Report

July 2018

Inclusion of gender and sexual minorities in Background What are the barriers to and benefts of meaningful participation of gender and Methodology sexual minorities in peace processes and Case study participants were identifed how can their participation be supported? through a combination of Conciliation What can their experience tell us more Resources’ staff and partner organisations broadly about inclusion in peace processes? in the two contexts. Semi-structured interviews took place over video call and by Conciliation Resources is an international email with two activists, one a member of a peacebuilding organisation with a strong focus non-governmental organisation. Participants’ on supporting inclusive peace processes. We permission was sought and granted as to have learnt that gender, a key aspect of inclusion, the purpose of the research, how it would be continues to be misunderstood and overlooked. shared and the identifcation of interviewees. Each interview explored the same core Meaningful participation of women and other questions, with follow-up discussions where excluded groups in peace processes is important necessary. The research examined how for sustainable peace, yet to date has been the participants bring the voices of gender limited and lacking in diversity. Women and other and sexual minority people and groups into excluded groups experience multiple forms of peace processes or other political processes; discrimination related to their diverse gender how this work benefts peace processes; identities. These exacerbate social, legal, economic, challenges they have experienced; and cultural, as well as political marginalisation; and the role of international organisations in violent conflict compounds discrimination.1 supporting this work. A literature review was conducted prior to these interviews. Highlighting the experiences and challenges of a particular minority group may offer insights applicable to inclusive peacebuilding practice more broadly. This short discussion paper explores A note on terminology: We have chosen to use gender and sexual minorities’ political participation ‘LGBT’ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans) in this and recognition in peacebuilding in two conflict- report, as the most frequently-used term, and affected contexts. It provides some initial examples to use ‘gender and sexual minorities’ to refer to of effective external support to their inclusion. the wider group who may not be encompassed by this acronym. Our research participants and the Two short case studies of Colombia and , literature use a variety of acronyms, including drawn from interviews and a review of background ‘LGBT’, ‘LGBTQ’ and ‘LGBTQI’ (...Queer, Intersex). literature, focus on the experiences of organisations and activists working on inclusion of gender and sexual minorities. The findings identify trends and opportunities for further work addressing inclusion of gender and sexual minorities in peacebuilding.

1. See: Close, Sophia. Gendered political settlements: examining peace transitions in Bougainville, and Colombia. (London: Conciliation Resources, 2018) and Yousuf, Zahbia. Navigating inclusion in peace transitions: beyond elite bargains. (London: Conciliation Resources, 2018).

2 • Conciliation Resources Key fndings

1) Conservative cultural, religious and political sensitivity to ensure that individuals are not gender norms limit and oppose the possibility placed at increased risk. International actors of LGBT inclusion in peace processes. The must be aware of the risks associated with their case study examples show how conservative support for increased visibility for members political, community and religious groups have of these vulnerable groups. The case studies campaigned for the limitation of rights of gender show how, to differing extents, internationally and sexual minorities. However, where political, supported LGBT activism has been perceived cultural and religious attitudes and behaviours as an external ‘foreign’ agenda that can result have shifted towards acceptance of these groups, in greater social and legal pushback. Grounding access to political institutions and decision- work in a participatory gender-sensitive making processes has increased accordingly. conflict analysis can help identify these risks and generate awareness of the exclusion of 2) Gender and sexual minority groups face gender and sexual minorities and policy and significant legal and financial barriers to programming options to support their inclusion.2 participation in peacebuilding and other political processes. Funding for work with 4) Adoption of international rights standards an LGBT focus is extremely limited in both for gender and sexual minorities has created case study contexts. In Nigeria legal barriers space for these groups within peacebuilding prevent LGBT groups from organising formally. and political processes. In Colombia standards This work is therefore heavily reliant on set by intergovernmental organisations and volunteers and those who can finance their own other international actors have influenced engagement. This puts strain on relationships national legal changes. This creates within and between groups among whom opportunities for gender and sexual minority limited resources are shared. Societal groups to claim rights and push for increased inequalities become replicated within groups participation, but these changes must be and can determine who has greater access to supported at multiple levels. Peace processes and influence in political spaces. can themselves facilitate shifts in societal and legal attitudes to gender and sexual 3) Personal safety is an essential first step minorities. The Colombian peace agreement of in making space for inclusive political 2016 includes specific requirements for LGBT participation. Explicit inclusion of gender and recognition and protection, which is leading to sexual minorities in activities seeking to their inclusion and practical change during the increase political participation requires implementation of the agreement.

