Do Women Matter in Women in PO Ice, Mi
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Do Women Matter in Women in PO ice, Mi DYAN MAZURANA Cette auteure docurnente et analyse issue specific requests for women tions as of Spring. - 2001. Of the peace- l'impact de La prksence des femmes peacekeepers until 1994, correspond- keeping operations for which data L'intkrieurdpsfircespolici2res, militaires ing with a high demand for are available (13 of 16), women rep- resent a small percentage of person- nel in these peacekeeping operations For over 50 years UN peacekeeping has and constitute fewer than ten per- been a means of international cent in over half of the operations. In particular, women represent a intervention in armed conflict. Yet, few small proportion of military and ci- women participated in designing or vilian police personnel. Never did carrying out these operations. they exceed six percent of military personnel or 16 percent of civilian police, representing five percent or et civiles sur les klkments pacijcateurs. peacekeepers-78,500 in 1993, less in five of the six operations us- Eha trouvkqueles dirigeantespacifistes 76,500 in 1994, and 68,900 in 1995 ing civilian police. Women range et conscientisbes auxgenres ne sontpas (Kaufholz; Renner). When the call from zero to 36 percent of profes- assez nombre~sespourchan~erlesstruc- did go out, Member States largely sional staff in any given peacekeep- tures males des opPrationspour la paix. ignored it (Helland, Karame, ing operation. However, women Nkanmoins leur prhence affecte Kristensen and Skjelsbaek). compose the greatest proportion of positivement les interactions dam kz Between 1957 and 1989, Jill non-professional civilian positions. popukztion hcaleetlesperceptiomenvers Beilstein concluded that 20 women These positions provide administra- les processus de paix. served as UN peacekeepers out of tive and operational assistance to ci- 26,250 troops. For the same time vilian professional staff positions, Women peacekeepers and gender- period, William Durch and Michael which deal with substantive admin- aware leaders are not sufficient to Renner record426,600 peacekeepers. istrative and political aspects of the change the male-dominated struc- Regardless of the source, the inclu- peacekeeping operation. ture of peacekeeping. Even so, their sion of women peacekeepers is rare. While data are available on the presence positively affects aspects of In 1993, in 11 of the 15 ongoing number and sex of civilian, police, local populations interactions and peacekeeping operations, women rep- and military. -personnel within UN perceptions towards peacekeeping resented 33 percent of all civilian peacekeeping, no comparable data operations. In this paper I evaluate staff (Beilstein),with the percentage exist on civilian personnel sent by some roles, influences and conse- ofwomen in civilian police and mili- intergovernmental,international, re- quences of women's participation in tary unknown because of lack of gional, national or nongovernmental United Nations (UN) peacekeeping record keeping. At the end of 2000, organizations. Nor are there pub- operations. I examine these charac- women constituted 25 percent of the lished statistics on the private secu- teristics within police, military and 38,900 peacekeepers active as profes- rity companies, foreign government civilian components. For over 50 sional staff, 5 1 percent of general representatives, or contract person- years UN peacekeeping has been a service staff, 15 percent of field staff, nel in the host nation (Feinstein In- means of international intervention 26 percent of local staff, three per- ternational Famine Center and In- in armed conflict. Yet, few women cent of military personnel, and four ternational Alert; Nakano and participated in designing or carrying percent of civilian police personnel Seiple). More information is needed out these operations. Although the (UN DPKO). about these groups and their inter- UN can request, Member States ulti- Table 1, "Women in Active action with local populations to mately decide who to send for police, United Nations Peacekeeping Op- understand the dynamics of peace- military, and government peacekeep- erations," provides the percentage of keeping operations and post-conflict ing assignments. The UN did not women all UN peacekeeping opera- reconstruction. CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME Peace and Civ Peace kee Women and UN Civilian Police and traffic police; exceptions include fuse potentially violent situa- Norway, Sweden, Canada, Great tions. (Fitzsimmons 270) During the conflict, the local, na- Britain, and the United States tional, or military police forces may (Fitzsimmons). The percentage of With regard to the need to ad- have repeatedlyviolated human rights women drops considerably when dress gender-based violence in con- and thus been feared and reviled by looking at any country's military flict and post-conflict situations, local populations. Consequently, the