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LEADERSHIP in Governance, Peace and Security

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LEADERSHIP in Governance, Peace and Security Building women’s LEADERSHIP in governance, peace and security esponsible governance based on democracy and Rrespect for human rights requires women’s leadership in decision-making and the accountability of public institutions to women. Bringing a gender perspective to constitutional, electoral, legislative, judicial and policy processes helps strengthen the rule of law and ensure gender justice. In conflict situations, women’s political, economic and social exclusion is even more pronounced. UNIFEM programmes promote women’s leadership to ensure their equal voice in shaping the policies that affect their lives and choices. UNIFEM’s work in this area centres on: I Peace and security, by providing assistance to women in conflict situations and supporting their participation in peace processes; I Gender justice, by strengthening the gender focus in electoral, constitutional, legislative and judicial processes. Sean Fitzgerald 18 1995 N Agenda of World Summit for N “Transforming Development,” a story of UNIFEM and of Social Development reflects its projects in the field, is published by UNIFEM’s founding full range of women’s issues; director, Margaret Snyder. draft declaration contains N Fourth World Conference on Women, in Beijing, commitment to ensuring reviews and debates 12 critical areas of concern full equality. and adopts Platform for Action. Ting Shao Kuang, China UN Postal Administration, 1995 Peace and security uring 2001, UNIFEM’s work on peace and months of the assessment, Independent Experts security grew significantly in all regions. Elisabeth Rehn (Finland), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf DNearly $12 million has been pledged by (Liberia) and Rapporteur Victoria Brittain (UK) bilateral donors and the United Nations Foundation carried out missions to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in support of UNIFEM’s work to: strengthen the Cambodia, Colombia, the Democratic Republic gender focus in prevention and early warning of Congo, East Timor, Israel and the occupied mechanisms; improve protection and assistance Palestinian territories, Kosovo/Federal Republic for women affected by conflict; make women and of Yugoslavia, the former Yugoslav Republic of gender perspectives central to peace processes; Macedonia, Rwanda and Somalia. Preliminary and support gender justice in post-conflict peace- findings from these missions have called building. UNIFEM has also developed a major attention to the glaring gaps in the delivery of initiative in support of women’s leadership in protection and assistance to women and girls. Afghanistan (see page 7). The Experts have pointed to the under-explored links between gender, conflict and HIV/AIDS and To increase the information available to inform to the way in which sexual violence and prevention and early warning strategies, UNIFEM HIV/AIDS have been used as weapons of war. carried out situational and needs assessments of Their final report, expected in October 2002, the impact of conflict on women in East Timor, the will recommend a occupied Palestinian territories and Sierra Leone, comprehensive agenda UNIFEM commissioned and on Burundian refugees in Tanzania. In for action by govern- Casamance, Senegal, where hostilities have an Independent Expert ments, the United continued, UNIFEM is participating in the joint Assessment on the Nations and civil socie- donor initiative for Casamance with UNDP, ty. It will complement Impact of Armed UNESCO, UNICEF, WFP, ILO and the EU on the Secretary-General’s “Revival of Casamance’s Economic and Social Conflict on Women report on women, peace Activities Programme.” and Women’s Role in and security that will Following the Security Council’s adoption of be presented to the Peace-building in Resolution 1325 in October 2000 — the first Security Council. March 2001. issued on women, peace and security — UNIFEM supported a range of follow-up measures. Women and girls are often neglected in the delivery UNIFEM provided relevant information to the of protection and assistance during conflict. Security Council on areas referred to in UNIFEM helps mobilize and raise awareness of Resolution 1325 and facilitated the Council’s the need for gender-responsive protection, direct interaction with women affected by humanitarian, psychosocial and economic assis- conflict. UNIFEM also commissioned an tance strategies, especially in preventing Independent Expert Assessment on the Impact of violence against women. UNIFEM helped mobilize Armed Conflict on Women and Women’s Role in support for women’s protection and assistance Peace-building in March 2001. During the first six during conflict by contributing to the preparation 19 1995 1996 1997 UNIFEM publishes UN General Assembly establishes Trust Fund in N UNIFEM