position itself in the forefront of international organizations in promoting in practice and not only in words concerning the role of women in conflict prevention and peace reconstruction.
50
Closing Session:
The reports from the three workshops were followed by statements from participating States and Field Offices as well as interventions and comments from partners for co-operation States and participants.
Finally, a closing statement was presented by H.E Krister Bringéus, Head of the Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the OSCE.
Moderator: Alyson J.K. Bailes, Director, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
51 Arab Republic of Egypt
Thank you Madame Moderator,
Allow me at the beginning to thank join previous speakers and thank Sweden for organizing this important seminar.
Women as an individual has a role in society that should be acknowledged, valued and enhanced, and should be given the opportunity to contribute in all areas and domains. Women must be recognized as key actors in conflict resolution and must be involved in all efforts for peace-making, peace keeping, peace-building and reconstruction, as they are a part of the society, and due to the fact that they suffer disproportionately in armed conflicts. And to play this role, women should be empowered through inter alia; education, training, access to knowledge , labour market, and to decision- making positions.
Madame Moderator,
Peace is not just the absence of military conflicts, peace comprises also freedom from poverty, illiteracy, violence, and gender-based discrimination. And that is why, mainstreaming gender perspective in strategic planning at all levels is important – in order that policies take into consideration the impact they might have on women and their concerns. Also advocacy is important, in fighting negative stereotyping of women and raising public awareness and support of the pivotal role of women in society.
Madame Moderator,
On September 2002 Sharm El Sheikh “ Women for Peace Dialogue for Action “Conference was held , an initiative taken by H.E Mrs. Mubarak, the first lady of Egypt . The conference discussed empowering women and activating their role in peace-making and peace-building. This conference culminated in the launching of “Women for Peace Movement” urging women to work along side men to accelerate a culture that fosters tolerance, peace and security in the world. As a follow up, H.E Mrs. Mubarak officially announced the establishment of the Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement” on June, 16, 2003, as a non-profitable international Association registered in Geneva with a permanent secretariat in Cairo. The movement is aiming at reinforcing the impact of the effective programs, organizations and institutions of peace to achieve collectively the following goals:
-Advance coordinated gender-based global response to violence at all levels, and pursue creative options for armed conflicts, fostering culture of tolerance among people. -Empower women to monitor and promote their participation as key influencing change agents at all levels. -Engage in coalition to foster strategic alliances that enhance strength from consolidated action. -Promote a shared vision of the role of women in peace processes.
52 Ensure the involvement of women in the elaboration of international policies and action for peace. On the national level, the movement is launching two new projects promoting the culture of peace among children: -A series of children summer camps in coastal cities aiming at the promotion of principles of peace and respect for others. -the second project provides Egyptian Children with opportunities to mingle with children from other countries via their embassies in Cairo, as an exercise of cultural exchange.
The movement held lectures and workshops on peace matters and workshops as awareness raising of peace among young women to stimulate their engagement in the promotion of the culture of peace, and their leadership skills. Concerning the implementation of the Security Council resolution 1325, the movement held a regional workshop in May 2004 entitled “The Road to UNSCR 1325 –Women, Peace and Security –Future perspectives”. The workshop brought together participants from 14 Arab countries to discuss the means of implementing this decision. Several events were held on the international level as: -The Global coalition of Women Defending Peace: Mission to Palestine, January 2005, Palestine. -Women Defending Peace Conference – International Conference, November 2004, Geneva. -Lecture at the Sorbonne University – “Women and Peace”, June 2004, Paris. -The UNESCO Colloquium. “Women in the Service of Peace”, June 2004, Paris.
Thank you,
53 Permanent Mission of Turkey to the OSCE
Statement by Prof. Yakın Ertürk, Turkish Delegation (Closing Session)
I would like to thank the OSCE, Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Folke Bernadotte Academy for organizing this seminar as well as to the keynote speakers for their informative presentations.
International Gender Agenda This meeting, by addressing a ground breaking event such as Security Council resolution 1325, has been ground breaking itself. 1325 is an outcome of an evolving UN gender agenda since the inception of the Organization 60 years ago. Beginning with the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975, the UN addressed the issue of women’s rights and equality in consecutive conferences (Copenhagen in 1980, Nairobi in 1985 and Beijing in 1995) around the themes equality, development and peace. The Beijing review processes (2000 and 2005) have shown that while some progress has been achieved in the area of equality of women and their participation in the process of development, women and peace has been the weakest link in the UN gender agenda. International community failed in producing effective strategies in ensuring women’s participation in conflict prevention and management let alone in sufficiently protecting women from being victims of conflict.
Security Council resolution 1325 is a breakthrough in this regard, as it has broadened the gender agenda and has brought new actors into the dialogue on gender equality, such as representatives of OSCE, NATO, national and international military and police institutions, among others. Participants from these very important institutions, mandated to ensure security and peace, have come together here today to engage in a dialogue on international norms for gender equality. The presence here of the Special Advisor of the Secretary General on Gender Issues is most welcomed as she will be the link to the know how that has accumulated on gender issues over the past 3 decades. These know how and the lessons learned from the experience in the evolving gender agenda provides an invaluable guide in the implementation of SC resolution 1325.
The Rationale in Integrating Gender Each institution and country will, no doubt, have to develop its own strategy in integrating gender into its work as foreseen by 1325. However, at the most general level, this will entail three basic measures. Before focusing on those, it is important to emphasize the need to avoid essentialist arguments that women by nature are peaceful. There is considerable evidence supporting the thesis that gender identities are socially constructed and they respond and are impacted upon in diverse ways during conflict and war situations. Yet, it is equally important to refrain from making overall generalizations about the female species based on the behavior of some women who may have engaged in violent acts. Mary Robinson, the former High Commissioner for Human Rights, once said that when women can make mistakes and are not condemned for it as an individual or categorically as a woman then perhaps we can talk about gender equality. Moreover, closer analysis of women’s violence or criminality reveals that it is contextually very different from the institutionalized forms of male aggression, be it in the home or outside, in times of war or peace.
54
Historically rooted unequal gender structures, which have universally subordinated women and excluded them from decision making processes and public discourse, have been the motivating force behind the global gender agenda. SC resolution 1325 is a response to this exclusion, which not only denies half the worlds population an equal ground in societal participation but it also undermines the potential for a more inclusive approach to collective efforts by not benefiting from an important resource. Lessons learned shows that achievement of gender equality, development and peace requires changing behaviour and value hierarchies that sustain exploitation, oppression, hostilities and conflict. It is within this context that there is a merit in exploring in women’s participation in decision making and in integrating a gender perspective into the process, as this may increase the possibility of reinforcing value systems that favour peaceful solutions. Needless to say, equality in itself is a value to uphold.
Measures to be taken for the Implementation of SC resolution 1325 1- Increase women’s representation in decision making positions – this has been acknowledged by all of the speakers at this meeting. It is often argued that a critical mass of 30% is necessary for women’s participation to be effective. Various special measures – for example quotas - have been employed around the world to achieve this. Although most countries and international organizations lag far behind the required numerical representation of women in decision making positions, this is probably the easy part of the problem. Stopping there will result at best in malestreaming!
Therefore, the real challenge in integrating gender into all policy and programmes is posed by the next two measures.
