Identifying Women’s Peace and Security Priorities

Identifying Women’s Peace
and Security Priorities
GUIDANCE

1
Guidance Note:
Identifying Women’s
Peace and Security
Priorities
Acknowledgement
The document was written by
Anne Marie Goetz UN Women
Chief Advisor on Peace and
Security with contributions
from: Evelyn Bazalgette, Malika
Bhandarkar, Pablo Castillo-Diaz,
Rachel Dore-Weeks, Christo-pher
Kuonqui , Wenny Kusuma,
Ana Lukatela, Elsie-Bernadette
Onubogu, Melissa Payson, Si-mon
Tordjman, Nahla Valji, and
Natalia Zakharova
First edition, October 2010
Second edition, October 2012
On the cover: Women in El Fasher, North
Darfur, march in 2010 for “16 Days of Activism
against Gender-Based Violence”, an annual
campaign beginning on the International Day
to End Violence Against Women (25 Novem-ber)
and ending on Human Rights Day (1
December).
Credit: UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran
Background
Women’s direct participation in peace processes remains one
of the most poorly implemented elements of the women,
peace and security agenda outlined in United Nations Security
Council resolution 1325 (2000) and related resolutions 1820
(2008), 1888(2009), 1889 (2009), and 1960 (2010). Although
no consistent information is maintained on numbers of women
on delegations to peace talks, a review in this volume by UN
Women of 31 major peace processes conducted since 1992 found
on average that women made up about 9 per cent of negotiating
parties. Women’s absence from these critical decision-making
forums, which set the terms of ceasefires and determine power
and wealth-sharing patterns, social development priorities,
approaches to reparations and justice for atrocities, can have
devastating consequences for women’s efforts to participate
in peacebuilding. Women’s interest in participating in public
decision-making may be ignored, along with essential affirmative
action measures needed to overcome discrimination in the public
sphere. Women’s urgent recovery needs may be disregarded in
post-conflict needs assessments and not budgeted for in public
expenditure allocation processes. Displaced women may not be
able to recover property if there is no legal reform recognizing
their property rights. War crimes against women may go
unpunished, encouraging a climate of impunity for all forms of
gender-based violence. Beyond peace talks, there is a wide range
of public decision-making processes involved in peacebuilding
from which women are also often excluded: constitutional
reform processes, elections planning, post-conflict needs
assessments and priority-setting, donor conferences and many
more.
The first operational paragraph of resolution 1325 (2000)
“urges Member States to ensure increased representation of
women at all decision-making levels in national, regional and
international institutions and mechanisms for the prevention,
management, and resolution of conflict.”2 This Guidance Note is
intended to facilitate efforts by UN staff, women’s organizations,
human rights groups and peace activists to support women’s
efforts to develop a context-specific agenda for gender-equal
peace, security and recovery.3 Based on successful cases where
women effectively opened the doors and managed to voice
their concerns in peace negotiations and donor conferences, it
addresses the challenge of enabling women to communicate
effectively with peace and security decision-makers. These
include national leaders, national or international mediators in
peace negotiations, participants on peace negotiation delega-tions,
leaders of peacekeeping missions, post-conflict planners,
public expenditure managers, organizers of donor conferences,
international and national implementers of post-conflict
recovery processes and the like. It is intended as a means of
promoting implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) and related
resolutions in every peace, security and recovery process. It is
also relevant to the implementation of related resolutions on the
protection of civilians.
* Any reference to “UNIFEM” in the
document must be understood to refer to
“former UNIFEM”, one of the four entities
merged into the United Nations Entity for
Gender Equality and the Empowerment
of Women on 21st July, 2010 by United
Nations General Assembly Resolution A/
RES/64/289.
* Any reference to United Nations
“resolution 1325 and subsequent
resolutions or 5 WPS resolutions” in the
document must be understood to refer
to Security Council resolutions on women
and peace and security 1325 (2000); 1820
(2008); 1888 (2009); 1889 (2009); and
1960 (2010).
Liberian women gather inside a “peace hut”, a women-run community court serving to resolve domestic disputes and dispense informal justice. Credit: UN Photo/Andi Gitow

Building the Messages
1. Identify important peace and security entry points.
It is important for women to agree on the specific upcoming
events or processes in which they wish to be involved. The
following are typical peace and security processes that often lack
opportunities for women’s engagement—and as a result, often
fail adequately to reflect women’s concerns:
»» Humanitarian interventions, which include delivery of ur-gently
needed relief and are often supported by significant
fund-raising drives to generate resources to address urgent
recovery needs;
»» Ceasefires or pre-ceasefires, including confidence-building
measures and humanitarian access agreements;
»» Peace negotiations, whether they are about to start
or ongoing;
»» A post-conflict needs assessment or other planning process,
which identifies priorities for public investment and focuses
on a wide range of issues, such as infrastructure recovery,
creation of economic opportunities, health and education
rehabilitation, justice and security sector reform, and basic
rehabilitation of governance infrastructure and processes;
»» Donor conferences, in which the plans identified through
needs-assessment processes are financed;
»» Production of an Integrated Strategic Framework for ensur-ing
coherence between national priorities and international
support, including grounding international peacekeeping
missions in the national context. These can be supported by
the UN’s Integrated Mission Planning and by the Peacebuild-ing
Commission.4 These frameworks will be supported by
multi-donor trust funds or by the Peacebuilding Fund.5
»» Establishment or draw-down of an international peacekeep-ing
or political mission;
»» Production of a Poverty Reduction Strategy; and
»» Production of a National Action Plan on 1325 to bring issues
of women, peace and security into national defence, justice,
interior and gender planning.
Any of these events or processes offer women a useful entry
point for engaging as a collectivity. Women can request inclusion,
consultation and/or representation. They can make substantive
suggestions about issues they want to see on the agenda, or they
can make concrete proposals for monitoring these processes.
2. Focus on peace and security.
Be specific with regard to the country’s peace and security
phase, and identify issues of concern to women accordingly.
In other words, is the country showing early signs of conflict? Is it
experiencing a humanitarian crisis? Is it in some stage of conflict
resolution, such as peace talks or peacekeeping to stabilize the
Members of Somalia’s first parliament in twenty years were sworn in at an
open-air ceremony in August 2012 at Mogadishu International Airport. At
the time of the photo, 16 per cent of parliamentarians were women.
Credit: UN Photo/Stuart Price
country and implement a ceasefire or peace agreement? Are
longer-term peacebuilding efforts underway?
These different peace and security phases are not always linear:
they can be happening simultaneously, for instance in different
parts of the country, or if there is a peace process but conflict is
nonetheless ongoing. In each phase, there are different questions
to consider in order to ensure that women’s needs and concerns
are met.
a. Humanitarian crisis caused by conflict: Are there large
numbers of displaced people and extremely urgent needs
for food, water and shelter? Are women’s and girls’ urgent
immediate needs adequately addressed? Are mechanisms in
place to ensure access by women and girls to distribution of
resources and registration for relief aid? Is there safe passage
for humanitarian actors seeking to provide assistance to fami-lies
and communities? Are protection issues being addressed,
including the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence
(SGBV) in camp management? Have the gender guidelines of
the Inter-Agency Standing Committee been implemented by
Women are often most effective in seeking to have their
views heard and needs addressed when they can impress upon
decision-makers that they are not representing a narrow point
of view, but rather are bringing to the table the concerns of
a very significant portion of the population. Women in many
contexts have sought to debate and identify shared concerns
across a wide range of social categories—class, ethnicity, race or
region. UN Women and other organizations have often sought to
constitute national or regional conventions of women in conflict-affected
countries in order to support their collective voice and,
in so doing, build the legitimacy and representativeness of the
interests they express and the issues they raise. This guidance
note is intended for use in these collective reflections, whether
organized for the sake of influencing peace negotiations or
providing input to a donor conference, a national constitutional
reform process, a national post-conflict planning exercise or
other major efforts to resolve conflict and set recovery priorities.
The guidance note is intended to amplify the effectiveness of
women’s collective voice when they seek engagement in these
processes as a group.
This guidance note is not prescriptive. It is simply a review of
the types of issues that may be relevant. It contains suggestions
for ways to develop or consolidate a women’s agenda on peace
and security issues. It suggests means of structuring discus-sions
to cover both procedural and substantive matters linked
to women’s participation in peace and security processes. It
encourages a constructive approach to opportunities for women
to engage in peace talks, donor conferences and consultations
with peace and security leaders, and suggests ways women can
formulate concrete proposals that advance their interests.
The questions and reflections in this guidance note are intended
to support women’s peace groups to identify priority issues
on women, peace and security to discuss with peace, security
and recovery leaders at national and international levels. It will
enable the facilitation of encounters between women in conflict
affected countries so they can:
a) identify shared concerns in relation to national, regional and
international peace and security processes,
b) articulate and refine key messages and proposals to put to
decision-makers, and
c) identify means of representing views as a group through the
selection and coaching of spokespersons.
The Annexes to this paper contain examples of women’s peace
and security priorities presented at peace talks and donor confer-ences
for Afghanistan, Sudan (Darfur) and Uganda.
Setting ground rules
In efforts to forge a collective perspective on gender issues and
women’s priorities in conflict contexts, opinions will most likely
be divided on what women see as peace and security priorities.
Ground rules should thus be set in collective discussions to
ensure that disagreements do not produce outright conflict and
are handled sensitively. Ground rules might include respectful
listening; ‘parking’ irresolvable issues to be discussed in other
venues or at another time; taking turns to present perspectives;
and so on. In addition, the group should follow standard practice
and identify chair(s), note-takers and individuals responsible
for preparing a cleaned-up, consolidated set of messages for
presentation and communication.
Evidence suggests that
the more inclusive a
women’s movement is,
the wider its outreach
to excluded social
groups and geographic
areas, and the more
credible and legitimate
are its efforts to
gain representation
for women’s groups
in peace and security
decision-making
Evidence suggests that the more inclusive a women’s move-ment
is, the wider its outreach to excluded social groups and
geographic areas, and the more credible and legitimate are its
efforts to gain representation for women’s groups in peace and
security decision-making. In settings where a vibrant civil society
operates, several simultaneous initiatives to advance a common
women’s agenda can be carried out in parallel by different
organizations or women’s networks. Reaching agreement on a
common document and/or strategy may then require a prepara-tory
phase wherein these initiatives, the relevant actors and their
individual roles are identified. The purpose of such a preparatory
phase would be to ensure that every woman involved agrees on
the need to concentrate efforts to develop and elaborate one
common strategy through a collaborative and inclusive process.
2 3

