PREVENTING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE THROUGH ARMS CONTROL Tools and guidelines to implement the Arms Trade Treaty and UN Programme of Action © 2016 Reaching Critical Will of the Women’s International Thanks to Maria Butler, Mia Gandenberger, María Muñoz League for Peace and Freedom Maraver, and Sofia Tuvestad for reviewing this paper and providing comments and suggestions. APRIL 2016 PREVENTING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE THROUGH Thanks to Christer Ahlström, Emma Bjertén-Günther, Mark ARMS CONTROL - Tools and guidelines to implement the Bromley, Dongmo Feugap, Hardy Giezendanner, Maribel Arms Trade Treaty and UN Programme of Action Hernández, Paul Holtom, Martin Krueger, Justine Kwachu, Manuel Martínez, Patrick McCarthy, Ramon Muro Martinez, 1st edition Jasmin Nario-Galace, Sarah Parker, Cédric Poitevin, Martha 68 pp. Quintero, Mike Reilly, Katherine Ronderos, Nauris Rumpe, Rachel Stohl, Leonard Tettey, Faman A. Toure, and Stelios Permission is granted for non-commercial reproduction, Zachariou for taking the time to answer questions and copying, distribution, and transmission of this publication or provide information and assistance, Also, thank you to Marc parts thereof so long as full credit is given to the coordinating Finaud of the Geneva Center for Security Policy for providing project and organization, editor, and relevant authors; the information and assistance during the preparatory process. text is not altered, transformed, or built upon; and for any reuse or distribution, these terms are made clear to others. Written by Rebecca Gerome Edited by Ray Acheson Layout: Mia Gandenberger Cover photo: Flickr/ Marcos Guevara Rivera Index Executive summary ...............................................4 Introduction .....................................................9 Objectives .................................................................9 Methodology ...............................................................9 About gender .................................................. 10 What is gender? ...........................................................10 What is gender-based violence (GBV)? ..........................................10 GBV and the ATT and UNPoA ................................................10 Important facts to remember ..................................................13 Current practice on export licensing ................................ 14 Company applications and end-use/r documentation ................................14 Arms export decision-making authority ..........................................15 The risk assessment ........................................................17 Relevant questions and sources ................................................. The need for a specific risk linked to the arms export under consideration ...............20 Information sharing .........................................................22 Time limits ................................................................22 Threshold: on balance vs. clear risk test .........................................23 End-use monitoring .........................................................23 Transparency .............................................................24 Minimum-standard practices ..................................................24 Guidelines for assessing the risk of GBV .............................. 25 The items ................................................................25 The intended end-user .......................................................31 The destination country ......................................................33 The criteria ...............................................................34 Indicators ................................................................42 Sources of information ......................................................47 Implementing the UNPoA to prevent gender-based violence ...............48 Legislation and policies ......................................................49 Designing disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) programmes ............50 Include women’s and LGBT rights groups in national commissions on SALW control ........52 Promote data collection on gender and SALW ....................................53 Increase funding for gender-sensitive small arms control .............................54 Conclusion ....................................................54 References ....................................................56 33 Executive summary This report is about the effective implementation About gender of the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and the 2001 UN Programme of Action on the illicit trade The ATT is the first international agreement to in small arms and light weapons (UNPoA) in recognise the link between the arms trade and regards to preventing gender-based violence GBV. The UNPoA does not explicitly make the (GBV) and gender discrimination in disarmament connection at all. But the connection is real, and and arms control processes. The objective of it is not new. All conventional weapons can—and this report is to provide tools and guidelines for have been—used to inflict violence on people effective implementation of the ATT and the based on discriminating norms and practices UNPoA, including how to conduct an export risk relating to their specific sex or gender role in assessment on GBV and how to enhance gender society. GBV is a human rights violation and, mainstreaming in disarmament and arms control. when carried out during armed conflict, is a violation of international humanitarian law. The report provides an introduction to the concepts of gender and GBV, placing them in Yet because it is severely underreported and the context of conventional weapons, the ATT, underdocumented, GBV is often overlooked in and the UNPoA. It then provides an overview of arms transfer risk assessments. Including a current practices in export licensing, including GBV-prevention provision in the ATT makes its applications and documentations, risk exclusion from risk assessments more difficult. assessments, information sharing, monitoring, It also highlights that arms trade, possession, and transparency. Based on the analysis of and use have specific gender and power current practice, the report then offers dimensions that need to be addressed. The guidelines for assessing the risk of GBV. It inclusion of the GBV criterion also serves as a covers items, intended end users, destination reminder that in accordance with UN gender countries, criteria, and indicators relevant for mainstreaming practice, the impact on all people assessing whether or not an arms transfer could of all policies and programmes needs to be result in GBV. It also provides informative taken into account and power structures that guidelines for preventing GBV through arms might be amplified by the presence of arms need control measures, such as legislation, national to be further examined. commissions, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration processes, data collection, and The report highlights some key facts that are international aid. Finally, the report offers critical to understanding the relationship recommendation and resources to guide export between GBV and the international arms trade officials in their responsibilities. and illicit trafficking in weapons: • GBV can occur both in times of conflict and The executive summary provides a brief outside of conflict. There can be a pattern of snapshot of each chapter; details, explanations, GBV in the absence of other indicators of and resources can be found in the full report. human rights violations. The absence of 4 generalised violence does not mean that there Current practice is no risk of GBV. • GBV is often invisible. Patterns are difficult to Different countries have different requirements establish. Even a few reports of GBV can for applications and end-use/r documentation, suggest that there are patterns and can be a but most require some form of application to the cause of concern, especially if combined with government by a company in order for an arms government acquiescence. deal to take place. It is at this stage that export • All weapons covered under the ATT and officials must conduct a risk assessment UNPoA can be used to facilitate or commit process to determine the risk that the transfer GBV. would violate the ATT or UNPoA. • All end users, including the army, the police, and state security services, can commit GBV. Currently, no countries explicitly include GBV in The risk of this occurring must always be their required end-use/r documentation. Some assessed, as must the risk of diversion. countries or regional groups include language on • GBV is a cross-cutting issue: it is always a human rights more broadly, particularly when it violation of international human rights, and, comes to the export of small arms and light depending on the circumstances, can be a weapons. violation of international humanitarian law or constitute an act of terrorism, transnational The responsibility for processing an application organised crime, a war crime, a crime against and deciding whether to grant or deny a transfer humanity, or genocide. It is therefore covered can lie with different governments agencies. under both Article 6 and Article 7 of the ATT. Sometimes the process is dealt with differently • GBV goes hand in hand with a lack of gender if it is a commercial license or a government-to- equality. Indicators on gender equality, even if government transfer. In some countries, there is not explicitly linked