Effective democratic governance isn’t possible without inclusion and recognition of the rights and concerns of women. Post-conflict settings present an opportunity for gender discrimination to be addressed through new constitutions and legislation which can “reflect the experiences, insights and needs of women.” Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) addresses governance and elections, by calling on “all actors involved, when negotiating and implementing peace agreements, to adopt a gender perspective, including… Measures that ensure the protection of and respect for human rights of women and girls, particularly as they relate to the constitution, the electoral system, the police and the judiciary.”

 

Relevant clauses in SCR 1325 (2000)

OP1

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

Relevant clauses in SCR 1820 (2008)

OP12

Urges the Secretary-General and his Special Envoys to invite women to
participate in discussions pertinent to the prevention and resolution of conflict, the
maintenance of peace and security, and post-conflict peacebuilding, and encourages
all parties to such talks to facilitate the equal and full participation of women at
decision-making levels

Relevant clauses in SCR 1888 (2009)

None

Relevant clauses in SCR 1889 (2009)

OP1

Urges Member States, international and regional organisations to take further measures to improve women’s participation during all stages of peace processes, particularly in conflict resolution, post-conflict planning and peacebuilding, including by enhancing their engagement in political and economic decision-making at early stages of recovery processes, through inter alia promoting women’s leadership and capacity to engage in aid management and planning, supporting women’s organizations, and countering negative societal attitudes about women’s capacity to participate equally; 

OP6

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that relevant United Nations bodies, in cooperation with Member States and civil society, collect data on, analyze and systematically assess particular needs of women and girls in post-conflict situations, including, inter alia, information on their needs for physical security and participation in decision-making and post-conflict planning, in order to improve system-wide response to those needs; 

OP10

Encourages Member States in post-conflict situations, in consultation with civil society, including women’s organizations, to specify in detail women and girls’ needs and priorities and design concrete strategies, in accordance with their legal systems, to address those needs and priorities, which cover inter alia support for greater physical security and better socio-economic conditions, through education, income generating activities, access to basic services, in particular health services, including sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights and mental health, gender-responsive law enforcement and access to justice, as well as enhancing capacity to engage in public decision-making at all levels; 

OP11

Urges Member States, United Nations bodies and civil society, including non-governmental organizations, to take all feasible measures to ensure women and girls’ equal access to education in post-conflict situations, given the vital role of education in the promotion of women’s participation in post-conflict decision-making; 

OP15

Request the Secretary-General, in his agenda for action to improve the United Nations’ peacebuilding efforts, to take account of the need to improve the participation of women in political and economic decision-making from the earliest stages of the peacebuilding process; 

NGOWG Checklist on Women's Participation and Gender Perspectives in SC Resolutions
Key things to look for, in Security Council resolutions, on the issue of peacekeeping include:

  • Does the resolution call for the formation of a government which is fully representative of men and women, allows for the full and equal participation of women in its operations, and respects the human rights of women and girls?

  • Does the resolution call for measures to ensure that women may participate without discrimination in all elections and that women are represented equally at all levels with men in all electoral processes?