UN, the World Bank, regional banks, regional security institu-tions
(such as the African Union or the Economic Community
of West African States), or governments—can be reminded of
commitments on women’s participation and women’s rights, and
constructive suggestions can be made to ensure that women’s
concerns are addressed.
To give an example, instead of saying broadly that ‘women’s
views should not be ignored in preparations for a donor confer-ence,’
women could suggest:
a. Official representation at the donor conference should
include women.
b. There should be representation and a speaking slot for women
from civil society at the conference.
c. A consultative forum should be established with women’s
civil society groups prior to the donor conference to review
the agenda and funding proposals in order to elicit women’s
perspectives and ensure they are shared with national deci-sion-
makers and donors.
Similarly practical suggestions can be made for increasing
women’s involvement and input at every stage of the
peace process.
4. Use a full spectrum approach.
Women bring many different perspectives and interests and may
not agree. In particular, it must be remembered that women may
also have been involved in the conflict on different sides and are
sometimes the proud mothers, spouses and daughters of men
involved in conflict. They may themselves have been directly
engaged as combatants or associated with fighting forces.
Displaced women face particularly acute problems in rebuilding
their lives, as do women who have been associated with fighting
forces. Their views cannot be ignored. Means for divergent
views to be expressed, heard and incorporated in a common
agenda must therefore be agreed upon. This can be done during
a preparatory phase or when setting the ground rules. Because
of divergences of views, often it is easiest to agree on procedural
rather than substantive issues.
5. Distinguish between procedural and substantive issues.
For each of the above areas, procedural and substantive gender-specific
issues can be identified:
Procedural issues have to do with the structure and conduct of
arrangements to address any of the issue areas outlined above.
For instance, the proposal that a minimum proportion of peace
negotiators should be women is a basic procedural principle. It
is a matter of process and procedure because it will not neces-sarily
affect substance: more women negotiators would not
necessarily result in more gender-sensitive peace accords. Other
matters of procedure can relate to the design of the peace
table. Procedural suggestions could include that women’s civil
society groups have permanent observer status, or that half
of all commissioners in institutions established to implement
peace deals (such as truth and reconciliation commissions) are
women. Another procedural issue could be to include provisions
to earmark a basic minimum portion of post-conflict financing
for addressing women’s needs to review and assess gendered
patterns in post-conflict financing.
Procedural issues are about the how of doing things; substan-tive
issues relate to decisions over the what, i.e., substantive
matters regarding priorities in conflict resolution and peace-building.
Often it is easier to agree to procedural principles than
substantive ones. Procedural issues can even include very simple
suggestions to support capacity-building of women’s peace
groups, for instance by providing transportation so that women
can attend meetings, sharing more information on the peace and
security issues affecting the country, or making funding available
for organizational strengthening.
Substantive issues have to do with the detail of the many aspects
of conflict resolution, peace talks, peacekeeping, and peace-building
identified above. A substantive principle in relation to
Displaced women face
particularly acute
problems in rebuilding
their lives. So do
women who have been
associated with fighting
forces. Their views
cannot be ignored.
ceasefires, for instance, is that sexual violence should be treated
as a prohibited act and that ceasefire-monitoring teams must
be equipped to monitor sexual violence. A substantive principle
in relation to justice issues could relate to proposing gender-sensitive
changes to legal frameworks, or fast-tracking the
prosecution of war crimes against women.
The following sections outline specific procedural and substan-tive
issues that a common women’s agenda can raise.
6. General procedural issues relating to women,
peace and security.
Procedural issues have to do with the terms of participation in
and consultation about peace and security processes, the types
of mechanisms that are set up for monitoring both the peace
Shadia Marhaban, President of the Aceh Women’s League (LINA), speaks to reporters after participating in a closed, informal meeting of the Security Council
(known as “Arria Formula”) in 2012 on the role of women in mediation and conflict resolution. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
each cluster?6 Is the Consolidated Appeal Process (or any other
process being used in its place) ensuring that gender equality is
a criterion for the projects to be included? Is there an opera-tional
gender task force or sub-cluster with a review role?
b. Conflict resolution: Is the country experiencing ongoing
or unresolved conflict? Are women adequately involved in
confidence-building and conflict-resolution processes and
mechanisms? Do women face a serious and present threat to
their physical security? What form does that threat take, and
are adequate efforts being made to address it? Are women
being consulted in terms of identifying the drivers of the
conflict and how these might be addressed? Have women been
consulted to suggest ways to address the causes of conflict?
c. Ceasefire: Is a ceasefire in force? Does the ceasefire-monitoring
commission ensure women’s safety and security, or are viola-tions
still occurring?
d. Peace talks: Are peace negotiations underway at the moment?
Do women feel they are sufficiently consulted and involved?
Do official negotiating delegations include women? Are
there ways for women in civil society to communicate with
delegations? Do delegations have access to adequate gender
expertise? Are there observer seats for civil society women?
Does the agenda of the talks include gender analysis and focus
on addressing women’s and girls’ issues?
e. Implementing the peace agreement: What institutions have
been set up to implement the peace accord, and are women
adequately participating? Do the mandates of these institu-tions
(e.g., human rights commissions; land commissions;
disarmament, demobilization and reintegration [DDR] commis-sions;
truth and reconciliation commissions; reparations
commissions; constitutional reform commissions) adequately
address gender issues? Are these institutions effectively
addressing gender issues in practice?
f. Peacekeeping: Are UN or other forces involved in peacekeeping
in the conflict-affected area? Are there suggestions and mecha-nisms
to identify how these forces can better protect women
civilians? Are there suggestions for improving communication
and dialogue with peacekeepers to enhance their intelligence
sources, as well as their capacity to respond to local needs? Is
your country contributing with peacekeeping forces? Are they
adequately trained to ensure their capacity to understand and
respond to SGBV and other gender-related issues?
g. Peacebuilding: Are women participating in post-conflict
decision-making at all levels? Can women assess the amount of
funding that is reaching the conflict-affected area and earmarked
to address women’s recovery needs? Are women satisfied with
postconflict peacebuilding frameworks? Are external actors,
including but not limited to donors, supporting investment in the
activities and areas that most benefit women (e.g., market infra-structure,
rural roads, domestic water supply, informal sector
livelihoods, employment on public works programmes, accessible
schools, health clinics, courts, socially-responsive policing, vulner-able
persons units within police stations)?
3. Take a constructive approach.
Comments and suggestions should be phrased in a constructive
and positive manner. Peacebuilding leaders—whether from the
4 5

process and its implementation, and the resources and expertise
available for the process. Examples of basic procedural points
frequently raised by women—and phrased in active/positive
terms include:
a. Mandate women’s participation:
»» Women should comprise a minimum proportion of partici-pants
in all peace-making forums, whether consultative or
formal negotiations.
• The suggested proportion often ranges from
25 to 50 per cent.
• This could also apply to institutions for implementing the
peace deal, such as human rights commissions or tran-sitional
justice institutions, and to institutions set up to
implement and monitor a peacebuilding or recovery plan.
»» The structure of the peace table should provide a space for
women from civil society to participate officially, for instance, by:
• Including a representative of a civil society collective, in which
women’s groups are represented (as in Guatemala, where
Msgr. Rodolfo Quezada Toruño took part in the peace talks
as the representative of the Assembly of Civil Society, which
included women’s groups as one of 14 ‘sectors’);
• Allowing structured input from expert teams that channel
specific concerns to negotiators (as in Sri Lanka, where an
all-female Sub-Committee on Gender Issues was one of
four expert groups contributing to the peace process).
b. Devise mechanisms to ensure that the needs and views of
women are channeled to decision-makers:
»» Establish regular consultations with civil society forums that
address women’s issues in order to channel women’s views
to decisionmakers.
c. Ensure that decision-makers have access to and integrate
technical guidance on gender issues:
»» Require each committee/implementation body for the peace
accord or the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) to retain
national expertise on gender equality and women’s rights.
»» Institute a review of peace-process initiatives for due
respect for or potential violation of women’s rights.
»» Implement the UN guidelines on a gender marker
for donor funds.
7. Substantive, country-specific women, peace and security issues.
Whatever peace and security phase is in effect, there will be
substantive issues to consider from a gender perspective. Below
are just some of the substantive gender issues that might arise
depending on the peace and security phase, the type of conflict
and the extent of engagement by the international community:
a. Early Warning: Are there early signs of impending conflict of
which women are aware but that may not be visible to others?
For instance, in the Solomon Islands, women became aware of
the threat of impending conflict when prisoners were released
and it became more dangerous to gather forest products
because of the risk of attack. In other contexts, women have
decreased rates of market engagement when social tensions
have risen in advance of conflict. Women everywhere are also
often aware of small arms in homes or communities. In some
cases, elevated levels of domestic violence are associated with
impending conflict. What would women propose that decision-makers
do to engage women in early warning processes?
b. Conflict resolution: There are formal and informal ways of
resolving conflict. Do women have ideas and proposals about
conflict resolution in their country? These can range from
long-term efforts to build cultures of peace and non-violent
resolution of conflict, to very specific proposals around the
conduct, participants and structure of peace negotiations.
c. Peacekeeping: Are international peacekeeping forces helping
to stabilize the country in ways that address the security
threats to women? For example, if there is a reported drop in
violence, does this include a drop in violence against women?
Does the mission need a mandate that covers protection
of civilians and specifically mentions sexual gender-based
violence? If it already has this mandate, is it receiving adequate
priority from the leadership of the mission? Are peacekeepers
willing and able to patrol and operate in unconventional
space—in proximity to villages, compounds, camps, forests and
fields—to respond to threats against women? Do peacekeepers
engage women in the community for intelligence-gathering
and/or confidence-building purposes? Are peacekeepers
trained on how to prevent or respond to violence against
women? Is the mission (military and police) striving to recruit
more women?
d. Peacebuilding: Are women able to contribute fully to long-term
peacebuilding? Have women been included in the
committees designing peacebuilding frameworks or strategic
frameworks that identify long-term responses to these?
Have post-conflict needs assessments included an analysis
of women’s needs and identified resources for these? Have
donor conferences included women from civil society, and
have funding proposals for recovery and peacebuilding fully
addressed women’s needs? What conditions are needed
for women to participate fully? Are women able to access
information on peacebuilding plans, funding allocations,
actual spending, and the impact of this spending? If not,
what do women propose as means to improve their engage-ment
in peacebuilding processes? What are the neglected
areas: Economic recovery? Land rights? Support for women’s
enterprises? Basic social services? Justice?
Leymah Gbowee, Executive Director of the Women Peace and Security Network Africa Organization and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, addresses a press conference in
2009 on the role of mediators in ensuring that sexual violence is addressed in peace processes. Credit: UN Photo/Emma Simmons
e. DDR
»» Cantonment: Are cantonment sites appropriately structured
so that women and girls are given the option of being sepa-rated
from men and boys?
»» Disarmament: Are women’s groups involved in monitoring
weapons collection and destruction and/or as participants in
destruction ceremonies?
»» Resettlement: After demobilization, are specific mecha-nisms
put in place to allow female ex-combatants and sup-porters
to return to their destination of choice using a safe
means of transport? Do the DDR programmes ensure that
female ex-combatants and supporters are free to choose
where they will live? Are specific measures put in place to
help reunify mothers and children? Are female ex-com-batants
and supporters fully informed about reintegration
support services?
»» Social reintegration: Are women associated with fighting
forces who return to communities receiving the psychosocial
support they need to cope with problems of stigma? Are
women’s organizations supported and trained to participate
and assist in the reconciliation and reintegration of ex-com-batants?
Is the establishment of formal or informal network
groups among female ex-combatants and supporters en-couraged?
Is there monitoring of the impact on communities
of reintegrating ex-combatants?
»» Economic reintegration: Do female and male participants
in DDR processes have equal training and employment op-portunities
after leaving the cantonment site? Are widows,
widowers and dependents of ex-combatants killed in action
provided with financial and material assistance? Do women
have equal access to vocational trainings and economic op-portunities,
such as support to farm cash crops, own and use
livestock and land?
Where sexual violence
was a major feature of
conflict or has escalated
since in the aftermath
of conflict, it poses
a special category of
challenge to peacebuilding
efforts because it has
not adequately been
recognized by national
governments nor the
international community,
yet it constitutes a serious
obstacle to women’s
capacity to engage in
peacebuilding.
8. Ensure that sexual violence is addressed
Conflict-related sexual violence can constitute a war crime or a
crime against humanity and is sometimes associated with geno-cide.
It includes any kind of sexual violence that is linked directly
or indirectly to a past or ongoing conflict, inter alia rape, forced
6 7