launches first Strategy & “Commitment to the World’s Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence Against Business Plan, 1997-1999. Women”, with an introduction Women at UNIFEM to identify and support innovative N by the Executive Director, projects aimed specifically at preventing and eliminat- UNIFEM organized first Mayan Noeleen Heyzer, entitled, “A ing violence against women. Since it was established, Women’s Congress on traditional Women’s Development Agenda the Trust Fund has awarded over $ 5 million in grants knowledge in the Yucatan for the 21st Century.” to 127 projects in 71 countries. Peninisula, Mexico. Bringing of the 2002 Consolidated Appeals Process for the a Gender Great Lakes region and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Efforts were also made to ensure that Perspective issues of violence against women and human to the Inter- rights abuses of displaced women were Congolese addressed in the Consolidated Appeals Process. Dialogue In Somalia, gender was mainstreamed in the Demobilization and Reintegration Programme In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), women and in the peace-building and conflict resolution demanded to be adequately represented in the mechanisms of IGAD. In Sierra Leone, UNIFEM Inter-Congolese Dialogue (ICD). Following the Lusaka is working with UNAIDS and UNFPA on a Agreement of July 1999, which called for a cease-fire in programme of support dealing with HIV/AIDS and the DRC — and building on UNIFEM’s previous experience gender in a peacekeeping environment. in bringing a gender perspective to the Burundi peace negotiations in 2000 — the Facilitator for the ICD invited From the grassroots level to the negotiating table, UNIFEM to work with his office to support the participa- UNIFEM supports women’s participation in tion of Congolese women in their country’s peace process peace-building and helps leverage the political, and to address gender issues within the substantive financial and technical support needed for these agenda of negotiations. efforts to have an impact on peace processes. In October 2001, UNIFEM provided financial and technical In Armenia, Azerbaijan, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, support to CONAFED (Collectif National des Femmes Georgia, Rwanda, Somalia and Sudan, UNIFEM is Democratiques) to organize a ‘Women For Peace’ Forum helping to forge alliances between women living in Kinshasa that would help women clearly articulate in and outside of their countries to promote their views and aspirations in line with each item of the dialogue, reconciliation and trust building across Dialogue’s agenda. The Forum resulted in a plan of action political affiliations, class and ethnicity. With the and mobilization strategy for Congolese women on support of the United Nations Foundation, democratization, elections, reconciliation and humanitarian UNIFEM is coordinating one of very few regional relief. Prior to the ICD, UNIFEM helped convene a projects in the countries of the Southern multi-party meeting of Congolese women in Nairobi, which Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) that resulted in a unified Declaration and Plan of Action high- is building the capacity of local women peace lighting women’s proposals for the peace process in the activists and women’s organizations. UNIFEM DRC. The meeting also prepared women delegates for supported the creation of Task Forces that are the ICD, which took place in Sun City, South Africa. At the developing curricula for pilot courses in peace ICD, UNIFEM continued to support women delegates studies in all three countries, which will start in through the creation of a multi-party women’s caucus. 2002. UNIFEM is also supporting the creation of a The caucus made sure that gender issues were addressed roster of women in decision-making who could be on the official agenda of the Dialogue and that a special involved in future peace-building initiatives. The session was convened to mark International Women’s project has also supported numerous grassroots Day. Recommendations made by the Women’s Caucus confidence-building activities involving young peo- were reflected in statements made by each of the five ple, media and the cultural and artistic community. main groups participating in the Dialogue. 20 N WomenWatch, a joint UN project to N 24 October, United Nations Day: N In response to the Secretary General’s develop an electronic gateway to infor- UNIFEM sponsors a press conference Reform Agenda, UNIFEM places the mation about gender and women from where a Women’s Peace Petition with first Gender Advisor to the Resident UN agencies, is created. It was founded by more than 99,000 signatures from over Coordinator System, Regina Amadi- UNIFEM, the Division for the Advancement 100 countries was presented to the UN, Njoku in Nigeria. of Women (DAW), and the International calling for a transfer of funds
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