Case studies

These different geographic and confict contexts As shown in the case studies, members of illustrate different levels of inclusion of gender gender and sexual minority groups experience and sexual minority groups. disproportionate levels of discrimination and violence.

2 In Colombia, the 2016 peace agreement incorporated protection and promotion of LGBT rights.

2 In Nigeria, discrimination is embedded in the legal framework, and LGBT people face violence and abuse in their communities; their focus is therefore on personal security and wellbeing.

2. For a practical guide to gender-sensitive confict analysis, see Conciliation Resources (2015) Gender and confict analysis toolkit for peacebuilders

Inclusion of gender and sexual minorities in peacebuilding • 3 Case study LGBT inclusion in the Colombian peace process

This case study draws on discussions with Diana organisational fnancial resources meant that Garcia Salamanca who works with Corporación de representatives of LGBT groups who went to Investigacón y Acción Social y Económica (CIASE), Havana to meet with the peace negotiators were an inclusive feminist human rights and peacebuilding obliged to pay the associated costs themselves. organisation. She is part of wider networks of LGBT Reliance on individual fnance rather than activism across Colombia and internationally. organisational grants risks limiting participation to relatively wealthy activists. Lack of external After fve decades of violent confict and a number support fuels a wider perception that the rights and of stalled peace efforts, the Colombian Final Peace wellbeing of gender and sexual minority groups are Agreement was negotiated between the Government only of interest to members of those groups. and the guerrilla group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) and signed in September 2016. While the agreement was rejected ...If you can’t [implement a peace in a national plebiscite, Congress endorsed a agreement] with people that are revised accord in November of the same year that different to the normality of society, like is now in its implementation phase. Importantly, LGBTQ people, how can you implement a gender and sexual minority groups and individuals were active participants in the negotiation of the peace process and all that it means in a agreement and, as a result, the gender component country with so many years of confict? of the fnal agreement includes explicit measures for the inclusion and recognition of LGBT people. Gender activists and organisations are not homogenous. Although some organisations, such Following a series of legal reforms and civil society as CIASE, are explicitly inclusive of gender and activism, many gender and sexual minorities‘ rights sexual minorities, this is not universal. Barriers are recognised and protected under Colombian to inclusion are created as limited resources and law; however, social attitudes towards gender and opportunities for participation are shared between sexual minorities vary greatly. In Colombia, as all under-represented groups. Some activists are elsewhere in the world, conservative cultural and afraid that LGBT rights will encroach on the hard- religious gender norms oppose LGBT inclusion. won space and progress made by other groups. LGBT people are often vilifed by mainstream Competition for visibility and fnancial resources also society and experience high levels of violence and exists within the LGBT community, and unequal harassment. Religious objections to the inclusion power relationships between men and others of gender and sexual minorities were used as a are also present. These tensions suggest that an focus in the marginally successful ‘No’ campaign in intersectional approach to gender activism, such the plebiscite on the peace agreement in 2016. as work that encompasses LGBT, indigenous and Proponents of LGBT inclusion in the peace process broader women’s groups, strengthens connections put forward that it can model ways for other between these groups and amplifes their voices to excluded groups, such as ex-combatants, to be infuence policy and peacebuilding practice. part of post-confict Colombian society. Inclusion LGBT peacebuilders in Colombia connected with in the formal peace process benefts gender and international counterparts to share innovations and sexual minorities directly, but also encourages best practice; this locally-led advocacy, including other participating groups to take account of the in Havana, also increased political access for those specifc needs and experiences of this group. For seeking change at a community level. Pressure example, dialogue between LGBT groups and the on governments to conform to the rights and armed forces has promoted understanding of the recognition standards of donor governments and violence and discrimination that gender and sexual intergovernmental organisations can encourage minority groups face. and consolidate legislative change, although Despite some positive developments, LGBT groups this can be tokenistic if it is the only approach. have encountered barriers to their meaningful Engagement at multiple levels is essential to participation in the peace process. Lack of reinforce and broaden existing progress within Colombia’s social movements.