prostitution, sexual slavery, forced impregnation, forced mater-nity,
forced termination of pregnancy, enforced sterilization,
indecent assault, trafficking, inappropriate medical examinations
and strip searches. It may not have been a major feature of the
conflict in question, and it may not necessarily be a matter that
comes up during the process in question.
Where sexual violence was a major feature of conflict or has
escalated since in the aftermath of conflict, it poses a special
category of challenge to peacebuilding efforts because it has not
adequately been recognized by national governments nor the
international community, yet it constitutes a serious obstacle
to women’s capacity to engage in peacebuilding. This has been
recognized by Security Council resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888
(2009) and 1960 (2010). The website for UN Action against
Sexual Violence in Conflict provides useful resources on this
issue.7 Conflict-related sexual violence requires specific attention
where it is a widespread problem, because it impacts on gover-nance
and peacebuilding in the following ways:
»» Impunity for sexual violence weakens the rule of law and
undermines trust in governance institutions.
Recruiting and fast-tracking
female
security personnel,
setting up vulnerable
persons units to make
reporting of these
crimes easier and
improving referral
systems are all useful
measures.
»» Sexual violence uproots and fractures families and dissolves
community bonds, making it harder for reconciliation and
easier for relapse into conflict.
»» Ongoing sexual violence creates and perpetuates an atmo-sphere
of insecurity that makes it harder for girls to safely
attend school or for women to access water points, mar-ketplaces
and polling booths, thereby negatively affecting
economic recovery and a return to normality.
The preparatory phase should, in contexts with high levels
of sexual violence, offer suggestions for how to prioritize
prevention and protection measures in security sector reform,
social programmes and economic recovery efforts. For instance,
security sector reform efforts to address this issue can include
training police and military in recognition of patterns of system-atic
sexual violence and prevention measures (such as setting
up protective perimeters and patrolling in evenings and early
mornings near villages).8 Recruiting and fast-tracking female
security personnel, setting up vulnerable persons units to make
reporting of these crimes easier and improving referral systems
are all useful measures. Judicial measures have been described
above. Economic measures include vocational training for survi-vors
of sexual violence, use of temporary employment schemes
(e.g., post-conflict food-for-work or cash-for-work schemes)
to build safe houses for women or special vulnerable persons
units for police stations, and reparations programmes to provide
monetary or in-kind redress for survivors. Social measures
include engaging traditional leaders to combat stigmatization
of survivors and to condemn and prevent violent expressions of
masculinity; education programmes to combat stigmatization;
and national recognition and support for victims, expressed
for instance in the apology by the President of Sierra Leone to
survivors of sexual violence.
9. Package the messages.
Once women have determined the key points they wish to
communicate, they should consider putting them in writing for
transmission and for use with media. Prioritization and focus are
key. The points should be communicated as actionable items.
Identify a few main issues and specific actions to address each
one. Examples of follow-up actions for leaders include:
»» Keep women informed about peace and security processes.
»» Support efforts to ensure that women’s organizations are
included, consulted or represented as observers in peace and
security processes.
»» Ensure gender expertise at the peace table.
»» Support advocacy for the appointment of x per cent of
women to a specific process or institution.
In terms of solutions and or mechanisms to address the issue in
question, make sure the roles of all principal actors—e.g., the
Government, the international community and civil society—are
defined. Women can decide who amongst them will commu-nicate
the messages to leadership and plan an agenda for their
encounters and consultations with leaders.
10. Disseminate the messages.
Participants should also consider how they would like to share
their views with the public. The media locally and internation-ally
can serve as important allies in efforts to impress upon
Maimouna Kane (Senegal) addressing the Second World Conference on Women on opening day, in Copenhagen in 1980. Credit: UN Photo/Per Jacobsen
decision-makers the substance of women’s concerns, as well as
the relative size of the constituency they represent.
Not all peace and security processes are amenable to good media
coverage. To make the best use of media in the domestic and
international markets:
»» The most useful approach is to identify three to four key
messages that need to be highlighted to the media, and
which in turn will get transmitted to larger audiences.
»» It is important to remember that not everyone (including
media) is familiar with the intricacies of the topic. It may
therefore be necessary to deconstruct the messages and
educate the media, as well as new audiences.
»» A strong press release with good quotes from activists and
press conferences are good ideas—if there are strong, key
recommendations to be made that require follow-up by of-ficials
and authorities.
»» It is strategically important that the leading news wires and
larger publications, like daily news media outlets (print, tele-vision,
radio and online) be invited to the press conference,
in order to have the widest impact.
»» One-on-one interviews with local and international media
should also be solicited for longer, in-depth discussion of
the issue.
»» It is important to note that in interviews, and indeed press
releases, only the main messages should be highlighted.
Otherwise there is a risk that the main points will be edited
out in the final article or TV segment due to space or time
constraints. By presenting the most important points,
women control the message that is disseminated.
»» Anecdotes and real-life examples from the ground always
help the news media as well as the audience to grasp the
situation. These should be used in all media outreach, includ-ing
in press conferences and interviews.
»» Social media outreach through online resources should be
integrated whenever possible into the outreach strategy.
In the case of peace negotiations or donor conferences, there is
often a great deal of international engagement and attention.
Women can work with international media—particularly from
countries that have provided financial backing to the peace
process—to raise their concerns about exclusion from decision-making
forums or to call attention to the ways in which they
have been affected by the conflict. Substantial media attention
can in some cases compensate for the relative exclusion of
women (if this is the case) from peace talks or donor conferences.
Local media as well as well as virtual social networks (e.g.,
Facebook, twitter, blogging) can also be used to raise the atten-tion
and the engagement of the population concerning ongoing
processes and the issue of women’s capacity and opportunities to
express their views. These technologies can be useful to broaden
the constituency backing women’s concerns, circulate a petition
that outlines women’s concerns or generate participants for
public debates and events, among other things. Based on the
media landscape in-country, press conferences may be organized
and press releases issued before or immediately after any peace
and security or planning and donor events. Women’s proposals
regarding the peace and security process, agreements regarding
monitoring, and the analysis of the agreement’s impact on
women can also be launched and presented at that time.
8 9