2- Integrating a gender perspective - after 30 years since Mexico City and 10 years since Beijing, while significant progress in women’s status has been achieved everywhere; the practice has been uneven and often has not gone beyond a mechanical interpretation of what it means to mainstream a gender perspective. In other words, it has predominantly been perceived either purely in numerical terms or in terms of difference between women and men. Gender perspective, beyond the sex of who makes the decision, entails questioning power dynamics and how states and institutions conduct their business. In this regard, there is need for readiness on the part of those in authority to listen and learn from the diverse voices of women and integrate the experiences emanating from women’s initiatives into mainstream approaches. Women within and between societies have engaged with one another in formulating alternative peace initiatives as well as survival strategies within every day life. I am particularly familiar with the initiatives of Palestinian and Israeli women. Their experience, however, has never been acknowledged at the official level. On the contrary, women’s civil initiatives, particularly those working across hostile or conflicting societies, were often met with punitive reactions, even accused of being disloyal to their national interests. Another example of women’s peace initiative is that of WINPEACE, which is established by Turkish and Greek women to exchange ideas across the Aegean to bridge the gap between their respective societies. Both governments stand to benefit from this and other such experiences. In conclusion, implementation of SC resolution 1325 would require states and other officials to engage with women’s local and international peace initiatives and integrate these into
55 official policies and practices and ensure that these voices are present at peace negotiations.
3- Gender budgeting – unless political commitments are backed up with funds dedicated specifically for that purpose the ideals will go astray. States and organizations must itemize gender specific posts and activities with a corresponding amount from their core budget.
56 OSCE Field Office in Osh, Kyrgyzstan
Eliza Maksutova
Dear Madam Moderator! Distinguished participants of this seminar!
First of all I would like to thank the Swedish delegation to OSCE and especially Folke Bernadotte Academy for organizing such an important and interesting event. I am sure your initiative is essential topic to be discussed heatedly in all 55 participating states of OSCE, and it will be not a single event but will have further steps to elaborate and find solutions for the issues in the field of gender balance.
Using this opportunity, I would like to briefly tell you my personal view about the situation on gender equality in my country, particularly I would like to somehow speak about the Osh, where I was born. Osh being located in the centre of the Fergana valley- an area divided between Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, is a very popular city and despite to its strong acceptance of the Muslim world it has a great potential to grow in the sphere of democracy.
In the southern provinces of Kyrgyzstan, women form nearly 45 percent of the labour force, they are highly represented in the social service sector of the economy, representation of women in managerial and leadership positions has declined since my country got its independence. (it needs to be recognized that the Soviet period played a significant role in accelerating women’s emancipation in the East).
As you might know, my countries being a part of Central Asia also is considered to be a patriarchal society, which means the inclusion of a gender perspective in development efforts is of added importance. I should emphasize here that the women even of the Fergana valley maybe of Kyrgyzstan as a whole, do not play a leading role in family life; usually they are not in a position to solve the difficult problems of social life. With new independence, the introduction of a market economy and democratization of society, Kyrgyzstan has been going through a fundamental and radical rearrangement of its social structure.
Nowadays, I am here stating the facts I have learnt living there, the women of Kyrgyzstan are experiencing extremely difficult socio-economic conditions. Unemployment for women has increased more rapidly than the average. In rural areas, many women are engaged in hard physical work, often in improper or hazardous climatic conditions, that puts an additional strain on their health and the health of their children. There is also an acute need for eradication of social-clan arrangements, and poverty elimination, lessening unemployment, attracting women to the social sphere and thus allowing them to realize their true abilities.
Woman of my country is very dedicated, sincere and hardworking people, she looks forward for any single opportunity to realize herself, she is in need of financial support, as you know every problem impeding the women feel herself an equal part of the society lays on the financial factors. Women mostly do not have high school education, they lack good working places in comparison with men, they do not earn money same as the men, which makes them be dependent on others, particularly on their husbands.
57
Representation of women in the political arena is very rare, though a few of them indeed hold high governmental positions but mostly they are deputies or the second persons. It shows low educational capacities for women and gender inequality, women in the south of Kyrgyzstan after they got married usually are not allowed to go out and work sometimes even if she is educated, her rights are often violated. This is because if even she would be able to work she would be not able to earn such amount of money as her husband does, my opinion is that, this is maybe just because woman is not entrusted key positions with higher wages.
In a community living in a small southern village you can see that the leading key administrative positions are hold by men, and women even do not try to compete with men or do not take initiative to set up her business, so men are respected everywhere. I doubt if it would be called as our mentality, it is not, on the contrary, it is because that women are not well informed about their simple rights, they do not know their full human rights, they have an understanding that they should obey men and always remain on the second stage.
Finalizing my words here I would assert that my society is in need of new projects forwarded towards capacity building activities, new programs focused on awareness rising of women’s fundamental rights; information on 1325 of UN should be interpreted into more easily understandable words, and broadly should reach the rural areas of Fergana valley. Woman should acknowledge her rights. In my opinion the twelve critical principles in the advancement of women adopted in 1995 in Beijing would play the great role for the understanding of the role of women in my society.
I think it is for us to undertake the concrete measures in order to strengthen the status of women in our society!
Thank you dear colleagues for your kind attention!
58 Closing Statement by H.E. Krister Bringéus, Ambassador, Head of the Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the OSCE
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished delegates, dear friends…
Let me start my concluding remarks by saying that I think today's exercise has been absolutely thrilling and I would want to thank, from my heart, our keynote speakers, our moderators and rapporteurs and in particular Madame Alyson Bailes for having so skillfully steered us through the discussions.
And needless to say very special thanks to the Folke Bernadotte Academy of Sweden that has been instrumental in seeing to that this event happened in the first place. Without their knowledge and organizational skills we would not have been able to make it to here…
Now, let me put it to you, already from the outset, that what we have been elaborating on here in the Hofburg today - the role of women in conflict prevention and crisis management - has something to do with the future.
We are breaking new ground. What today some might regard as a niche project, or a project of temporary political correctness will soon be something very self evident.
My favorite picture is the issue of environment. Some forty years ago industry and business saw rules and principles to this regard as a problem. Today no serious company can afford not to have a solid policy on environment. For reasons of profitability.
I challenge you to say that very soon no serious international organization can afford not to have a solid policy on gender equality and gender mainstreaming. For reasons of efficency. And I challenge you to see to that the OSCE lies on the forefront.
Now, what have we learned here today? Which are the basic experiences that we have shared? What would be the appropriate way forward?
UNSCR 1325 deals both with women as victims as well as important contributors in resolving conflicts. During this seminar focus has been on the latter; on women as actors.
And I think it has been clearly proved today that they are essential actors. For the sake of efficiency.
Increased participation of women in this regard is thus not a cosmetic action in order to satisfy short-term political goals. Systematic involvement of women in prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace building is a key element to success.
And women are not sufficiently represented today. I will give you one example. 17 heads missions, all men. Deputy heads? One woman. Next level: Out of 26 positions, two women.
59 All of us, and that would be my first conclusion, therefore need to take a close look at our own prejudices and subconscious ideas in order to ask ourselves why? In order to achieve a shift of paradigm.
Let me say, that although OSCE is well under way it still has a long way to go. And we have an excellent tool. The 2004 OSCE Action Plan for Gender Equality is a strong, adequate and progressive set of commitments for us to use.
Simply put, what we now need to see is a proactive implementation of that plan.
We need - I think this is something that many speakers have touched upon directly or obliquely - to integrate the spirit of UNSCR 1325 into all our activities aimed at conflict prevention and crisis management.