4 • Conciliation Resources Case study Legal and social discrimination in Nigeria

This case study draws on correspondence with and peace processes. Limited project funding, Rashidi Williams, Organisational Director of or cooperation with other groups, as in the other Queer Alliance Nigeria (QAN), a community and case study, are less pressing issues in Nigeria as advocacy organisation which provides training concern for personal safety effectively prevents and networking within the LGBT community and organisation on any signifcant scale. campaigns for social and political change. Organisations such as QAN work to create space The primary barrier to meaningful participation of for LGBT voices to be heard in the wider social and gender and sexual minorities in Nigeria is structural political sphere. Where participation in or support of violence and discrimination. Widespread political, LGBT organisations is restricted by law, advocacy economic and religious violence since independence begins with increasing the visibility of gender and has led to high levels of displacement, crime and sexual minority communities. As well as an online confict-related deaths. Violent conficts include presence highlighting the human rights situation the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria, to an external audience, the use of social media confict in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, ethno- can enable groups to build community and allow religious violence in the country’s middle belt and online self-expression when doing so in their local widespread herder-farmer clashes. communities puts them at increased risk.

Legal discrimination centres on specifc anti- There have been small gains in the opportunities homosexuality laws introduced in 2014. Same-sex for LGBT participation, following careful work to marriage, public displays of same-sex affection increase visibility. Where opportunities for dialogue and supporting LGBT organisations are illegal arise, advocacy focuses on challenging existing throughout Nigeria; wearing clothing deemed to laws and conventions on human rights grounds, be for the other sex is illegal in several states. This for example on issues related to health and justice. is reinforced by conservative religious teaching QAN brings the voices of LGBT groups into political and cultural norms, whether in the predominantly processes by also engaging with policymakers Christian south or Muslim north. Gender and to explain gender and sexual minorities’ specifc sexual minorities are portrayed in the mainstream experiences of violence and the implications of media as ‘un-African’, and a threat to families and discriminatory and repressive laws. For proponents society. This exclusion affrms religious and cultural of the rights of gender and sexual minorities, their trends that reject gender and sexual minorities inclusion is fundamental to peace: despite specifc gender minorities traditionally being part of different cultures within Nigeria. ...peace is an embodiment of The ability of Nigeria’s few LGBT organisations to human rights and by virtue of the support individuals and to advocate on a larger fact that our work relates with human scale is limited by the risk of arrest and prosecution. rights protection we are indirectly LGBT individuals in confict-affected areas of Nigeria are particularly isolated, and may not know engaging with peace processes. that advocacy organisations exist. Many LGBT people conceal their identities, and stress related Local and community organisations find great to the fear of discovery can lead to individuals value in international solidarity. There is scope seeking coping mechanisms that create additional for support from international actors at multiple vulnerabilities and further risk of marginalisation. levels, for example individual counselling or support for local organisational capacity. Careful In this context, decriminalisation of homosexuality, advocacy with key government institutions and recognition of the right to organise, and protection policymakers is required to remove discriminatory of these individuals and groups is an essential frst laws and implement human rights protections. step towards meaningful participation in political