Annex 1: Afghan Women’s Position Paper on the
Occasion of the July 8, 2012 Ministerial Conference on
Afghanistan in Tokyo, Japan
June 2012
Afghan Women’s Network,
its member organizations,
and individual members
welcome the efforts of
Afghanistan and inter-national
interlocutors to
renew their commitment to
the stability and self-reli-ance
of the Afghan nation
at the upcoming Tokyo
conference on July 8, 2012.
We call on the Afghan government and the International
Community to ensure that the benchmarks of a successful
transition and decade of transformation are defined using a
gender lens. While new commitments and benchmarks will be
set internationally in Tokyo, we should not ignore that there
are many unfulfilled commitments at the domestic level where
women are concerned which still require attention.
We stress that for strengthened democracy and accountability—
both central themes of the upcoming conference—Afghanistan
needs an independent civil society, most importantly strong
women groups that can survive the patriarchy embedded in
the ruling institutions and be change agents for an inclusive
and just society. To maintain the integrity and independence
of civil society, allocation of resources for building the capacity,
transparency and operations of non-governmental institutions
must be allocated and managed more independently outside the
government controlled fund. Further, we believe the commit-ments
contained in the 22 national priority programs require a
holistic gender budgeting approach if they are to directly benefit
women and have an impact on women’s political participation.
Afghan women want to see a clearly planned initiative designed
to engage them in discussions on the future of Afghanistan and
life beyond 2014. They also stress the importance of their partici-pation
in the ongoing peace and reconstruction processes.
This Position Paper reflects the concerns and recommendations
of over 200 Afghan women leaders who participated in a series
of consultations in eight regional zones, as well as a two-day
forum held in Kabul on June 11-12, 2012.
The Consultation Meetings and the Kabul Forum were conducted
for the purpose of gathering information for and preparation
of this Position Paper to reflect women’s voices and needs, with
the intention of integrating them into the documents which
will be finalized at the Tokyo Conference, including the Tokyo
Declaration/ Communiqué and the Mutual Accountability
Framework annexed to the Tokyo outcome document.
The following are the priorities and key recommendations of
Afghan women in the five outlined areas of concern for consider-ation
at the Tokyo Conference.
Good Governance:
»» Draft and approve a special law for a quota system to ensure
women’s participation in different government processes
and levels in order to ensure their active and productive
participation in decision makings and leading equally.
»» Monitor the implementation of existing gender strategies
such as those included in the Afghanistan National Develop-ment
Strategy (ANDS), National Action Plan for the Women
of Afghanistan (NAPWA), and upcoming National Action
Plan on Women, Peace and Security.
»» Establish consultative and easily manageable mechanisms to ad-dress
economic, social, cultural and political needs of women.
»» Ensure political, administrative, and judicial oversight for the
implementation of activities related to the National Action
Plan for the Women of Afghanistan, Elimination of Violence
against Women (EVAW), Convention on Elimination of Vio-lence
against Women (CEDAW), and UN Security Resolution
1325 plus all related resolutions.
»» Employ a joint civil society-government working group to
conduct a gendered review of key laws and policies that
impact women’s political and social participation.
»» Resource long-term training for the security forces and
judicial sector on human rights, especially women rights
and gender.
Mutual Accountability:
»» Increase donor accountability to deliver on stated goals
and objectives related to support for women and improved
livelihoods.
»» Establish an independent monitoring and review committee,
primarily led by civil society, tasked with overseeing imple-mentation
of development projects and programs.
»» Provide long-term support for the strengthening of civil
society organizations, particularly women-focused orga-nizations;
funds allocated by the international community
should be implemented in coordination with relevant Af-ghan
government bodies, and the Government of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan should develop a plan to maintain
this support post-2014.
»» Establish a Women’s Organizations Support Monitoring
mechanism in order to: identify the specific aid dedicated
to supporting women that is channeled through GIRoA and
the international community; monitor how much of this as-sistance
reaches women and supports sustainable develop-ment;
and ensure gender is mainstreamed within govern-ment-
administered programming. This monitoring should
be coordinated with the Parliament with direct inclusion of
civil society and women-led organizations, and should work
to ensure aid effectively supports the sustainability and
growth of women-led organizations.
»» Develop an information sharing mechanism to increase
transparency and public awareness of donor priorities, fund-ing
mechanisms, and existing women-focused programs.
Peace and Reintegration:
The peace process should be based on justice, transparency and
accountability. The peace process should not victimize women in
the process of reintegrating fighters
»» Increase the presence of women on Provincial Peace Councils
with the inclusion of three women from civil society on each
council.
»» Increase the number of women on the High Peace Council
from 9 to 15 to better balance women’s presence in this
platform.
»» Leverage the large number of women available and inter-ested
in participating in various stages of the APRP—from
planning to implementation and negotiations.
»» Plan and implement strategic awareness and information
sharing through the print and electronic media is needed
to cover the achievements of women members of the High
Peace Council and
Provincial Peace Councils to bring a prospective of change in
people’s mindset on why it is important for women to participate
in the peace process and negotiations.
»» Raise awareness of the High Peace Council’s strategy toward
the reconciliation and reintegration processes through me-dia
to encourage inclusiveness, transparency, and a people-owned
peace process that could be trusted and supported
by all Afghans.
»» Ensure transitional and relocation assistance for reintegrated
insurgents is not only given in the form of cash; focus should
be on providing education, employment, and other relevant
opportunities for better living conditions.
»» Conduct regular dialogues every three months with the re-integrated
insurgents in cooperation with the local councils,
influential persons, and women to build trust and interac-tion
among the local communities and the newly joined
insurgent.
»» Support women’s organizations to monitor and evaluate the
peace process with attention to issues related to women,
peace, and security.
»» Ensure adequate security for the men and women serving in
the peace process.
International Community Commitment beyond 2014:
»» Expand development programs and the construction of
infrastructure with a gender lens to open opportunities for
equal participation of women.
»» Unify the many international donors with a consistent strat-egy
for the reconstruction, stabilization, and development of
Afghanistan.
»» Condition international aid on good, transparent, and ac-countable
governance.
»» Facilitate trilateral monitoring (international community,
government of Afghanistan, civil society) of the implemen-tation
of commitments made at the Tokyo Conference.
»» Identify civil society organizations as a partner.
Gender Budgeting:
All government agencies should be mandated to collect sex-disaggregated
data and statistics for the purpose of investigating
whether the needs of both women and men are being addressed.
This is the first step in planning for effective gender budgeting.
Similarly, all government agencies should be required to assess
the conditions of both men and women before and after the
implementation of policies, programs, and projects to evaluate
the impact on the lives of both. The following sectors and issue
areas, as per the consultations with women, should be prioritized
for gendered budget allocations.
Education Sector:
• Invest in quality education nationwide, taking into consid-eration
minimum standards and provision of safe schooling
environments.
• Provide accelerated training for female teachers in remote
districts.
• Enhance civ-mil coordination to improve security in areas
surrounding girls’ schools.
• Monitor the impact of transition on girls’ access to educa-tion
and respond to negative trends.
• Incorporate curriculum on women’s rights, gender-based
violence, and the value of women’s political participation.
Health Sector:
• Increase clinics dedicated to providing health services to
mothers and children in villages, in addition to commu-nity-
based solutions such as expanding opportunities for
midwifery trainings.
10 1 1

Annex 2: Women’s Priorities in the Peace Process and
Reconstruction in Darfur
30 December 2005, Abuja11
In 2005, a Gender Experts Support Team, composed of 20
women members and backed by the governments of Canada,
Norway and Sweden and by UNIFEM was invited to participate in
the seventh and decisive round of the Darfur Peace Agreement
negotiations. The team gathered women from a variety of tribal
and ethnic backgrounds in Darfur to create a unified platform of
women’s priorities and gender issues. This outcome document
contains a number of key provisions related to women and
children. During the three short weeks that women were allowed
to participate in the talks, they were able to negotiate for the
inclusion of an impressive number of their priorities in the final
agreement. The accord includes language that is gender-sensitive
and, among other priorities, calls for the participation of women
in decision-making bodies and in peace-building.12
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate,
the Merciful
Preamble:
We, the women of the Sudan participating in the 7th Round of
the Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks on the Conflict in Darfur currently
taking place in Abuja, Nigeria, comprising members of the
Gender Experts Support Team, as well as members of the delega-tions
of the Government of the Sudan and the two Movements,
namely, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM/A) and the Justice
and Equality Movement (JEM):
Strongly believe in the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity
of the Sudan;
Affirm that democracy is the foundation of good governance,
rule of law, justice, equity and equality;
Also affirm that the women of Darfur have, from time immemo-rial,
been renowned for their historic struggles and participation
in all levels of governance in their kingdoms and sultanates;
Further affirm that gender issues cannot be divorced from the
political, social, cultural, developmental, and economic and secu-rity
considerations in Darfur. These issues relate to the primordial
role of women in the economy of Darfur where they account
for an estimated 60% of the labour force in the agricultural
sector, particularly in agriculture per se and livestock production,
in addition to their participation in petty manual labour and
small-scale commercial activities as well as in the formal and
informal sectors. Women also exhibit massive presence in the
food industry sector. However, recent studies indicate that the
region is one of the poorest in the Sudan, with the countryside in
particular lacking in infrastructure, drinking water and primary
health care services—a situation at the root of the high incidence
of child and maternal mortality, as well as the spread of malnutri-tion-
related diseases and other chronic killer ailments;
Note that drought, desertification and inappropriate economic
policies have exacerbated poverty and under-development in the
rural areas triggering male emigration which, in turn, has increased
the burden of the women’s chores and female illiteracy rate which
statistics have put at 75%;
Observe that women and children are the most affected by the
war and the worsening security situation in Darfur, with the
women being subjected to violence, rape and sexual harassment13,
thus compelling them and the children to seek refuge away from
their homes. They make up around 90% of displaced persons and
refugees with all that this entails in terms of the negative impact
on their lives, particularly in the sectors mentioned earlier;
Aver that it was in this context that the women joined the
armed Movements, and have been participating in their activities
including armed struggle, which in turn, have had an impact
on them.
Affirm our support for all the agreements already signed with
a view to resolving the Darfur conflict and protecting women
and children.
Appreciate the role being played by the international community
in raising awareness of women and children related issues and
in drawing attention to the need to involve women in all stages
of the peace negotiations and in the implementation of future
peace agreements based on existing agreements and Protocols,
namely:
1. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;
2. Protocol to the African Charter on Human
and People’s Rights;
3. The 2005 Interim Constitution of the Sudan;
4. The Declaration of Principles (DoP) on the Conflict in Darfur
signed in Abuja, Nigeria, in July 2005, by the Parties to the
conflict;
5. The AU Heads of State Solemn Declaration on Gender
Equality in Africa;
6. Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
7. The International Humanitarian Law;
8. United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2000)
on Women, Peace and Security;
9. The Constitutive Act of the African Union, which states that
gender equality is one of the objectives is of the Union;
10. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
• Increase the number of professional female health per-sonnel
through affirmative action policies, provision of
necessary working facilities, creating an enabling environ-ment
for women, mentoring female graduates of medical
universities, providing intensives to the families of female
medical students, and engaging with communities to raise
awareness of the value of allowing female family members
to join the health sector.
Security Sector:
• Increase the number of women serving in the Afghan
National Police by addressing the institutional and environ-mental
barriers to their participation.
• Provide security to female judges, defense lawyers and
prosecutors in the criminal justice sector.
• Expand the pool of defense attorneys trained to defend
women in gender-based violence cases.
• Allocate funds for awareness raising through print, audio
and video media on the Elimination of Violence against
Women Law.Include qualified women in decision-making
levels in the criminal justice sector, with a specific emphasis
on the Supreme Court.
• Improve women’s access to justice in remote areas through
bridging the formal and informal justice sector, and
community-based trainings for elders and influential lead-ers
on elimination of violence against women and gender
based violence.
Economic Sector:
• Promote women’s participation in the commercial sector,
including in factories and industrial production.
• Provide long-term, mid- and large-sized loans to women for
commercial enterprise development.
• Maintain support for long-term programs for women’s
economic growth at provincial and district levels.
• Establish agricultural cooperatives for women in the
villages for the growth of their activities in the areas of
agriculture and increased income generation.
• Support civil society-led monitoring mechanisms tasked
with oversight of planned economic development and the
balanced allocation of resources to all Afghan citizens.
• Make accommodations for the special needs of working
women such as childcare facilities, accelerated training pro-grams,
and combating sexual harassment in the workplace.
Political Sector:
• Increase women’s political capacities.
• Allocate funds for the establishment of an institute for
women’s political and leadership training.
• Allocate funds for awareness and change in the public
mindset about the value of women’s political participation.
12 13