The ASCR could play a useful role as a format for pS to report on national progress of implementing this resolution.
One particular aspect - and I thank those who raised this issue - is to pay special attention to the nomination process in the Organization. pS must nominate women to key positions, the CiO must actively encourage women to come forward, the SG has a key role in developing methods
One might, as a practical tool, consider the establishment of a centralized roster of women from all pS to ensure the inclusion of women in relevant operations and processes
I noted the suggestions to ensure that pS support and encourage training and educational programs focusing on women and girls aiming at women's participation in peace building processes.
Many of our participants have experienced that this organization - and others - sometimes lack a proper comprehension of what gender mainstreaming is about. Let me tell you, gender mainstreaming is cross dimensional, it is bringing the perspective of equality into all aspects of the OSCE's activities. It is like democracy, it is constant awareness. It is not a women's issue!
One idea therefore might be for the OSCE to recommend to pS to develop instruments of accountability concerning gender mainstreaming in processes of conflict prevention, crisis management and rehabilitation.
I have noted the proposition to engage all actors of the civil society, including women's organizations in conflict prevention and management.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I have picked but a few of very useful conclusions and suggestions. You will find all of them in the report from the seminar that the FBA has graciously accepted to write and that will be distributed shortly.
In conclusion and with the risk to repeat myself,
60 I think the basic outcome of the seminar is that we all feel the imperative need to proactively follow up the Gender Action Plan, and in particular its recommendations on implementation of the 1325.
One way of ensuring this, and Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds suggested as much, would be to see to that the Ministerial Council confirmed this solemn ambition by a decision, including concrete recommendations, at its meeting in Ljubljana in December…
I thank you once again, and wish you all welcome to the reception right outside our meeting room. I think we all have deserved a drink and a bite!
This seminar is closed.
61 Appendix I: Programme
Expert Seminar
Women in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management
20 June 2005 Hofburg, Vienna
Organised by
Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the OSCE
in co-operation with
Folke Bernadotte Academy
62 Women in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management
Agenda
09:00-10:00 Registration of Participants
10:00-10:15 Introduction – Opening Statement Laila Freivalds, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sweden Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, Chairman of the Permanent Council, Representative of the OSCE Chairman in Office, Slovenia
10:15-12:30 Plenary Session
Presentations from keynote speakers; thematic introductions
UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security Ms Rachel N. Mayanja, UN Secretary-General Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women
OSCE-ODIHR on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 H.E. Christian Strohal, Ambassador, Director, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
Women as Actors in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management Ms Elisabeth Rehn, former UN Under-Secretary-General, Special Envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Independent Expert and co-author of "Women War Peace" at UNIFEM, former Minister of Defence of Finland"
Lessons Learned H.E. Daan W. Everts, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the OSCE, former Head of the OSCE Mission to Kosovo, OMIK
Colonel Patricia Mulcahy, Director, Manpower, Personnel and Administration Directorate, United States European Command, United States Army
Discussion
Moderator: Alyson J. K. Bailes, Director, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI, former British Ambassador
63
Panel of Respondents: Ms Beatrix Attinger-Colijn, Senior Adviser on Gender Issues, Office of the Secretary General, OSCE Secretariat Ms Madeleine Rees, Head of Mission, Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, Bosnia Brigadier General (ret.) Ulf Henricsson, Swedish Armed Forces, Sweden Ms Susanne Ringgard - Pedersen, Head of the Human Rights Department, ODIHR
12:30-14:00 Sandwich lunch
14:00-16:00 Workshops
1. Implementation of UNSCR 1325 Moderator: H.E. Carlos Sánchez de Boado, Ambassador, Head of the Permanent Mission of Spain to the OSCE Rapporteur: Ms Andrea Matisová, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Slovakia to the OSCE
2. Women as Actors in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management Moderator: H.E. Barbara Gibson, Ambassador, Head of the Delegation of Canada to the OSCE Rapporteur: Permanent Mission of Ireland to the OSCE
3. Lessons Learned from International Missions Moderator: H.E. Mette Kongshem, Ambassador, Head of the Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OSCE Rapporteur: Mr Nairi Petrossian, Second Secretary of the Delegation of the Republic of Armenia to the OSCE
16:00-16:30 Coffee break
16:30-18:00 Closing Session
Reports from workshops Discussion and Summary Moderator: Director Alyson J. K. Bailes
Closing Statement H.E. Krister Bringéus, Ambassador, Head of the Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the OSCE
18:00-20:00 Reception
64 PC.INF/29/05/Rev.2 20 June 2005 Appendix II: Participants ENGLISH only
FINAL List of Participants
Expert Seminar Women in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management
June 20, 2005
in Vienna, Austria
20 June 2005
65 ALBANIA
GERMANY
Wolfram MAAS Deputy Head of Mission, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the OSCE
Eltje ADERHOLD Counsellor, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the OSCE
Henning SPIES Military Adviser, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the OSCE
Wolfgang SCHUCHARDT Military Adviser, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the OSCE
Christian LESKI Military Adviser, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the OSCE
Peter ZÖLLER Military Adviser, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the OSCE
Wolfgang RICHTER Colonel, Senior Military Adviser, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the OSCE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Maureen WALSH General Counsel, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Janice HELWIG Adviser, United States Mission to the OSCE
ANDORRA
Marta SALVAT Attaché, Delegation of Andorra to the OSCE
66 ARMENIA
Nairi PETROSSIAN Second Secretary, Delegation of the Republic of Armenia to the OSCE
AUSTRIA
Elisabeth KÖGLER Counsellor, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Mirjan-Angela KAROLY
AZERBAIJAN
BELARUS
BELGIUM
Timon Bo SALOMONSON Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Belgium to the OSCE
Arnout PAUWELS First Secretary
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Bisera TURKOVIC Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the OSCE
Mihovil MALBASIC Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the OSCE
Slaven GALIC . Military Adviser, Permanent Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the OSCE
BULGARIA
CANADA
Barbara GIBSON Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the Delegation of Canada to the OSCE
67 Barbara MARTIN Director, Defence and Security Relation Division,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Karine ASSELIN Counsellor, Delegation of Canada to the OSCE
Andre SEVIGNY Senior Military Adviser, Delegation of Canada to the OSCE
Yuliya PRODANIUK Intern, Delegation of Canada to the OSCE
CYPRUS
CROATIA
Visnia LJUBICIC Senior Legal Adviser, Office for Human Rights
Lora VIDOVIC Second Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
