1 Women in Search of Peace
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WWomenomen iinn SSearchearch ooff PPeaceeace 1 2 WWomenomen iinn SSearchearch ooff PPeaceeace Cultural-Humanitarian Foundation “Sukhumi” Ekaterine Gamakharia Women in Search of Peace The Perspectives of the Women of Georgia on Peaceful Future Concluding document of the joint project of Cultural-Humanitarian Fund “Sukhumi“ (Kutaisi) and Association of Women of Abkhazia (Sukhum/i) z Published with the support of Swedish International Women’s Organization KVINNA TILL KVINNA KUTAISI 2012 4 About the Author The main focus of Ekaterine Gamakharia’s work is on human rights, particularly those of women and of internally displaced people (IDPs). Ekaterine Gamakharia is a participant of a number of national and international conferences, trainings and seminars on women’s rights, confl ict resolution and peace-building. Her fi rst employment was with Cultural Humanitarian Fund “Sukhumi”. In 2000-2006 she was the Director of the Women’s Rights Protection Division there. She still continues to work for Fund “Sukhumi” as a consultant. In 2006 Ekaterine Gamakharia was awarded the John Smith Memorial Trust Fellowship to study democratic institutions in Great Britain. In 2006-2007 she was awarded Edmund Muskie Fellowship to study international human rights law in the US. In 2006-2007 she completed her Master’s Degree in the International Human Rights Law at Indiana University, US. In 2007-2008 she worked as a National Consultant on IDP issues for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Tbilisi, Georgia. Since 2008 she has lived in Baku working as a freelance consultant and trainer for various NGOs. Ekaterine Gamakharia is the author of analytic reports, books and manuals: “The Role of Women in Peace Building”, “Women at the Negotiation Table”, “The Road to Peace”, “Phenomenon of Women’s Leadership”, “Gender and Political Parties”, “Local Government and Gender”. WWomenomen iinn SSearchearch ooff PPeaceeace 5 FOREWORD The project was implemented by Cultural Humanitarian Fund “Sukhumi” (FS) in Kutaisi and the Association of Women of Abkhazia (AWA) in Sukhum/i. Joint Georgian-Abkhazian project “Confl ict analysis from gender perspective: women’s vision of potential scenarios for the future of Georgia and Abkhazia” was supported by Swedish International Women’s organization KVINNA TILL KVINNA. Project implementers, FS and AWA exploited all their resources – their reputation, trust of their communities, human and technical resources - for the purpose of developing women’s vision of possible models of peace initiatives. The project started in 2010 and continued up to December 2011. Findings of the research are made available in a number of publications. Long term goal of the project: Promotion of gender approach to Georgian-Abkhaz confl ict resolution. Aims of the project: • Preparation of women for participation in peace processes, and giving them the opportunity to express their “creative views” on the peaceful settlement of Georgian-Abkhaz confl ict; • Developing a specifi c agenda for the negotiations and women’s perspectives for possible unconventional models of peaceful coexistence of Georgians and Abkhazs In the course of two years the implementers worked with their respective communities, but also held joint meetings to discuss the results. If required, certain alterations to the planned actions were introduced on the basis of mutual agreement. The factor of mutual trust and coordination of actions helped overcome the diffi culties arising in the process of work. The challenge lay mainly in the fact that over 400 participants were 6 WWomenomen iinn SSearchearch ooff PPeaceeace involved in the project from both sides. These were women of very diverse social backgrounds, ages, world views. On the one hand, this caused certain diffi culties, on the other it offered the possibility to research and analyze the degree to which the women were prepared to become active participants of peace-building processes. It remained for the researchers to conclude from the variety of viewpoints what potential for breaking down stereotypes the society has and what its capacity for change and accepting the existing reality is. This publication is the concluding document of the joint Georgian- Abkhazian project and is produced by the Georgian side. The Abkhazian side has published it as a separate document. This publication is it consists of 5 parts: - Part I. Brief history of women’s involvement in peace processes and existing legal mechanisms of involving women in confl ict resolution and peace-building. - Part II. International experience of women’s participation in peace building and concluding peace agreements. - Part III. Analysis of research “Women’s perspective: Peace-building process and prospects