21. Provide secondary education in the camps and make an
appeal to the international community to accord special
attention to the education of girl refugees;
22. Review, as a matter of urgency, the system of girls boarding
schools with focus on the rural areas;
23. Special attention should be given to the education of
women and children as a strategic plan for creating security
for the future;
24. A mechanism should be put in place to take an inventory of
women and children who have lost their lives as a result of
the war in Darfur;
25. Women should not be involved in political disputes and
assassinations, and women activists and leaders engaged in
voluntary activities should be protected;
26. An organ should be created to address the situation of
women and children disabled by war and provide them with
legal support, psychological counseling and other relevant
services;
27. Ensure the safety and security of major roads and access
routes;
28. Girl delinquents and internally displaced females should
be protected and given training, and homes should be
established for those with special needs, female IDPs and old
people without family support;
29. Provide access to humanitarian assistance for people
affected by war, most of whom are women and children;
30. Encourage the Parties to assume their responsibility in the
search for ways and means to reach a peace agreement as
quickly as possible.
2. POWER SHARING
Women account for 51% of the population of the Sudan, and
55% of that of Darfur. Women and children constitute 90% of
the total number of IDPs and refugees. However, this fact is not
reflected in their participation and representation in the various
levels of governance.
The factors militating against women and preventing them from
fully playing their role include the following:
Socio-cultural factors:
1. Dislocation of families as a consequence of the deteriorating
living conditions and the war;
2. Customs and traditions, cultures and class-based structures
that underpin gender inequalities;
3. Social prejudices whereby women are seen as weak,
less intelligent, more lacking in wisdom and logic than
men;Discrimination and inequalities arising from the
absence of complementarity of gender roles and the lack of
understanding of the different biological roles of men and
women;
4. Male dominance;
5. Misinterpretation of religious beliefs.
Political and Legal Factors
1. Marginalization at all levels of decision-making, particularly
those of strategic nature;
2. Poor political participation and inadequate support from
political parties;
3. Exclusion of women’s rights in some legislations;
4. Negative valuation of women’s
contribution;
5. Inequality in job remunerations in some institutions.
Other Factors
1. Gender based injustices;
2. Illiteracy;
3. Lack of gender awareness;
4. Limited experience sharing among experts;
5. Exploitation of women;
6. Lack of motivation and self-confidence.
For the above reasons, power means a lot for the women of
Darfur. It represents for them the right to citizenship, democratic
participation in the federal system, good governance and predomi-nance
of the rule of law, to achieve justice and equality for all (see
Legislative Authority 1 and 2 hereunder).
To enable women to effectively play their role and boost their
presence especially within the conflict areas of Darfur, it is
needful to present the following recommendations in pursuance
of women’s demands for Power Sharing:
Accord women all the rights stipulated in the Interim
Constitution of the Republic of the Sudan as well as in interna-tional
and regional instruments. Empower them to participate
and be represented at all levels of decision making, while
ensuring that such representation is to the tune of 30% at
national level, and 50% at Darfur governance level, in accordance
with the agreement to be concluded between the Government
and the Movements (see Legislative Authority 2, 4 and 7).
a. Executive Organs
And now wish to address the following core issues:
1. Security;
2. Power Sharing; and
3. Wealth Sharing.
1. SECURITY
For the population of Darfur, security is a priority. Women and
children are the primary victims of the deteriorating security
situation, arising from:
1. Weakness of the Rule of Law;
2. Prevailing Insecurity;
3. Unauthorized possession of fire arms;
4. Weakness of public administrations;
5. Presence of the Janjaweed (armed militia);
6. Inadequate participation of women in security structures;
and
7. Outbreak of war in Darfur.
Consequences
The deteriorating security situation has resulted in human rights
violations such as the killing of civilians, destruction of villages
and the looting of property. It has also unleashed the internally
displaced persons and refugee phenomenon, and occasioned
the dislocation and disintegration of families, violence against
women, rape, sexual harassment and abduction.
What do security and protection mean for women?
As far as the woman is concerned, security represents peace
and tranquility for herself, her children and her family, as well
as protection of her honour and dignity. It also means living
a normal life in her country of origin and enjoying such rights
as have been conferred by the Constitution, laws, resolutions
and the regional and international instruments ratified by the
Government.
Recommendations
1. The Government and armed Movements should, without
delay, fully comply with the Ceasefire Agreement they
have signed, and protect civilians, particularly women and
children;
2. The ceasefire monitors should carry out their mission
effectively and expeditiously;
3. The Government and the armed Movements should respect
human rights and the International Humanitarian Law;
4. The armed militia known as Janjaweed should be disarmed
immediately;
5. Rule of Law should be observed and consolidated;
6. The principles of equality and accountability should be
recognized;
7. A mechanism for the protection of women and children
should be put in place;
8. Women and children should be given priority during
compensations/ reparations for damages and destruction
caused by the war;
9. Establish a civilian police with women constituting not less
than 30% of the force;
10. Build a police force capable of maintaining internal security
and protecting the society;
11. At least 30% of those recruited into the regular forces and
judicial organs should be women;
12. Training and skills enhancement centers for law enforce-ment
should be established;
13. For purposes of admission into military academies and
institutions, there should be positive discrimination in favour
of the best female students from Darfur;
14. Rehabilitate and reform public administration structures
and related regulations, eradicating therefrom all political
and military polarization thereby enabling these structures
to play their role as stakeholders in the maintenance of
security, protection of society and reconstruction of the
social fabric;
15. The status of female combatants should be taken into
consideration during the signing of the Agreement on
Security Arrangements;
16. Repatriate and resettle internally displaced persons and
refugees in their places of origin, reconstruct such places,
provide the concerned persons with protection and security,
and ensure that their repatriation is voluntary;
17. Women should participate actively in the work of the
Commissions responsible for voluntary return and recon-struction.
Internally displaced women and women refugees
should participate in all levels of such Commissions to the
tune of not less than 50%;
18. Establish a Reconciliation Commission with 40% women
participation;
19. Address primary and reproductive health care for women as
a way of ensuring social and health security;
20. The laws relating to women should be reviewed with a view
to harmonizing them with the international agreements
and instruments ratified by the Government, and encourage
civil society organizations to enhance women’s awareness of
their rights;
14 15

1. The Presidency: Women to be appointed Presidential
Assistants and Representatives, as well as the Assistants and
Representatives to the two Vice Presidents;
2. Council of Ministers: Women to be appointed to senior
positions in Ministries especially such strategic Ministries
as Finance, Economic Planning, Energy, Education, Higher
Education and Scientific Research as well as the Census
Board and Urbanization Department.
3. Women to be appointed to senior positions in all Commissions,
especially key ones such as the Petroleum Commission.
b. Legislative Organs
1. Women to participate effectively in the Parliament and be
appointed Chairpersons of Specialized Commissions;
2. Women to participate actively in the National Electoral
Commission.
c. Judicial Organs
1. Women to participate effectively in the National Judicial
Commission and other Judicial Bodies;
2. Women from Darfur to be appointed to senior positions
within the Judicial Structure and the Office of the Attorney
General.
d. Civil Service
1. Women to participate effectively in the National Civil
Service Commission;
2. Enact laws for effective protection of the rights of women
and the family as the nucleus of the society; existing laws on
this issue should be reviewed to make them more effective;
work towards a change of mentalities and unprogressive
traditions and strengthen the role of women. It behooves
the Government, local authorities and the civil society to
achieve these goals;
3. Take on board gender specificities and undertake positive
discrimination in favour of women in the elaboration of
capacity building and training programmes for institutional
development, and ensure at least 50% women’s participa-tion
in such programmes (Legislative Authority 2, 3 and 5);
4. Establish programmes and networks for exchange of
experience;
5. Take decisions aimed at bridging the educational gap
for women and young girls, especially herdswomen and
nomadic women and boost their awareness through
increased number of educational institutions and literacy
structures that undertake professional and vocational
training;
6. Provide secondary education in displaced persons camps,
and appeal to the United Nations and national commissions
to do the same in refugee camps;
7. Women should participate in all levels of local
administration;
8. Create an advisory board for women’s affairs in Darfur;
9. Women should participate in associations and trade unions.
3. WEALTH SHARING
We regard national wealth as property belonging to all citizens,
be it men, women or children. Wealth includes human resources,
human capital, land as well as surface and underground natural
resources.
For the women of Darfur, wealth is of vital importance because
the women are a factor of production; they are involved in all
areas of activity and constitute nearly 60% of the labour force in
the agricultural and animal resource sectors. Yet, women do not
have anything to show for their immense contributions to the
economic service sectors such as financing, training, savings for
production and production protection, as well as social service
sector and infrastructure. In addition, women play the role of
family heads among IDPs, refugees and migrants, as well as in
situations of natural disaster.
In view of the aforesaid, we the women of the Sudan hereby
present the following recommendations (Legislative Authority 2
and 4):
1. Ensure equitable participation of women at all levels of
economic and financial decision-making, and thereby enable
them to participate in the preparation of pertinent strate-gies
at all levels (Legislative Authority 4 and 6);
2. Women should participate actively in negotiations, as
well as in Structures and Commissions dealing with power
sharing at all levels to the tune of not less than 40%
(Legislative Authority 4, 6 and 7);
3. Undertake affirmative action with a view to enhancing
the productive capacities of Darfur women, and provide
them with credits, production inputs and technical advice
(Legislative Authority 6);
4. Undertake positive discrimination measures for skills
upgrading and capacity building at leadership and
grassroots levels in civil society institutions and establish
institutions and training centers especially in rural areas
without ignoring urban centers;
5. Institute free and compulsory education for girls at least up
to secondary school level; reorganize the boarding school
system; provide compulsory adult literacy as a vital element
of income generating programmes and projects; and
establish Faculties not presently available in the Universities
of Darfur;
6. Set up a special fund to finance the poor women in the rural
areas, and in particular, promote small-scale food industries
for women; encourage savings for agricultural sector and
livestock production as well as for small-scale service indus-tries,
with priority given to female family heads. Such a fund
should be financed by the allocations to gender matters
under the national resource fund, the Darfur reconstruction
fund, donors, the federal state fund and by other available
resources (Legislative Authority 6 and 7);
7. Establish branches of the Investment Bank in all regions of
Darfur to facilitate loans and credits for projects;
8. Involve women in the Land Commission to the tune of 40%
and enact equitable laws to facilitate access by women to
pastoral land and to land designed for construction and
investment;
9. Women should be represented to the tune of 40% in
farmers’, livestock producers, and employers’ associations as
well as in chambers of commerce and gum arabic production
enterprises;
10. Formulate policies and enact and implement laws and regu-lations
that open up investment opportunities for women;
11. Ensure effective participation of women in the Joint
Assessment Mission (JAM);
12. Protect the housewife by implementing laws relating to
employment and housemaids; enact laws to protect women
in the informal sector (Legislative Authority 2 and 4);
13. Give priority to women in the payment of reparations/
compensations in view of the fact that they are the worst
affected by the war;
14. Establish an institution for the development of female arts
and artistic creativity;
15. Involve women in all the Commissions dealing with the
return of refugees, at all levels;
16. Encourage the production of alternative energy resources,
address all factors contributing to environmental degrada-tion
and popularize environment development programmes.
Legislative Authority:
1. The Declaration of Principles (DoP) on the Resolution of the
Sudanese Conflict in Darfur (Abuja, Nigeria, July 2005).
2. The Interim Constitution of the Sudan (2005).
3. Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s
Rights Relating to the Rights of Women in Africa (11 July
2005).
4. Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004).
5. IGAD Gender Policy Framework.
6. Recommendations of the Oslo Donors’ Conference on the
Sudan (2005).
7. United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 on Women,
Peace and Security (2000).
8. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
9. International Treaty on Socio-Economic and Cultural Rights
(1966).
10. International Treaty on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
11. Geneva Convention (1949) and two related Protocols (1977).
12. Convention on Refugees (1951) and related Protocol.
13. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1969).
14. Law on the Rights of the Child.
15. UN Charter on the Rights of the Child.
16. yesThe African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
Relating to the Rights of Women in Africa.
16 17