DENMARK
Kirsten BIERING Ambassador, Permanent Delegation of Denmark to the OSCE
Kristina BECKVARD First Secretary, Permanent Delegation of Denmark to the OSCE
Joern RASMUSSEN Military Adviser, Permanent Delegation Denmark to the OSCE
Peter WASS Head of Personnel Division, Ministry of Defence
Anne Mette SCHÛTT RUTH Captain, Danish Defence Personnel Agency
Trine Mygind KORSBY Intern, Permanent Delegation of Denmark to the OSCE
68
SPAIN
Carlos SANCHEZ de BOADO Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Spain to the OSCE
Ricardo MOR SOLA Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Spain to the OSCE
Angel LIBERAL Senior Military Adviser, Permanent Mission of Spain to the OSCE
ESTONIA
Merje STANCIENE First Secretary, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Estonia to the OSCE
FINLAND
Aleksi HÄRKÖNEN Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Finland to the OSCE
Vesa VASARA Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Finland to the OSCE
Anders GARDBERG Colonel, Permanent Mission of Finland to the OSCE
Tiina RAIJAS Adviser, Ministry of Defence
Pasi TUOMINEN First Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Merita HIRSIMÄKI Trainee, Permanent Mission of Finland to the OSCE
FRANCE
69
Yves DOUTRIAUX Ambassador, Head of Delegation, Permanent Representation of France to the OSCE
Frédéric de TOUCHET Counsellor, Permanent Representation of France to the OSCE
Rémy DUVAL Military Adviser, Permanent Representation of France to the OSCE
Benjamin VOISIN Attaché, Permanent Representation of France to the OSCE
Anne SKROBOT Trainee, Permanent Representation of France to the OSCE
GEORGIA
Natela TURNAVA Deputy Secretary, National Security Council of Georgia
UNITED KINGDOM
Colin MUNRO Ambassador, Head of Delegation, United Kingdom Delegation to the OSCE
Alyson BAILES Former British Ambassador
GREECE
Christos MANTELOS First Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Greece to the OSCE
HUNGARY
Katalin HORVATH EU Co-ordinator, Ministry of Defence
70
IRELAND
Brendan MORAN Ambassador, Head of Mission, Permanent Mission of Ireland to the OSCE
Brendan WARD Deputy Head of Mission, Permanent Mission of Ireland to the OSCE Peter RYAN Military Adviser, Permanent Mission of Ireland to the OSCE
Kian LOVETT Attaché, Permanent Mission of Ireland to the OSCE
Joanne MOONEY Captain, Infantry, Irish Defence Forces
Maureen O´BRIEN Commandant, Strategic Planning Office, Irish Defence Forces
ICELAND
ITALY
Emanuele FARRUGGIA Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Italy to the OSCE
Valentina TANGA Attaché, Permanent Mission of Italy to the OSCE
KAZAKHSTAN
KYRGYZSTAN
LATVIA
THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
Elena GROZDANOVA Head of Unit,
71 Ministry of Labour and Social Policy for Gender Equality
Liljana POPOVSKA Member of the Parliament, Women Lobby Co-ordinator
LIECHTENSTEIN
LITHUANIA
Rytis PAULAUSKAS Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Lithuania
Robertas ROSINAS Counsellor, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Lithuania
LUXEMBOURG/EUROPEAN UNION
Sandra SACCHETTI Adviser, Permanent Representation of the Grand-Duchy Luxembourg to the OSCE
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Maria McLoughlin Head of Unit, DG Relex
MALTA
Walter BALZAN Ambassador, Delegation of Malta to the OSCE
John Paul GRECH First Counsellor, Delegation of Malta to the OSCE
Pierre Clive AGIUS Counsellor, Delegation of Malta to the OSCE
Joseph DEBONO Assistant, Delegation of Malta to the OSCE
72 MOLDOVA
MONACO
NORWAY
Mette KONGSHEM Ambassador, Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OSCE
Toralv NORDBO Military Adviser, Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OSCE
Henrik MALVIK Second Secretary, Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OSCE Britt BRESTRUP Colonel, Deputy Chief of Staff, NATO Headquarters, Sarajevo
Torunn TRYGGESTAD Head of Unit, UN Programme, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)
Kari KARAMÈ Researcher, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)
Kristin LUND Head of Operation and Planning Branch, Norwegian Defence Logistic Organisation (NDLO)
John MYRAUNET Intern, Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OSCE
UZBEKISTAN
NETHERLANDS
Ton VAN EDE Brigadier-General, Ministry of Defence
Bart KLAREN Lieutenant-Colonel, Ministry of Defence
73
Mathew GEERTSEN Senior Military Adviser, Permanent Delegation of Netherlands to the OSCE
Frouke HOEKSTRA Trainee, Delegation of Netherlands to the OSCE
POLAND
Marek SZCZYGIEL Deputy Head of Mission, Mission of Poland to the OSCE
Aleksandra PACHOLIK Second Secretary, Security Policy Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Grzegorz KORCZYNSKI First Secretary, Mission of Poland to the OSCE
Piotr WIERZBICKI Military Adviser, Mission of Poland to the OSCE
PORTUGAL
Joana DANIEL Representative of the OSCE Delegation of Portugal
ROMANIA
Alina POPESCU Third Secretary, Permanent Mission of Romania to the OSCE
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Alexey BORODAVKIN Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the OSCE
Alexey POLICHUK Counsellor, Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the OSCE
Maria KOSTYANAYA Attaché of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the OSCE
74
SAN MARINO
HOLY SEE
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
Vesko GARCEVIC Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Serbia and Montenegro to the OSCE
Kristina MILOSAVLJEVIC First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Serbia and Montenegro to the OSCE
SLOVAKIA
Anna MURINOVA Main Adviser, Human Rights Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Jana BARTOSIEWICZOVA Counsellor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs SLOVENIA
Janez LENARCIC Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the OSCE
Milan JAZBEC OSCE Taske Force, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Simona DRENIK Human Dimension Officer, Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the OSCE
Marjan GRABNAR Senior Military Adviser, Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the OSCE
SWEDEN
Laila FREIVALDS Minister for Foreign Affairs
Per E J CARLSON Deputy Director, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
75
Aurore LUNDKVIST Deputy Director, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Wiktoria DAGERÅS WITTBOLDT Deputy Director, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Jenny OHLSSON Political Adviser, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Krister BRINGÉUS Ambassador, Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the OSCE
Helena TORGERSON Second Secretary, Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the OSCE
Claes NILSSON Military Adviser, Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the OSCE
Sermin ÖZÜRKÜT Member of Parliament
Ragnar ÄNGEBY Ambassador, Project Director, Folke Bernadotte Academy
Anna WIDEPALM Project Officer, Folke Bernadotte Academy
Nils FÖRANDER Training Director, Folke Bernadotte Academy
Lena LARSSON Training and Project Leader, Folke Bernadotte Academy
Marie BERGLUND Secretary to the Directorate Folke Bernadotte Academy
Anneli VON WACHENFELDT Project Assistant Folke Bernadotte Academy
SWITZERLAND
Georg STEINER Counsellor, Swiss Delegation to the OSCE
76 TAJIKISTAN
CZECH REPUBLIC
Mária GEDAYOVÁ Lawyer, Ministry of Defence
TURKMENISTAN
TURKEY
Mustafa TURAN First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Turkey to the OSCE
Hidayet CILKOPARAN Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Turkey to the OSCE
Yakin ERTÜRK Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
UKRAINE
PARTNERS FOR CO-OPERATION
AFGHANISTAN
JAPAN
MONGOLIA
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
THAILAND
77 MEDITERRANEAN PARTNERS FOR CO-OPERATION
ALGERIA
EGYPT
ISRAEL
JORDAN
MOROCCO
TUNISIA
OSCE SECRETARIAT
Rexane RASMUSSEN Mission Programme Officer, Conflict Prevention Centre, OSCE
Veronica SCHERK Planning and Coordination Officer, Conflict Prevention Centre, OSCE
Alice ACKERMANN Mission Programme Officer, Conflict Prevention Centre, OSCE