police (Enloe 2000). In countries studies found that task ofUN civilian police (CIVPOL) where women make up a significant is not only to provide security at portion of the national police force, women police officers respond numerous levels but also to help es- they rarely constitute a significant more effectively to violence tablish the local population's trust in presence in peacekeeping operations. committed against women, and the police as an institution. At a Studies also indicate that gender in- are more likely to take action minimum, the role of CIVPOL is to fluences participation in CIVPOL. against domestic abuse. (Fitz- document and attempt to prevent For example, studies in Canada find simmons 271) abusive and unlawful behavior. When that because of the gendered-distri- called on, CIVPOL must be avail- bution of household labor, women Also compared to their male col- able to help strengthen the rule of police officers are less likely to re- leagues, women police officers have law, in conjunction with interna- quest postings with CIVPOL police significantlylower rates ofcomplaints tional and national judicial, penal, because of the length of time re- ofmisconduct, improper use offorce, and human rights experts. CIVPOL's quired away from their families or inappropriate use of weapons. In responsibilities increasingly include (Mazurana and Piza-Lopez) . operations in Namibia the United restructuring and supporting national Only a few attempt to analyze the Nations Transitional Assistance police and judicial systems in accord- role of !gender in CIVPOL opera- Group (UNTAG), the United Na- ance with international standards of criminal justice, human rights, and democracy, a task with profound Few countries send women for short- and long-term implications CIVPOL duties, in part because in most (Panel on the United Nations Peace Member States where women are in Operation). Historically, CrVPOL contingents the police forces, they typically serve as included very few women police ofic- desk officers and traffic police. ers. In 1993, women represented one percent of CIVPOL personnel (Beilstein) and by the end of 2000 tions, but their findings indicate that tions Observer Mission in South Af- made up four percent. Given these low gender affects policing (Fitzsimmons; rica (UNMOSA), and the United percentages, it is worth noting that Olsson 1999). International studies Nations Assistance Mission in CIVPOL is among the fa^ depart- on women and policing find that, Rwanda (UNAMIR), local women ments within the United Nations that reported finding it easier to approach actively recruits women for peacekeep- Women police officers use force female peacekeepers to address aprob- ing and has done so for years. less frequently than their male lem, especially regarding gender- Why are there so few women in counterparts, are less authori- based violence. Within the context CIVPOL? Few countries send tarian when intera~tin~withciti- of peacekeeping, studies on South women for CIVPOL duties, in part zens and lower-ranking officers, Africa and Haiti support these results because in most Member States have better communication and for women as peacekeepers and as where women are in the police forces, negotiation skills, and are more members of the new police forces they typically serve as desk officers likely than male officers to dif- (Fitzsimmons). VOLUME 22, NUMBER 2 Table 1 Women in Active United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (Average Percentage Per Year) Peacekeeping Operation' Yearb Professional Staffs (%) General Senriced (%) Field Servicee(9'0) Local St&(%) Military Personnelg (%) Civilian Policeh(96) Women Overall' (%) MINURSO 1997 20 34 9 21 3 0 10 1998 15 35 15 19 2 0 10 1999 16 35 16 19 3 8 13 2000 19 28 23 2 1 3 12 IS UNAMSIL 1998 20 80 5 45 4 0 18 1999 20 40 15 22 2 0 13 2000 18 59 21 30 1 6 2001 19 63 2 1 20 1 0 2 UNDOF 1997 0 - 20 22 3 - 5 1998 3 79 13 24 2 - 5 1999 18 84 I6 21 4 5 2000 0 100 22 15 3 5 2001 0 88 24 14 4 - 6 UNFICYP 1997 - - 23 29 3 15 6 1998 27 100 14 32 2 16 8 1999 36 100 5 29 5 14 9 2000 32 100 11 30 3 11 8 2001 30 100 4 3 1 2 6 .. UNIFIL 1998 13 5 1 6 13 4 7 1999 17 83 13 14 2 - 3 2000 15 90 12 14 2 - 3 UNIKOM 1998 15 70 14 18 0.3 - 3 1999 10 56 8 20 0.3 4 2000 13 48 17 20 0.4 4 2001 10 57 19 2 1 0.4 - 4 UNMIBH 1998 32 55 8 49 0 3 2 1 1999 34 55 10 52 6 4 24 2000 32 65 12 53 3 5 26 2001 30 63 14 52 0 5 25 UNMIK 1999 24 48 14 7 0 2 16 2000 27 50 4 26 0 3 20 2001 30 55 15 3 1 0 4 2 l UNMOGIP 1998 0 p 24 4 0 - 5 1999 0 17 11 0 - 7 2000 0 - 16 11 0 - 7 200 1 0 16 12 0 - 8 UNMOP 1998 50 100 0 40 0 - 11 2000 0 100 0 50 0 - 11 UNOMIG 1998 22 64 3 40 1 - 20 1999 34 57 2 35 1 - 19 2000 23 70 9 31 1 - 19 2001 20 83 10 29 1 - 19 UNTAET 2000 24 54 21 13 3 3 6 2001 28 59 27 11 3 4 7 UNTSO 1998 0 85 6 15 1 - 8 1999 12 93 5 15 1 - 8 2000 2 1 100 11 18 3 - 11 2001 20 100 10 15 5 - 11 .p Source: Data presented is calculated from data compiled by the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and provided to the author.