Annex 3: Uganda Women’s Coalition for Peace, 200614
BACKGROUND TO THE COALITION
The Uganda Women’s Coalition for Peace herein the Coalition
was formed at the end of July 2006 at the inception of the Juba
Peace Talks between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s
Resistance Army/Movement. The mission of the Coalition is
“attainment of sustainable peace in Uganda” and the objectives
of the Coalition are as follows:
»» Lobby and encourage the negotiating Parties to stay com-mitted
to and sustain the talks until a comprehensive and
amicable solution is reached.
»» Engender the Peace process by advocating for the inclusion
of women’s concerns in all the 5 Agenda items.
»» Lobby for space for the inclusion, involvement and participa-tion
of Ugandan women at the negotiation table and differ-ent
levels during the Peace negotiation process for purposes
of enabling, then engage further and guide stakeholders
in the implementation of post conflict reconstruction and
development program.
»» Provide space for women to give technical legal and gender
expert advice to the parties to the talks including the Media-tor
and his team.
»» Prepare the affected communities to receive and sustain the
peace and ultimately the implementation of all outcome
documents of the Juba Peace Initiative.
»» Give feedback especially to the communities of Greater
Northern Uganda and donor/development partners.
»» Monitor and evaluate the performance of the parties to the
talks within the context of resolution 1325 (2000).
COMPOSITION OF THE COALITION
The coalition comprises of the following member organizations.
At the national level they include: Uganda Women’s Network
(UWONET) which is the Coordination secretariat of the Coalition;
the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA-U) which
is responsible for legal and policy technical advice and legal
representation during the post conflict reconstruction process;
Isis-Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE)
in partnership with Telemedia Communications Limited which
is in charge of women’s involvement in the Juba talks; Center for
Conflict Resolution (CECORE) charged with the duty of capacity
building on mediation, conflict/dispute resolution and negotia-tion
among others;
Action for Development (ACFODE), National Association for
Women in Uganda (NAWOU) and Mystic Media responsible for
publicity and media outreach and Uganda Women Parliamentary
Association (UWPOA) accountable for legislative advice and
reform including lobbying the Legislature and Government.
At the District levels the Coalition works and partners with the
District Women’s and civil society organizations/community
based organizations, the District Leadership, religious/traditional
leaders in the regions of: Acholi, Lango, Teso, Karamojo, Kasese
and West Nile and the include the following- Acholi Religious
Leaders Peace Initiative—Women’s Empowerment Strategy
(ARLPI-WES); Teso Women’s Peace Initiative (TWEPA); Kitgum
Women’s Peace Initiative (KIWPA); Lira Women’s Peace Initiative
(LIWPA); Northern Uganda Women Communicators Organization
(NUWCO); National Association for Women in Uganda
(NAWOU); PRAFORD; Gulu Women for Peace Reconciliation
and Resettlement (GUWOPAR); People’s Voices for Peace (PVP);
Coalition for Pace in Africa (COPA); and Concerned Women’s
Organization for Peace and Development (CWOPDED).
The coalition is supported technically through provision of
advisoral support and financially from the United Nations Fund
for Women in Development (UNIFEM) through SIDA-Sweden and
Norwegian Embassy and the UN Special Envoy to the Conflict
Affected Areas.
MANDATE OF THE COALITION
The Uganda Women’s Coalition for Peace is collectively
mandated and guided by a number of legal instruments and
conventions at used at the national, regional and international
level which have the binding force on Uganda as a state party
and signatory. These instruments notably the United Nations
Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace
and security, the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in
Africa (2004), Optional Protocol for Women Sections of the
Constitution of Uganda, 1995 as amended by Constitutional
Amendment 2005 which calls for protection and participation of
women in decision making, governance and democracy among
others have given engage in the ongoing talks, for instance the
UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) to which Uganda is
a signatory requires state parties to ensure women are given
the opportunity to play a central role in matters of conflict
prevention, peacebuilding and dispute resolution. It is these
instruments that have guided the Coalition in formulating
specific provisions for inclusion in all the outcome documents
thus reflecting national commitment and conformity to interna-tional
human rights, governance and rule of law standards and
principles. Thus the women’s priority issues are as follows:
1. CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES:
Essentially the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities and subse-quent
addenda focuses on military aspects, requiring parties
to conform to acceptable standards that call for the ceasing of
hostilities and hostile propaganda against each other that may
undermine the Peace talks.
The same Agreement provides in Section 9 thereof for the estab-lishment
of a Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team (CHMT)
whose major task is to among others monitor implementation of
the Agreement.
Considering therefore the relevance of this Agreement and it’s
implications on Agenda item V- Permanent ceasefire and the
interests of women, girls and gender aspects the women of
Uganda deemed it necessary for the parties to redefine ceasing
of hostilities to incorporate gender aspects and to include ceasing
of all forms of hostilities against the bodily integrity of sexual
and gender based violence.
I. That the redefinition of cessation of hostilities and the
inclusion of gender based violence be treated with utmost
care as an area requiring observance of cessation of hostili-ties
within the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.
Thus we recommend that the parties consider using an expanded
definition of Gender Based Violence drawn from Articles 1 and
2 of the UN General Assembly Declaration on the Elimination
of Violence against Women (1993) and Recommendation 19,
paragraph 6, of the 11th Session of the CEDAW committee:
“…gender-based violence is violence that is directed against a
person on the basis of gender or sex. It includes acts that inflict
physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts,
coercion and other deprivations of liberty… While women, men,
boys and girls can be victims/survivors of gender-based violence,
women and girls are the main victims/survivors.
…shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to the
following:
a. Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the
family, including battering, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse
of children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital
rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional prac-tices
harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence
related to exploitation.
b. Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within
the general community, including rape, sexual abuse,
sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in education
institutions and elsewhere trafficking in women and forced
prostitution.
c. Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or
condoned by the State and institutions, wherever it occurs.”
II. In fulfillment of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000)
women need to be at the forefront of conflict prevent and
resolution of conflict in peacebuilding. The implication of
this is that women would have to play a central role in the
maintenance and promotion of peace security and increase
their role in decision making with regard to conflict preven-tion
and resolution:
»» The women request that women be include on the
mediation table ; and
»» That more women be included as observers in the
Peace Process.
• That Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team includes
women to conform to the 1/3 quota Constitution principle
on affirmative action to ensure due consideration is given
to the planning, assessment, implementation, monitoring
and evaluation of women and girls interest using gender
responsive mechanism.
• That the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team holds
itself accountable together with the parties to the talks and
informs all affected persons and civil society as stipulated
in the Agreement about the salient features of the Agree-ment
and the implications thereof especially on Demobi-lization,
Disarmament, Rehabilitation, Re-integration and
Resettlement and how parties intend to adhere to agreed
positions.
• That the Government and the LRA/M conform to interna-tional
instruments and put in place mechanisms that will
ensure that no children, women and citizens are unduly co-erced
into engaging in hostilities and recruited as soldiers.
• A road map is drawn on re-habilitating ex-combatants who
have been demobilized from Assembly areas into society
and investing in life skills training including the establish-ment
and provision of psychosocial support centers for
persons affected by the war and those involved in the war
for purposes of harmonious living in society.
2. COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTIONS:
Whereas the Agreement seeks to address the root causes of the
said conflict it is imperative that the issues be addressed taking
into consideration the national character and ongoing processes
to address the imbalances, marginalization, in-equalities and
in-equity issues. That some of the root causes identified include
among others: Good Governance, Rule of Law, Constitutionalism,
Equality and sharing of the national cake, addressing the gender
imbalance.
I. Economic Empowerment of Women In The Greater North:
This was considered by the women as an area requiring
serious Government interventions as a measure of attaining
equality through availability of equal opportunities
18 19