Michele CLARK Head, Anti Trafficking Assistance Unit, OSCE
Anelise GOMES DE ARAUJO Adviser, Anti Trafficking Assistance Unit, OSCE
Beatrix ATTINGER COLIJN Senior Adviser, Gender Issues Unit, OSCE
Hannie SIAW Secretary, Gender Issues Unit, OSCE
Lauren MAYROS Intern, Gender Issues Unit, OSCE
Brenda GALLAGHER Intern, Gender Issues Unit, OSCE
Sebnem LUST Senior Project Assistant, Project Co-ordination Cell, CPC, OSCE
78 OSCE INSTITUTIONS
ODIHR
Suzanne PEDERSEN RINGGAARD Head of Human Rights Section
Anette LYTH Deputy Head of Human Rights Section
Ingrid KRAISER Gender Officer
Nana KALANDADZE Gender Officer, OSCE/ODIHR
OSCE REPRESENTATIVE ON FREEDOM OF THE MEDIA
HIGH COMMISSIONER ON NATIONAL MINORITIES
Gabriela BUETTNER Project Officer
OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
Andreas NOTHELLE Ambassador, Special Representative
Kathrin VOLZ Liaison Officer
Alvise MARINO Intern, OSCE PA Liaison Office
OSCE MISSIONS AND FIELD ACTIVITIES
OSCE PRESENCE IN ALBANIA
Zamira PODA Executive Director, CSDC/OSCE Albania
Ermira XHAMALLATI Assistant to the Police Assistance and Border Management Unit,
Department for Security Co-operation John Daley MATTSON Head of Department for Security and Co-operation
Terezina DAJLANI Assistant to Head of Department for
79
OSCE OFFICE IN BAKU
Ingrid GOSSINGER Democratisation Officer
OSCE MISSION TO GEORGIA
Nino SUKHITASHVILI Senior Secretary to the Deputy Head of Mission
OSCE MISSION IN KOSOVO
Daria PAPROCKA Democratization Officer
OSCE CENTRE IN BISHKEK
Eliza MAKSUTOVA Secretary/Interpreter
OSCE MISSION TO SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
Zorica MRSEVIC National Democratisation Officer, Gender Adviser
OSCE SPILLOVER MONITOR MISSION TO SKOPJE
Sarah BROUGHTON Head of Media Development Unit
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Council of Europe Anne-Marie FARADJI Administrator
Institute for Security Studies Vanessa Lee KENT Senior Researcher and Training Co-ordinator
DCAF Anja EBNÖTHER Geneva Centre for the Democratic Assistant Director, Control of Armed Forces Head of Special Programmes
80 United Nations Development Fund for Osnat LUBRANI Women in Central and Eastern Europe Regional Programme Director (UNIFEM) UNHCR Angela LI ROSI Senior Liasion Officer, Austria
Carl ZYDOWSKI Intern, OSCE-UNHCR Liaison Office
Elina HEINONEN Intern, Legal Unit, Austria
NATO International Staff Claire CRAANEN Defence Planning and Policy Deivision
European Union Council General Secretariat Johanna GARDMARK National Expert
European Union Police Mission Alvaro BALLESTEROS Law Enforcement Monitor, THB Mission Expert
National Criminal Police, Sweden Christina MUELLER Superintenent
NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
BISER – International Organization of Women Aida DAIDZIC President
Eldina MEHIC Co-ordinator
Belarus Women’s Zinaida VOLOVIC Vice Chairperson
Democratic Alliance of Albanians Lirija SHABAN in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Member of the Political Party
International Centre of Conflict and Negotiation Nino TSIKHISTAVI-KHUTSISHVILI Gender Adviser
The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation Sara LHÅDÖ Field Co-ordinator for Sweden
81 Annika FLENSBURG Communication Officer
Christina WASSHOLM Field Co-ordinator for Serbia and Montenegro
Civil Society Development Centre, Anila KARANXHA KUKES CSDC Executive Director
Medica Zenica Women’s Organization Mirha POJSKIC Manager, Specialist of Trauma Psychology
Norwegian Peoples Aid Milica PANIC Programme Co-ordinator, South-East Europe Regional Office
Southern Branch of Centre “InterBilim” Gulgaky MAMASALIEVA Manager
Social Technologies Agency Zulfia KOCHORBAEVA Project Manager
Swedish Network of NGO´s Kirsti KOLTHOFF European Women’s Lobby President
Traditions and Modernity Alla KUVATOVA Chair of Board
Union of Women’s Savka TODOROVSKA Organizations of the former President Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Women’s Independent Democratic Movement Lyudmila PETINA Co-chairperson
Women’s International League for Lisa HAGSTRÖM Peace and Freedom Substituting Acting Secretary
Heide MEINZOLT-DEPNER European Co-ordinator
Youth Roma Forum Hanriet ISENI President
Rm2rm Robert DAHLSTRÖM Partner, Spain
82 Kyrgyz National University, Rysbubu BEYBUTOVA School of International Relations Director
SOS Line for Women and Children Natasha MEDJEDOVIĆ Victims of Violence – Nikśic, Serbia and Program Co-ordinator Montenegro
Centre for OSCE Research (CORE) Annette LEGUTKE Senior Researcher,
83 Appendix III: Key note speakers
Keynote speakers
Ms. Rachel Mayanja, The Secretary-General’s new Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, is a long-serving career international civil servant with vast experience in normative, policy and operational work of the United Nations including peace-building, peace-keeping and inter-agency collaboration. Ms. Mayanja’s career with the UN started in the Women’s Division shortly after the first World Conference in Mexico and she has actively participated in peace-building and peacekeeping missions, for exampel within the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Ms Mayanja, a national of Uganda, obtained law degree from Makarere University, as well as Master’s Degree in Law from the Harvard University Law School.
Ambassador Christian Strohal, Currently serving as the Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw, Polen. Since 1976 a diplomat in the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posting to London, Geneva, and Rabat, member of the Austrian Delegations to the Madrid and Vienna CSCE follow-up meetings. Ambassador Strohal has also served as Ministry and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Austrian Mission to the UN and the international organisations in Geneva as well as the Austrian Ambassador to Luxembourg. Ambassador Strohal is also a lecturer at the Diplomatic and Administrative Academies in Vienna as well as the EU Masters Programme of Democracy and Human Rights, with several publications on international human rights issues.
Ms Elisabeth Rehn, former UN Under-Secretary-General, Special Envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Independent Expert and co-author of "Women War Peace" at UNIFEM, former Minister of Defence of Finland.
84 Ambassador Daan W. Everts, Since 2004 Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the OSCE. Ambassador Everts studied social-economic sciences at the Universities of Brandeis (USA), Baroda (India) and Groningen (the Netherlands). After joining the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and serving in the Policy Planning unit, he was seconded to the United Nations in Southeast Asia and posted to the Embassy in Washington, respectively. He has also served as the Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme and the European Monitoring Mission in ex-Yugoslavia. At the end of 1996 Ambassador Everts was appointed Head of the OSCE Presence in Tirana, Albania and moved to become the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo in 1999.
Colonel Patricia Mulcahy, Colonel Patricia Mulcahy earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the State University of New York , and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Adjutant General’s Corps in 1980. She earned a Military Masters of Arts and Science degree from the Command and General Staff College in 1995. Colonel Mulcahy has served in a broad variety of command and staff assignments in the United States, and the in Federal Republic of Germany. She has also been deployed to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. Among her assignments can be mentioned: Company Commander, Assistant Chief of Staff in an Infantry Division ; Battalion Commander, Personnel Services Battalion; and Director, Strategic Human Resources Management in the Staff for Personnel, in Washington, DC . Her awards and decorations include among others: the Legion of Merit , Bronze Star Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, and Overseas Service and Parachutist Badge.