of settlement of Georgian-Abkhazian Confl ict” - Part IV. Outcomes of the creative training “Peaceful Future through Women’s Eyes” - Part V. Main Perspectives. Lessons learned and Recommendations The document is published in three languages- full version in Georgian, condensed version – in Russian and English. This publication will provide Georgian and Abkhazian as well as international community with extensive information on the views of women’s organizations, women peacekeepers and young people concerning the issues of reconciliation and confl ict resolution. New training program, basis of peace-building using creative methods, is a priority of the project. Work carried out in this direction can be considered as the most positive example of cooperation of Georgian and Abkhazian women. The training program was developed jointly by fund “Sukhumi” and AWA at the meeting held in Istanbul and represents WWomenomen iinn SSearchearch ooff PPeaceeace 7 a synthesis of elements of a creative game and the traditional model of confl ict resolution training. Detailed information about the training is presented in part IV of the publication. Project implementers from fund “Sukhumi” would like to hope that the publication will familiarize the readers with the outcomes of the project and the ways in which they can personally contribute to women’s involvement in peace-building. 8 WWomenomen iinn SSearchearch ooff PPeaceeace CONTENTS Introduction 9 Part 1 – The history of women’s participation in peace-building and international legal mechanisms of involving women in confl ict resolution 12 1.1. Brief history of women in peace-building 12 1.2. Key international documents and legal mechanisms of involving women in confl ict resolution 15 Part 2 - International experience of women’s participation in peace-building and concluding peace agreements 22 2.1. Rwanda 22 2.2. Somalia 24 2.3. Sri Lanka 25 2.4. Guatemala 26 2.5. Northern Ireland 28 Part 3 – Summary of research Analysis “Women’s perspective: Peace-building process and prospects of settlement of Georgian-Abkhazian Confl ict” 30 3.1. Research aim and methodology 30 3.2. Research fi ndings 31 3.2.1. People to people diplomacy and its challenges 31 3.2.2. IDPs in peace building and confl ict resolution processes 31 3.2.3. Importance and potential of the strategy “Involvement Through Cooperation” for confl ict resolution 32 3.2.4. Resources for confl ict resolution 33 3.2.5. Conclusions 37 Part 4 – Outcomes of the creative training “Peaceful Future through Women’s Eyes” 39 Part 5 – Main Perspectives. Lessons learned and Recommendations 46 WWomenomen iinn SSearchearch ooff PPeaceeace 9 INTRODUCTION What is a woman? I assure you, I do not know. I do not believe that you know. I do not believe that anybody can know until she has expressed herself in all the arts and professions open to human skill. Virginia Woolf Gradual ascension of women to leading positions in social and political life and their civic participation in addressing topical issues that concern society in the whole world have led to a number of positive and progressive social changes. Of particular importance is the involvement of women in the process of decision-making on the issues of confl ict resolution and building stable long-term peace. When a woman’s voice is heard, recognized and considered as signifi cant and valuable, sustainability of economy and social stability become more realistic and attainable. Unfortunately, existence of numerous international and national legal documents securing equal rights and opportunities for women to participate in politics, economic development, peace building and confl ict resolution does not guarantee their actual involvement in these processes. Women are still frequently excluded from peace talks and any areas that involve decision-making oriented to signifi cant social changes. This undoubtedly undermines the idea of democracy and threatens social stability of the community. It has to be emphasized that the claim of the importance of women’s involvement in reconciliation and peace-building processes in this study is not based on the premise that “all women are peacekeepers by nature”. There are women who are rather aggressive and who take part in 10 WWomenomen iinn SSearchearch ooff PPeaceeace hostilities. For instance, in the period of 1990-2003 girls under the age of 18 served in the military forces of 55 countries and participated in armed confl icts in 38 of these countries.1 The main grounds for arguing for the important role of women’s participation in the process of peace-building and dealing with violent and protracted confl icts are as follows: - Women’s voice in the peace processes is a realization of the idea of social justice and is based on the principles of equality and human rights. Peace achieved through