Recommendations:
a. Application of the principle of affirmative action and
the provision of grants or interest free loans to enable
the women to become economically independent and
empowered.
b. That Government of Uganda through the Office of the Prime
Minister which is charged with the duty of implementing
the reconstruction Program as stated in the PRDP review the
document to include these concerns.
II. Girl-Child in the War torn areas: It has been noted with
concern that the girl-child has not effectively been able to
attain an education and benefit from non conflict affected
areas. The majority who have attained secondary school
education have done so under difficult circumstances with
a number of the girls dropping out of class due to societal
pressures such as early marriages, distance to school, defile-ment,
poverty which forces girls to look for alternatives,
hence unwanted pregnancies and child motherhoods.
Recommendations:
a. Tailored programs to address the plight of the girls so that
they can attend and finish education or be equipped with
life sustaining skills.
b. Policies and laws are put in place in order to address the issue
of early marriages.
c. Infrastructures are put in place such as safe water and health
to the communities, services of reproductive health to be
put near the people.
d. Awareness raising on the benefit of the girl-child
attending school.
e. Affirmative action on education from Primary to University/
Tertiary institution level.
3. RESETTLEMENT OF INTERNALLY
DISPLACED PEOPLES
With the relative peace that is being experienced in the Greater
North, we appreciate Government’s initiatives and strategy
developed for resettling IDPs who for the last twenty years have
been temporary residents in their own homes. We note the
arrangements made by government to gradually resettle the
Internally Displaced Persons in their former areas of residence.
However we note with concern the challenges identified under
the Decongestion and Resettlement process to especially women
and men thus the need to critically understand and handle the
dynamics.
WOMEN AND RESETTLEMENT
Although Government is giving out resettlement packages to the
IDPs to enable them to start up their lives and put up structures,
women are concerned by a number of factors, for instance the
need to redefine concepts such as Household to include female-headed
households. Evidence gathered during a field visit to
Gulu and Pader districts revealed that female headed households
were marginalized and left out during the distribution of iron
sheets. Iron sheets are given to male-headed households, yet
the majority of women lost their husbands to war. The other
issue has been in instances where the man has several wives.
The question that comes to the minds of the women activists is
which women takes the iron sheets—the first or the latest wife.
Recommendations:
a. Government needs to carry out a needs assessment based
on gender-disaggregated data of the internally displaced
people to guide its decision making process and strategy of
redistribution.
b. Women need to be considered equitably under the welfare
program and share in items being distributed by govern-ment,
Development partners and CSOs i.e. iron sheets
should be equally distributed to all genders.
Land, Women and Children Born in Internally Displaced People’s
Camps (IPDs)
Women have been caught up in the LRA in the Greater Northern
Uganda against their will and this has been to their detri-ment.
As a security measure, government issued a directive
to people to live in IDP camps. In the IDP camps, the situation
has been so appalling and dehumanizing without provision for
secure settlements; worsening living conditions; lack of and
poor water and sanitation systems; poor hygiene; lack of food
and warm clothing; lack of medicine to mention but a few.
The resulting effect has been high child mortality; increased
poverty; increased human rights abuses; increase in poverty
levels; increase in child pregnancies; unwanted children and a
high degree of irresponsibility; loss of property and land and
therefore loss of the only source where most people derived
their livelihood.
Customarily women’s rights to land are limited to user rights.
Close to 80% of the land in Uganda is held under customary
tenure. To date, women hold only 16% of registered land. The
women in the North fall under customary tenants, users and
owners of land but the majority do not own land because of the
cultural and patriarchal systems. Culturally women rarely inherit
land from their father’s preference being given to the male
children. Thus the system as it is favors the male children. Thus
the system as it is favors the male children more leaving women
in a disadvantaged position considering that they shoulder most
of the responsibilities in the home. The war in the North compli-cates
matters further, increasing the number of child headed and
female headed households. This leaves the already marginalized
and wary beaten women in a more vulnerable position where
they are expected to fend for their children and yet on the other
hand they do not own this resource called land. This position has
been compounded by placing people in camps leaving especially
women, children and orphans in destitute situations where for
instance besides finding your place in society they are caught up
in identity conflicts, land conflicts where boundary marks have
been removed as vast pieces of land and anything on it had to
be cleared during the war. Widows and orphans have had their
land taken by either the clan or sold out leaving them stranded.
It is this that concerns us because most of these do not have
alternatives and nowhere to go! The women cannot go back to
their fathers’ homes with children from another clan to settle
and derive a livelihood. Neither can they buy land because their
hands are tied.
The land question needs to be addressed in the context of the
war taking into cognizance among others gender, poverty,
culture, patriarchy and threatening to rob peasants off the only
livelihood resources left.
Recommendations:
a. Government should use its already established institu-tions
to put in place measures that protect and guarantee
that everybody in the camp will get back their land and
that women, children and orphans’ rights to land will be
protected.
b. Given that there is lack of a resettlement policy, Government
should put in place a comprehensive strategy that caters for
and controls the massive exodus of people from other parts
of the country to “vacant land” in the greater north as this
may cause more serious land conflicts than the one caused
by the 20 year war.
c. Government should sit and discuss with clan/cultural and
religious leaders to map out strategies for resettling people
in their family/clan land and also explore other options
of land ownership other than limiting their solutions to
customary ownership, because this ownership tends to leave
out the women and children.
d. Awareness raising on critical issues among others land,
conflict and dispute resolution, gender, governance and
the rule of law, human rights etc. among the IDP camps
needs to be done. This will enable both men and women to
accommodate each other and equitably share the land and
resources that are available.
WOMEN AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SOCIAL SUPPORT PROGRAMS
Ugandan citizens and even soldiers in the Greater North have
experienced telling degrees of trauma. Most of them, including
children born and raised in camps under a war situation, have
not had the opportunity to lead a normal life. Children who
bear the brunt of the insurgency and are traumatized and
mothers/women who have had to be pillars for their family,
taken everything in their stride and have been at the centre of
the sufferings, bear the scars of war and are twice traumatized!
We are talking of youth and young men who under duress were
forced to kill friends and relatives and due to the situation in the
camps and the horrid environment, have lost face and do not
believe in themselves any more. It is from such a background that
we recommend the following:
Recommendations:
a. Government with the support of donor partners to put in
place continuous psychosocial support systems to address
the needs of all formerly abducted women, men, and
children and systematic reintegration of those groups into
the community to be done.
b. Government should actively include women to participate in
designing and implementing rehabilitation programs in post
conflict situations that are more tailored to help them
reintegrate to a normal community life.
c. Sanitary pads and other basic requirements be given to the girl-child
to restate her self esteem.
Health care and social services
»» Basic care for mothers
»» Medical care
»» Increased maternity rates and nutrition care for children
»» Infrastructure and roads
»» Government needs to invest more in the health needs of
the people because if they are ill then they cannot live.
20 21