Moderator
Alyson J. K. Bailes, Alyson J.K. Bailes was born in Manchester, United Kingdom and educated at Oxford University where she received a First Class (honours) degree in Modern History. She began her present position as Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in July 2002 following a long career in the British Diplomatic Service, most recently serving as the British Ambassador to Finland (2000-2002). During her career she has specialised in security policy. Her many professional experiences include among others serving in the UK delegation to NATO, as Head of a Section of the Ministry of Defence dealing with defence outside the NATO area, and as Head of the Security Policy Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Prior to her posting in Finland she was on leave from the Diplomatic Service to serve as Vice President responsible for the European Security Programme of the Institute for EastWest Studies (1996-1997), in New York, and as Head of the Political Division of the Western European Union, in Brussels (1997-2002).
85 Appendix IV: Background material
Women in Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management
Vienna, Hofburg, Neuer Saal Monday 20 June 2005
Background material by Folke Bernadotte Academy Expert knowledge provided by the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation
86 Introduction
The question of women’s participation in conflict prevention, crisis management and peace processes has been highlighted in recent years, especially since UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security was adopted in October 2000. It has been stated that women should participate at all levels on an equal basis with men, including in international organisations and in high-level positions.
The importance of involving women in peace-building efforts has been proven by research that shows the connection between the status of women in a society and its level of conflict. Violent conflict is more common in countries with low representation of women in parliament and where domestic violence is more widespread than it is in more gender-equal societies. Utilising the knowledge and expertise of women and strengthening the role of women in society is therefore a peace-promoting and conflict-preventing activity in itself. The OSCE and its institutions have an opportunity to go in the forefront in adjusting policies and strategies according to these findings as they cover issues like security and cooperation built on human rights and democracy, the very core of the OSCE’s work. Enhancing gender equality as an important tool for conflict prevention is essential in order to reach sustainable peace.
At the OSCE Summit in Istanbul the participating States reaffirmed that “respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law is at the core of the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security”. Achieving gender equality as part of this work will only be possible if more women are involved in key positions and in decision-making in senior management in all the organisation’s institutions and missions, which will further optimize the effectiveness of the organisation and increase its ability to reach the whole population.
Implementing UN Security Council resolution 1325 in the OSCE “The full and equal exercise by women of their human rights is essential to achieve a more peaceful, prosperous and democratic OSCE area. We are committed to making equality between men and women an integral part of our policies, both at the level of our States and within the Organisation.” (Charter for European Security, Istanbul Summit 1999)
UN Security Council resolution 1325 calls on governments and international peacekeeping operations to promote gender equality within international missions and in conflict-affected areas – stressing the necessity of women’s equal participation in the prevention and resolutions of conflicts to build a sustainable peace. It urges all member states to ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional and international institutions and mechanisms. It also calls on all actors involved to support local women’s peace initiatives. It urges UN Secretary General to “expand the role of women in UN field operations, especially among military observers, civilian police, human rights and humanitarian personnel”.
The OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality states that “OSCE structures will, as appropriate within their mandate, promote the implementation of UN Security
87 Council resolution 1325 (2000) on the role of women in, inter alia, the prevention of conflicts and post-conflict reconstruction “(p. 44e)
According to the same action plan OSCE is obliged to help and support participating States to develop projects that aim to bring about equal opportunities for women, both at a regional and grass-roots level, to participate in promoting peace and security.
In various documents OSCE has confirmed the link between sustainable peace and security and women’s equal participation and has made commitments to ensure the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325 – directly quoting the resolution or highlighting the actual content of the resolution. Long before 1325 was adopted, OSCE made commitments in line with what would be the terms of the Security Council resolution, as at the Madrid Meeting in 1980: “They stress the importance of ensuring equal rights of men and women; accordingly, they agree to take all actions necessary to promote equally effective participation of men and women in political, economic, social and cultural life”. However, the mandate and entry points provided by OSCE policy documents still need more of actual implementation. One effective tool, acknowledged in 1325, to ensure a gender perspective is to use the recognised strategy of gender mainstreaming.
“Effective gender-mainstreaming with the goal of achieving gender equality is important if full use is to be made of the human capital in the OSCE area. Gender equality contributes to comprehensive security, which is a goal of OSCE activities in all three dimensions. Gender- mainstreaming is a way of contributing to attaining this goal.” (Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality OSCE, p. 3)
Gender mainstreaming was defined by the UN Economic and Social Council in 1997 as “the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making the concerns and experiences of women and men an integral dimension of design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated”.
In the context of conflict and post-conflict situations, gender mainstreaming depends upon recognizing and working in response to the different experiences of women and men related to conflict prevention, conflict and peace-building. The aim of gender mainstreaming is to promote gender equality and ensure that men and women have equal opportunities to shape their own lives and influence their society. What is required is a new thinking that incorporates a gender perspective at every stage and all levels of policy-making and by all actors.
It is common to appoint a special gender advisor or a gender unit – ad hoc to the other parts of the organisation and activities - instead of thoroughly mainstreaming gender. If a gender advisor or a gender unit is appointed it is crucial that they have a proper mandate and authority within the organisation and are closely linked to the senior management and that people in senior positions have knowledge about and promote this kind of work. If used properly gender advisors can be a great help and support for the organisation.
It is important to highlight that implementation of resolution 1325 is neither difficult nor a separate subject. What is required is political will, support, and increased knowledge about
88 gender issues within the organisation. Gender mainstreaming should not be seen as a goal in itself but is a tool to reach gender equality. Hence, adopting a gender perspective opens new doors and opportunities and is a necessary tool for OSCE to fulfil its mandate.
Promoting recruitment of women “Participating States are encouraged to submit more women candidates for positions in the OSCE, in particular in higher-level positions where women are underrepresented; measures to this end shall include the identification of additional national recruitment sources, and the establishment of networks with professional organisations that will assist in seeking suitable candidates. More nationals of participating States, notably women from participating States with economies in transition, should be made aware of the OSCE vacancies and encouraged to make applications.” (Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality OSCE, p. 21)
The increased participation of women in the OSCE, especially in higher-level positions, is an obligation and a concrete step towards implementing 1325. The progress of society will depend on how we include the whole population in decision-making at all levels. Women constitutes at least 50% of the population but are rarely represented at that rate in any decision-making. Despite commitments made in the Action Plan to prepare annual statistics by category of posts at all levels divided by men and women, it is hard to find updated figures. Statistics are a tool to reveal the situation and identify areas of concern and they enable a proper evaluation each year.
According to statistics from 14 November 2003 half of the staff members of the OSCE secretariat, institutions and structures were women. However this does not give the full picture. To see the more interesting and relevant aspects it is necessary to look more closely at these figures, adding other parameters. When doing so another picture unfolds. Women constitute only 29 percent of the professional staff and 69 of the general service staff and the higher the level of the position the fewer women. Among the senior management of OSCE field missions there was one female as Head of Field Operation (total 19), one as Deputy Head of Field Operation (total 13) and two females as Head of Field Centres/Directors/Head of Departments (total 29). There have only been two female Heads of Missions in the past. Today there is not a single woman as Head of Field Operation.
The statistics also reveal that women are assigned to other areas of expertise than men. The highest representation of women is found in Democratisation (47%), Rule of Law (45%), Human Rights and Media Development (both 42%). Men completely dominate the areas of Military Affairs (100%), Confidence Building/Monitoring Functions (94%), Civilian police (88%), Elections (88%), Political and Press and Public Information (both 82%). Overall in the organisation and its institutions there were only 7 % women on the three highest levels.