Inclusion of gender and sexual minorities in peacebuilding • 5 Conclusion

A society cannot be said to be peaceful when groups Questions for further enquiry within that society experience persistent, multiple and targeted forms of violence and discrimination. There are many opportunities for more research This challenges notions of what constitutes a and engagement in this area. peaceful society far beyond countries experiencing 1. Which interventions are more effective in armed confict. An intersectional gender approach supporting gender and sexual minorities in to confict analysis, taking into account sexual peacebuilding and peace processes, and why? orientation and gender identity as well as other 2. How do effective approaches to support the factors that determine access to power, authority meaningful participation of gender and sexual and resources, can allow for deeper understanding minorities differ in more or less restrictive of the complexities of violence and peace. social, cultural and legal contexts? Examining attitudes and justifcations around 3. How does inclusion of gender and sexual violence towards and marginalisation of LGBT minorities impact on the broader peacebuilding people can offer insights more broadly into fear of work of international actors, in contexts where ‘otherness’. This in turn can suggest new ways of these groups are not widely accepted? working with other groups that may be excluded or feared. For example, new ideas may emerge 4. Are the needs of gender and sexual minority for approaches to peacebuilding between those people in confict contexts better served by who have participated in, or are affected by, violent organisations with a specifc LGBT focus or by confict, and the communities which may judge and peacebuilding organisations with a wider mandate? exclude them. The common experiences of gender and sexual minority groups can, in some cases, help to bridge other divides in a confict context.

A do no harm approach is necessary. With sensitivity, international actors can promote inclusion of gender and sexual minorities through: 3 advocacy for the adoption of international rights standards, 3 incorporating targeted inclusion of gender and sexual minorities in programmatic work, and 3 supporting the work of existing LGBT organisations.

Further reading Ajao, Toyin ‘Human security implications of anti-gay law López Castañeda, Diana & Henri Myrttinen. on sexual minorities in Nigeria’, Pambazuka News (11 Re-Examining Identities and Power – Gender in June 2014): https://www.pambazuka.org/printpdf/89610 peacebuilding in Colombia (: 2014) [accessed February 2018] http://www.international-alert.org/sites/default/fles/ Gender_RethinkingGenderPeacebuildingColombia_ Conciliation Resources. Gender and confict analysis EN_2014.pdf [accessed February 2018] toolkit for peacebuilders (2015) http://www.c-r.org/sites/ default/fles/CR%20Gender%20Toolkit%20WEB.pdf Myrttinen, Henri & Daigle, Megan. When merely existing [accessed February 2018] is a risk: Sexual and gender minorities in confict, displacement and peacebuilding (International Alert: 2017) Conciliation Resources. Accord Spotlight: Gender and http://www.international-alert.org/sites/default/fles/ Nepal’s transition from war (2017) http://www.c-r.org/ Gender_SexualAndGenderMinorities_EN_2017.pdf sites/default/fles/Gender%20and%20Nepal%27s%20 [accessed February 2018] transition%20from%20war.pdf [accessed February 2018] Conciliation Resources (2018) Youth aspirations for peace and security http://www.c-r.org/sites/default/ fles/Youth%20aspirations%20for%20peace%20and%20 security.pdf [accessed February 2018]

6 • Conciliation Resources Peace Research Partnership

This report is funded by UK aid from the UK government through the Peace Research Partnership programme. The research focuses on economic development, peace processes, institutions and gender drivers of confict. Note, in its frst year, the programme was known as Global Security Rapid Analysis – GSRA.

The views expressed and information contained in this document are not necessarily those of or endorsed by the UK Government which can accept no responsibility for such views or information or for any reliance placed on them.

Written by Fred Langridge, Veronika Tesarova and Sophia Close.

July 2018

Inclusion of gender and sexual minorities in peacebuilding • 7 Conciliation Resources is an independent Conciliation Resources international organisation working with people Burghley Yard, 106 Burghley Road in confict to prevent violence, resolve conficts London NW5 1AL and promote peaceful societies. We take what we learn to government decision-makers and others working to end confict, to improve +44 (0) 20 7359 7728 +44 (0)20 7259 4081 policies and peacebuilding practice worldwide. [email protected] www.c-r.org CRbuildpeace ConciliationResources

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