1. ACCOUNTABILITY AND RECONCILIATION: Women and the
Justice System: Justice, law and order institutions have not
been able to operate effectively in the greater north because
of the war. In most areas there is lawlessness and breakdown
in systems and the non observance of the rule of law. There
have been serious abuse of human rights and violation of
women’s rights with limited interventions. There is lack of
information on Constitutional provisions and the current
legal regime and presence of government institutions. People
do not know whom to turn to when seeking legal redress.
Women’s rights and bodily integrity have been abused and
children’s rights violated and gone unattended.
Recommendations:
a. The Government strengthens the systems of justice, law
and order in the war torn areas. The Police, Courts and Local
Courts need to be effective with the resources and personal
on the ground.
b. Government and donor partners should support the
establishment of legal aid services and strengthen those
on the ground to handle legal and human rights issues
affecting women and children. Professional and civil society
organizations such as FIDA- Uganda and Uganda Law Society
in particular need to be aided to complement government
services in the delivery of justice.
c. Ensure access to justice and provide legal aid with a view
of promoting gender justice to address women rights and
violations.
d. Institute accountability and justice mechanisms that are
gender sensitive and responsive to women’s issues.
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT VIS-À-VIS THE JUBA PEACE TALK
We note with concern the controversy posed by the indictments
issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against five
top LRA/M leaders (two of whom may be deceased) for war
crimes and crimes against humanity. From a legal and technical
perspective although Uganda is signatory to the ICC Rome
Statute it has not domesticated it into its national legislation
which is in itself a lacunae that could cause serious breaches
and lead to a miscarriage of justice if the ICC fails to expedite
the process of indicting the top LRA commanders.
Whereas it is noble, this may stall and or cause delays in the
already delicate peace process or even plunge the parties back
into war. It is therefore incumbent on the parties to the talks,
including the Chief Mediator and his team, to ensure that the
parties develop mechanisms that conform to the principles of
complementary other that those that condone impunity.
Recommendations:
a. Propose that Government deals with first things first,
which at the moment is the Peace process. In this aspect,
Government should guarantee the safety of the LRA within
its spheres of operation, and, request the UN and the ICC to
give the peace talks a chance by stalling their request.
b. That the Ugandan Government sets a clear framework of
dealing with the political process in the peace talks and makes
it a priority.
c. In addressing the gender justice question, mechanisms put in
place must at all times ensure the provision of legal aid services
by professional and civil society organizations as supported by
Government and donor partners.
d. Establish community support to women (space for women to
share their pain and experiences) and to families especially to
address the Psychosocial Support Programs.
e. The need to popularize the current Peace, Conflict and
Security into a national issue because at the moment it is
being viewed as a “Northern” affair.
4. DEMOBILIZATION, DISARMAMENT, RE-INTEGRATION
AND RESETTLEMENT:
A successful disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR)
programme is critical for the attainment of an “effective transition
from war to peace” and, on the other hand, unsuccessful DDR
processes can threaten the stability of peace agreements and long
term sustainable peace.
Disarmament meaning the collection of weapons, should occur in
assembly areas predetermined during the Peace negotiation (and
this is where the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and other
subsequent addenda are important).
Demobilization is the formal disbanding of military formations
and at the individual level, it is the process of releasing combat-ants
from a mobilized state. The discharge of ex-combatants
often occurs during a period of time during which they are
transported to their homes and granted small initial reinsertion
packages.
Re-integration has two phases namely: reinsertion and long term
re-integration. Reinsertion refers to the short term period of an
ex-combatant into his/her former home or a new community.
Re-integration is a much longer process with a goal of ensuring
permanent disarmament and sustainable peace. It includes
assisting the community and ex-combatant during the difficult
transition to civilian life. In this phase, former fighters may enter
job placement and services, participate in skills training, credit
skills, scholarships or rehabilitation programs.
In some places the international community may refer to fourth
R representing Rehabilitation which encompasses difficulties
such as psychological and emotional aspects of returning home,
as well as problems that arise in relation to the wider community.
It should be noted that nearly all DDR Programs address rehabili-tation
to certain extent, but DDR is the most used acronym.
Due consideration should be given to the impact of DDR on
women. It is widely known that the international community
and Government often overlook the impact of DDR on women
as witnessed in the case of Sierra Leone. In fact the impact of
returning male fighters on women and even the existence and
the specific needs of female fighters have been historically over-looked.
This neglect of the many but complex roles women play
during conflict and war leads to a less effective, less informed
DDR that does not fully extend to the community level and may
not lead to long term or sustainable peace.
It is from such a background that the Coalition of Women in
Peacebuilding is pointing out areas for reconstruction as follows:-
DISARMAMENT, DEMOBILIZATION, AND REINTEGRATION (DDR)
KEY FINDINGS:
i. Women girls play complex roles during conflict. They
are combatants, who carry arms and fight alongside
men, and they are associated with armed forces and
groups in other ways when they are abducted, forced
into sexual slavery, or become “wives” of combatants.
ii. While women form only 2% of the world’s regular
military forces, they are more widely represented in
insurgency movements, and especially among those
with lower levels of education.
iii. The fact that the proportion of women associated with
armed forces and groups has not been adequately
recorded affects the way in which women are treated
by disarmament, demobilization and reintegration DDR
programs.
iv. Many of the criteria that are put in place to enable
fighters to qualify for DDR programs make it difficult for
women to participate.
v. Previous DDR processes have excluded women combat-ants
as well as “wives” and abducted girls from directed
assistance. Women have been excluded because they
do not have weapons.
vi. Women associated with combat groups are reluctant
to identify themselves as DDR processes begin and thus
miss the opportunity to benefit from them.
vii. Typically, women’s needs are overlooked in most
reintegration programs.
viii. Women play a significant yet often unacknowl-edged
role in reintegrating former fighters back into
communities.
ix. Women have been most active, and gender roles most
transformed, in communities that receive continuing
and systematic support.
x. Women own and use small arms in smaller numbers
than men and have attitudes about weapons that are
radically different from men.
xi. Women have been active in launching small arms
awareness campaigns.
xii. Women most affected by guns often have the best
ideas about incentives to support the removal of arms
from the community and can play and a significant role
in convincing people to surrender their weapons.
xiii. Disarmament education helps women be more
assertive and involved in family decision-making
processes. It also assists them in dealing with the
authorities and helps them gain access to paid work.
Recommendations for designing
DDR processes:
a. Ensure women’s participation in negotiations and decision
making regarding DDR.
b. Include gender experts in designing, implementing, and
monitoring DDR programs.
c. Consult with various social groups, including women, in
designing DDR. Consult separately with women to ensure
that DDR programs meet their needs.
d. Include a gender-sensitive monitoring mechanism
in DDR programs.
e. Extend the definition of combatant to take into account the
supporting roles played by other women associated with
armed forces and groups.
f. Accept females into DDR programs when
unaccompanied by men.
g. Design and implement public information programs to
encourage women combatants and women associated with
armed forces and groups to participate in the DDR process.
h. Ensure conformity with international standards on DDR,
including following definitions:
›› Female combatants: Women and girls who participated
in armed conflicts as active combatants using arms.
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›› Female supporters/females associated with armed forces
and groups (FAAGs): Women and girls who participated
in armed conflicts in supportive roles, whether coerced or
voluntarily. These women and girls are economically and
socially dependent on the armed force or group for their
income and social support. Examples: porters, cooks,
nurses, spies, administrators, translators, radio operators,
medical assistants, public information workers, camp
leaders or women/girls used for sexual exploitation.
›› Female dependents: Women and girls who are part of
ex-combatants’ households. They are primarily socially
and financially dependent on ex-combatants, although
they may also have retained other community ties.
Examples: wives/war wives, children, mothers/parents,
female siblings and female members of the extended
family.
a. Demobilization
›› Recruit female military observers to oversee the
screening process for women associated armed forces
and groups.
›› Ensure that cantonment sites are women-friendly—
that they are safe and provide healthcare, childcare,
training, etc. Establish secure centers for women, and
provide health services and access to education on sites.
›› Allow women combatants to report to women field
workers and train support workers to recognize and
address women’s needs.
›› Give women the option of registering separately and
obtaining separate ID cards.
›› Utilize gender-disaggregated data to identify the socio-economic
profile of groups.
›› Allocate special funds for women and provide financial
assistance to women combatants and associates
separately from their male family members.
›› Inform women of benefits available to them and their
legal rights.
›› Protect women from gender-based violence within sites
and during transport home.
›› Recruit and train women ex-combatants for positions in
the police and security forces.
b. Reintegration
›› Establish secure centers for victims of domestic violence
and abuse.
›› Provide access to legal aid for women to combat
discrimination.
›› Provide basic care and education and skills training
for women emerging from fighting forces. Provide a
transitional safety net to help resettled women with
housing, healthcare and counseling, and offer educa-tional
support.
›› Provide support to look after wounded disabled, and
traumatized ex-combatants and other returnees so that
women in the community are not overburdened with
care-giving work.
›› Develop innovative economic support systems that
benefit women. Establish women only programs to
encourage economic and political participation, and
provide childcare to allow for women’s participation in
programs.
›› Offer community awareness raising programs with
specific efforts directed towards women, to provide
information and education about the DDR process.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we recommend that the parties:
1. Increase the participation, involvement and inclusion of
women at all levels in matters of peacebuilding, conflict
resolution and security.
2. Enhance participation, active involvement and inclusion
of women in national development initiatives such as
the implementation of the PRDP, PEAP and Economic
Empowerment Development Fund.
3. Provide adequate funding for women’s participation in the
ongoing Juba Peace Initiative, including subsequent inter-ventions
and outcomes.
a. Recognize women’s role as provided for under resolu-tion
1325 (2000) as key partners in matters of security,
peacemaking and conflict resolution within the commu-nities,
at the household and national levels.
b. Prepare women to engage in the implementation
of resolution 1325 (2000) at all levels right from the
household, community, grassroots and national levels.
4. Put in place mechanisms at all levels for the protection of
women and girls from Sexual and Gender Based Violence.
This would require:
a. Assessment of Institutional, regulatory/policy and
legal frameworks to ensure their responsiveness to
women’s issues.
5. Support and build capacity of women in their peacebuilding
efforts especially at the grassroots levels.
a. Fund women’s initiatives.
b. Strengthen synergies and cohesion between national
and grassroots organizations.
6. Treat the financing for women’s specific and gender concerns
as a priority in the promotion and advancement of women’s
participation within the context of resolution 1325 (2000).
7. Enhance security for women at all levels especially in conflict
affected areas.
a. Security of persons.
b. Security of property.
c. Addressing the rights of women to secure environment.
8. Institute monitoring and accountability mechanisms taking
into consideration the gender factor.
9. Ensure that outcomes of all the Agenda items in the ongoing
Juba peace talks address incorporate gender and women
specific concerns.
Ensure that all protocols and the implementation framework
of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement include women’s
issues and provide for women’s participation in the
implementation processes.
Endnotes:
1 ‘Women’s Participation in Peace Negotiations: Connections Between
Presence and Influence,’ New York: UNIFEM, 2010.
2 United Nations Security Council resolution 1325, S/RES/1325, 31 October 2000.
3 A first version of this note was developed for the June–July 2010 United
Nations ‘Open Days on Women, Peace and Security.’ These meetings
between women peace activists and senior UN leaders in conflict-affected
countries provided a space for women to express their views on means of
resolving conflict and building peace more effectively. The first version of
this note was intended to support women peace activists and civil society
organizations (CSOs) in identifying issues of common concern and proposing
actions for consideration in order to improve international, regional and
national efforts to protect women and promote peace. See the report from
the Open Days: ‘Women Count for Peace: The 2010 Open Days for Women,
Peace and Security,’ UNIFEM, DPKO, UNDP and DPA, September 2010.
4 See http://www.un.org/peace/peacebuilding/.
5 See http://www.unpbf.org/index.shtml.
6 ‘Guidelines on Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian
Settings,’ Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), accessed 30
August 2010, http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/iasc/pageloader.
aspx?page=content-subsidi-tf_gender-gbv.
7 See http://www.stoprapenow.org/.
8 See ‘Women Targeted or Affected by Armed Conflict: What Role for Military
Peacekeepers?’ Summary of the Wilton Park Conference, Sussex, UK, 27–29
May 2008, available in this collection and online: http://www.unifem.org/
news_events/event_detail.php?EventID=175.
9 BBC, ‘Afghan Women Worried by Taliban Plan,’ BBC Today Programme
video, 4:28, 27 January 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/
newsid_8482000/8482438.stm; Avril Ormsby, ‘Afghan Women Warn Against
Possible Deal With Taliban,’ Reuters, 27 January 2010, accessed 31 August
2010, http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE60Q1NG.htm.
10 See http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/8258_afghan_women_share_
recommendations_with_international_donors.cfm
11 Source: www.peacewomen.org/resources/Sudan/Womens_Priorities.doc
12 Source: http://www.unicef.org/sowc07/docs/sowc07_panel_4_3.pdf
13 While the majority insisted on this formulation, there was a minority that
would have preferred ‘violence against women in all its forms’.
14 Source: Uganda Women’s Coalition for Peace Five Point Agenda, 2006
24 25

Identifying Women’s Peace and Security Priorities

Identifying Women’s Peace and Security Priorities

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