It is important to look at the whole recruitment process. In 2003 there was, for example, one vacancy issued for a Director post, 57 men and seven women applied for this post. To 67
89 vacancies issued at the professional level 5007 men and 2297 (31%) women applied. Overall 23% women were invited for interviews for Professional posts, of which 12% were finally recruited.
The statistics raises a number of questions such as: how do OSCE recruitment processes work, which channels are used to announce the vacancies, what skills are required, and whether there are any biases leading to the assumption that certain posts and fields are more suitable for men. One argument that often emerges in these discussions is that there are not enough women with the right competence. However, in most cases this is not true. There are competent women in all participating States, the problem is often either that they have not got the information about the vacancy/appointment or that in some cases women are not seen as plausible candidates, mainly because the area of work is a male-dominated area in the participating states, such as military or police. Another reason is that men are given the advantage of being held to know how to cope with hardship to a greater extent than women, and therefore women are not considered at all as soon as the job takes place in a field operation.
OSCE and its participating states should strengthen their effort to recruit more women to higher positions in the Organisation. The fact that there currently is not a single female Head of Field Operations and that there are no women in the Panel of Eminent Persons, which was established in February 2005 to propose reforms in the OSCE, sets a poor example for others. Slovenia, the Chair of OSCE, specifically asked member states to nominate women to the Panel, with no success.
Updated data from the OSCE Secretariat show that the statistics remain more or less the same. The numbers vary slightly over the years, but the figures show that a comprehensive strategy to successfully promote women is needed.
Role models could play a key part – both women and men in high-level positions who emphasise gender equality and a gender perspective. Another step is to include gender issues in managers’ job descriptions. Experience shows that it is crucial to highlight the importance of gender issues at the level of senior staff and head of missions. Herein also lays a challenge for those responsible for selecting senior staff and heads of mission. They should be chosen in a gender-mainstreamed way, allowing more women into these positions and promoting the men who are gender-sensitive.
It is also important to increase the number of women in field missions and as senior staff in order to mirror and represent the whole population in the Participant States. Women in high- level positions are role models for local women and women’s organisations, boosting and inspiring them in their work. In Bosnia and Herzegovina three women were appointed to high positions in the late 1990s. Elisabeth Rehn was first appointed UN Human Rights Rapporteur in the Balkans and then Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General (SRSG). At the same time, Elisabeth Rasmusson was the Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in the spring of 1998, attorney Madeleine Rees took up her post as new head of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR).
For local women’s organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina it soon became apparent that women were now sitting in key positions in the international community. From being almost ignored after the war, they were invited to discussions and were given the opportunity of
90 taking part in the rebuilding process. Women’s rights issues, violence against women and women in politics became regular items on the agendas of the international organisations. In 1999, the Gender Coordination Group (GCG) was formed to coordinate all the projects within the international community that were directed at women.
The excellent cooperation between the organisations in the GCG and local NGOs has been instrumental in Bosnia and Herzegovina today having one of the best-written gender equality laws in the world.
”We saw there were strong women in leading positions. They invited us to talks and actually listened to what we had to say. We felt we could turn to them, the men didn’t ask about our experiences in the same way. The existence of a few women high up in the international community has meant a lot for local women’s organisations. They gave us hope – if they can, so can we!” (Jadranka Milicevic, one of the founders of the Bosnian Women’s Organisation Zena Zenama)
This example also shows that with a gender equality perspective and women in key positions it is possible for OSCE and other international personnel to reach both women and men in the mission area. There are many reasons for this, such as the fact that many women are reluctant to share their experiences and concerns with men, women may not be allowed to speak to unknown men and female staff may see different things and raise other questions than their male colleagues. This was evident at a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Major Åke Thörringer got the job as company commander in CIMIC in 2002.The mission was to help internally displaced persons around the town of Doboj return home and to support those who had already returned, in practical and moral terms by showing that the international community was in place and actively involved.
Major Thörringer knew that because an overwhelming number of internally displaced persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina were women, it was crucial for the peacekeeping forces to include women. From previous experience he knew how difficult it was to work in a ”single- gendered” way in a traditional patriarchal society where men and women often live in different worlds, so he looked for women officers. He managed to employ two female officers and this turned out to make a big difference. At first they started to have both a women and man when patrolling. But in the area many women did not want to talk about their problems if men were present so after a while they set up a “women patrol” consisting of the two female officers and a female interpreter. After that women took contact.
Ensuring women’s participation UN Security Council resolution 1325 calls on all actors to support the peace initiatives of local women’s organisations. A key to successfully promoting peace and democracy is to empower women. Experience shows that women often meet and organise around common problems and concerns with a focus on the future, on how to build a safe and sustainable community. There are numerous examples of how women in different conflict-affected areas have organised, often across boarders, to find concrete solutions of how to prevent conflict, how to protect themselves from gender-based violence, how refugees and internally displaced people can return home, how to develop economic growth, how to overcome traumas and how to build peace and democracy. The list of initiatives is long.
91 To fulfil its mandate OSCE needs to put more effort into ensuring women’s participation – both in the organisation and among local populations. As discussed above, gender mainstreaming, statistics and enhanced efforts regarding more gender-balanced recruitment are effective tools to use. Different kinds of regularly updated statistics reflecting the representation of men and women staff members in different positions are pivotal for improving and measuring participation within the organisation.
OSCE gender-sensitive statistics are equally important in deciding what priorities to set, how to promote gender equality and women’s participation in a specific area. However, it is imperative how this kind of statistic is presented, as was the case in Kosovo. In 2002 the OSCE Mission in Kosovo produced a report on the Gender Situation in Kosovo, which states that violence against women has increased significantly during the last year (OMIK, 2002). However, when the Mission reported on the general situation concerning violence in Kosovo in 2003, gender-based violence had been omitted, and was not mentioned, even though the report treats violence classified as organised and disorganised crime; ethnically-motivated attacks; personal and family disputes; political personal attacks; political generalised attacks (OMIK, 2003). The similarity between these types of violence is that they are all committed by private actors and not by state agents as in the classic constellation of human rights violations. Hence, it appears that the gender-sensitive approach here resulted in visualizing the problem of violence against women, however at the same time it also put it into a special category and it thus fell outside the general reporting on violence in Kosovo. The consequence of this is that violence against women is taken out of the concept of violence in the society, leading to misinterpretation of the statistics.
OSCE has also pointed out that it is necessary to recognise the vital role women and women’s organisations play: “OSCE structures will, as appropriate, assist participating States in developing programmes and projects aimed at bringing about equal opportunities for women to participate in efforts for the promotion of peace and security, including those conducted at grass-roots and regional levels. The empowerment of women in the political-military dimension is also essential to comprehensive security.” (Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality OSCE, p. 44)
However, women’s active role in society before, during and after conflict is not fully recognised. Instead women all too often are seen as only helpless victims who need protection. This perception undermines women’s agency and participation and leads to a loss of resources, knowledge and experience. Much would be gained if women’s organisations were seen as a political force, something they already are today and have a potential to become to an even greater extent.
There are cases where women have been seen as essential actors. A good example of a gender sensitive project is a project conducted by the OSCE mission in Kosovo, it started with the Voters’ Voices Project in 2000 and a follow up was made in 2001 – the Kosovo Concerns Project. The Voters’ Voices Project aimed to encourage political parties and candidates to focus on concrete and specific issues of direct concern to Kosovar voters, and to give the electorate a tool with which to engage political candidates in discussions and debates. It was both a survey of the views of people in Kosovo and an exercise in democracy. The main goal of the project was to offer people social and political awareness of their responsibilities in a civil society and to demonstrate the active role citizens could play in exercising their civil rights and duties and thus contribute to the democratic process.
