Women, Peace and Security
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| Women, Peace and Security | |
|---|---|
| Name | Women, Peace and Security |
| Formation | 2000 |
| Type | International policy agenda |
| Purpose | Inclusion of women in conflict prevention, resolution, and peacebuilding |
| Region served | Global |
| Parent organization | United Nations |
Women, Peace and Security is an international policy agenda focusing on the roles of women in conflict, post-conflict recovery, and peacebuilding. It links normative frameworks, multilateral diplomacy, peace operations, and civil society advocacy to promote gender-responsive approaches across peace processes and post-conflict reconstruction. The agenda intersects with peacekeeping, transitional justice, humanitarian action, and development cooperation across regions affected by armed conflict.
Background and Conceptual Framework
The agenda emerged amid debates following the Rwandan genocide, the Balkans conflict, and the work of civil society networks such as Women Living Under Muslim Laws, Women in Black, and Madre (organization). Influential reports and actors including UN Security Council, UNIFEM, UN Women, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International shaped its conceptual underpinnings. Key thematic influences include research by scholars associated with Harvard University, University of Oxford, London School of Economics, and think tanks like International Crisis Group, Chatham House, and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The framework builds on experiences from truth commissions such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa), peace accords like the Dayton Agreement, and peace processes in contexts including Colombia peace process (2016–2016), Northern Ireland peace process, and Sierra Leone Civil War settlements.
International Legal and Policy Instruments
Multilateral instruments codifying the agenda include resolutions, treaties, and declarations adopted by bodies such as the United Nations Security Council, United Nations General Assembly, European Union, African Union, Organisation of American States, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Landmark texts were advanced by figures like Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-moon, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and Antonio Guterres. Regional frameworks such as the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belém do Pará) intersect with Security Council practice. Legal and policy mechanisms link to instruments such as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Geneva Conventions, and the work of the International Court of Justice and Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Implementation and Programming
Operationalization occurs through agencies and missions including United Nations Peacekeeping, UN Women, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and specialized programs in collaboration with bilateral donors such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (UK), European Commission, and foundations like the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations. Implementation draws on field experiences in missions such as MONUSCO, MINUSMA, UNAMI, and UNMISS and national strategies from countries including Liberia, Rwanda, Sweden, Canada, Norway, and Australia. Programming engages NGOs and grassroots groups like Women for Women International, CARE International, International Rescue Committee, and Oxfam alongside local actors from contexts such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Colombia, and Philippines.
Participation and Leadership of Women
Efforts emphasize increasing women's representation in peace negotiations, mediation, security sector reform, and political institutions. Mediators and women leaders include figures such as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, Malala Yousafzai (advocacy intersections), Juanita Ramos, and advisors linked to mechanisms like the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. Negotiation examples include the Guatemalan peace process, the Mozambique peace process, and the incorporation of women in delegations to talks mediated by entities like the African Union Commission, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Quartet on the Middle East. Military and police integration references include collaborations with institutions such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), African Standby Force, and national forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Liberia.
Protection and Human Security Issues
Protection priorities address sexual and gender-based violence, forced displacement, economic exclusion, and access to justice. Responses involve actors such as the International Criminal Court, UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, World Health Organization, International Organization for Migration, and regional courts like the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. Casework references include investigations into sexual violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, and allegations arising from operations in Mali and Central African Republic. Measures include survivor-centered services supported by organizations such as Médecins Sans Frontières, UNFPA, and local legal clinics tied to universities like Columbia University and University of Cape Town.
Monitoring, Reporting, and Accountability
Monitoring mechanisms use reporting by the United Nations Secretary-General, the Security Council Working Group on Women and Peace and Security, national parliaments such as the Swedish Riksdag and UK Parliament, and civil society coalitions including PeaceWomen, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and Equality Now. Data collection draws from sources like the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, UN Women Global Peace and Security Index analyses, and academic centers including International IDEA and SIPRI. Accountability is pursued through international tribunals, truth commissions, parliamentary inquiries, and donor conditionality by agencies like USAID and the European External Action Service. Ongoing debates involve compliance, resource allocation, and effectiveness in contexts from Syria to South Sudan.