92
Within the projects, OSCE democratisation staff conducted meetings in Kosovo with voters. In order to ensure balanced cross-sections of views, participants were invited to the meetings from all ethnic groups, all socio-economic groups, as well as a mixture of urban and rural, male and female and young and old participants. In the first project the priorities that were mentioned were health care, education and employment opportunities. Health care was the top priority and women’s health was singled out as an important part. The participants in the second project were asked to set priorities between the twenty-eight competences that the then future government would be accountable for. The message was very clear putting law and order, health and education as the top priorities. Good Governance, human rights and equal opportunity came as high as 6th place, as most participants recognized that these concepts are intrinsic to a democratic society. One concrete proposal was to develop opportunities for women in the workplace.
Gender mainstreaming and statistics are key instruments to promote women’s participation but not the only ones. To succeed OSCE needs to listen to individual women and women’s organisations and learn from them. They know what their and their community’s problems and needs are and most often they also have the ideas for solutions.
Mainstreaming women’s participation In order not to limit women’s participation to topics considered to be typical “women’s issues”, it is important to involve women and men on all levels, and in all structures. Women’s information and competence must be drawn upon when it comes to issues such as rule of law, infrastructure and poverty reduction strategies.
A number of efforts are currently underway to prepare the transfer of trials from the ICTY to domestic courts. A key issue in the process of transferring these cases relates to witness and victim protection. It is not only the existence of sophisticated full-fledged witness protection programmes that is needed; confidentiality safeguards on a basic level are also required. These programmes and safeguards are particularly important in the prosecution of sexual violence. Women’s NGOs have already expressed concerns about how sexual violence will be prosecuted, as well as fears that victims will be re-traumatized in the process.
In planning for the work concerning the transfer of trials it is important to collect the experience of women‘s organisations that have worked with victims of sexualised violence during the war for years. Many female lawyers have also been active in giving free legal help through different women’s organisations, and again they have information that is needed to ensure a gender perspective in the process.
Preventing violent conflicts by supporting women’s organisations There are many examples of women’s organisations that have grown out of the need to achieve influence on societal development and the struggle against the use of force and violence. Forming an organisation could be a means to get access to political influence and thereby highlight the issues of special concern to women, and the whole of society. Being a member of an organisation empowers the individual woman, and gives strength to work towards visible alternatives to armed conflict. There are of course many kinds of women’s organisations. Some of them have knowledge about human rights issues or conflict resolution, others work with social services.
93 It is important that the international community takes the local women’s organisations into account since they possess great knowledge of the needs and problems in their society. Opportunities can be provided to take preventive measures based on this knowledge and insight. Many of the organisations also have a strong multiethnic component, and work to counteract ethnic tensions and thereby emphasize the importance of giving all groups access to influence. Supporting women’s organisations and making use of their experience and knowledge is therefore a way to contribute to a more peaceful society. In post-conflict situations women’s organisations have an impact in reconciliation processes, and in the efforts to rebuild society through their knowledge of the particular needs of women and children, among other things. One area where many women’s organisations are active is work to improve the situation of internally displaced persons and returning refugees. Women need to be present in the peace process to make sure that important aspects are not left out, such as the representation of women in local and national decision-making bodies to contribute to sustainable peace.
There are many positive examples of places where women’s organisations have contributed to more peaceful societies. One is Tuzla, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the evolving women’s organisations helped to create a strong civil society with the ability to act against ethnic cleansing and promote a high number of female political representatives.
Conclusions Looking at the existing facts and experience it is evident that OSCE needs to improve its efforts to live up to UN Security Council resolution 1325 and its own mandate. There are good practices that show that change is possible, if the awareness, knowledge and will are there. What is needed is a strategy for how OSCE, at all levels, is to implement 1325. The strategy needs to be action-focused, have a strict timetable and specify an annual evaluation. This would give the organisation a structure as well as guidance for how to approach these issues.
There are some measures that urgently need to be taken. Participating States should nominate more women candidates to higher-level positions and an overview of the recruitment process must be carried out. This would be in line with commitments made in the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality.
The OSCE statistics from September 2003 are a good example of statistics that are sophisticated and disaggregated by sex, looking at different aspects and are broken down into different categories. In order to avoid wrong conclusions and measures a follow-up of the statistics should be carried out and made available to staff in the organisation.
Furthermore there is a need for an evaluation of the function of Gender Advisor and Gender Focal Point. A strengthening of the mandate, as may be required, and support from senior management would enhance their possibilities of assisting in the implementation of the Gender Action Plan and mainstreaming a gender perspective in all OSCE work. This, together with elaborated resources, such as more staff in field operations focusing only on implementation would greatly improve the possibilities to implement the Gender Action Plan.
Relevant statistics and proper evaluations are very useful and help staff members to develop and improve their work. The evaluations should be gender-sensitive, which means they
94 should look at all steps in a project from a gender perspective, including the impact the project has on society.
It should again be emphasised that promoting gender equality and ensuring women’s participation are not difficult if the political will is there. To fully use women’s knowledge and experience offers great opportunities, new ideas and perspectives that will further improve the impact of OSCE’s work.
Many things need to be discussed such as: • What experience and expertise exist already? • How does female staff view the working environment? • How can OSCE ensure a gender perspective in all operations? Should gender training be mandatory? • How can OSCE reach out to more women to ensure their participation in the organisation and in the local community? • How can the High Level Panel of Eminent Persons and others working with reforms for the organisation ensure that a gender perspective is considered?
95 More reading UN Security Council resolution 1325, adopted 31 October 2001, S/RES/1325 (2000)
2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality
European Parliament resolution on participation of women in peaceful conflict resolution (2000/2025(INI))
Women, Peace and Security, report of the Secretary General, United Nations, October 2004, S/2004/814.
Letter dated 31 October 2003 from the President of the Security Council addressed to the Secretary- General, S/2003/1055.
Women, Peace and Security, Study submitted by the Secretary-General pursuant to Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), United Nation, 2002, S/2002/1154.
Statement by the President of the Security Council, 31 October 2002, S/PRST/2002/32
Women War Peace – Progress of the World’s Women (Volume 1), The independent Experts assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women’s role in Peace-building, Elisabeth Rehn & Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), 2002.
Women, Peace and Security: UNIFEM Supporting Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), October 2004.
FACES: Women as Partners in Peace and Security, October 2004 Office of the Special Advisor of Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, OSAGI.
Platform for Action and the Beijing Declaration, Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, China, 4-15 September 1995, United Nations 1996.
Rising Up in Response, Women’s Rights Activism in Conflict, Jane Barry, Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights, 2005.
International Alert, Women Waging Peace, Inclusive Security, Sustainable Peace: A toolkit for advocacy and action, 2004.
Rethink – A Handbook for Sustainable Peace, Agneta Söderberg Jacobson, The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, 2004.
Web-page: Office of the Special Advisor of Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, OSAGI, http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/
Web-page: PeaceWomen, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, http://www.peacewomen.org/wpsindex.html
Web-page: WomenWarPeace.org, A Portal on Women, War and security, UNIFEM: http://www.womenwarpeace.org
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