Reconstruction and Peacebuilding

The Reconstruction and Peacebuilding theme focuses on the application of a gender perspective to peacebuilding. The response of local, national, and international systems to women’s priorities in post-conflict situations can significantly impact stability and development.

The realisation of women’s right to full participation in preventing, resolving and recovering from conflict, is critical to building sustainable peace and the fulfilment of human security. Furthermore, the response of local, national and international systems to women’s priorities in post-conflict situations, can significantly impacts the stability and development of communities.

The engagement of women in early stages of peacemaking can increase gender analysis in post-conflict planning, lead to improved outcomes for women, and enhance their capacity to participate in longer-term peacebuilding. However, women’s rights and concerns should not be dependent on the presence of women in peace processes. Systems must be in place to ensure their inclusion is standard operating procedure.

In SCR 1325, the Security Council recognises that addressing the unique needs of women and girls during post-conflict reconstruction requires integrating a gender perspective at all stages (1325,OP8). The Security Council acknowledges the need to counter negative societal attitudes regarding women’s equal capacity for involvement, and calls for the promotion of women’s leadership and support for women’s organizations (1889,OP1). In addition, the Security Council requests training on the protection, rights and needs of women in all peacebuilding measures (1325,OP6).

To achieve this, the Security Council tasks the Secretary-General to report on challenges and make recommendations relevant to the participation of women and gender mainstreaming in peacebuilding and recovery efforts (1888,OP19). In response, the Secretary-General issued a report on women’s participation in peacebuilding in 2010. The report details the challenges obstacles women must confront in participating in recovery and peacebuilding efforts, and advocates for a Seven-Point Action Plan to respond to these challenges.


First, the plan calls to increase women’s engagement in peace processes and to address gender issues in the context of peace agreements. Secondly, the plan urges for the inclusion of gender expertise at senior levels in the UN’s mediation support activities. Thirdly, the plan notes that, while the international community cannot control the gender composition of the negotiating parties, it must investigate strategies for the inclusion of more women. Fourthly, the plan calls for the establishment of mechanisms to ensure that negotiating parties engage with women’s civil society organisations. The Action Plan’s fifth commitment involves increasing the proportion of women decision makers in post-conflict governance institutions. The sixth point addresses rule of law, emphasising the importance of issues such as women’s access to justice and a gender perspective to legal reform. The Action Plan’s seventh commitment is concerned with women’s economic empowerment. The Action Plan’s implementation remains the challenge.

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Women and girls are often the first victims of conflict, and they have specif...

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Women and girls are often the first victims of conflict, and they have specific needs after conflict ends that must be taken into account if the conflict is to be brought to a lasting end. It is also critical that women be more involved from the outset in peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts at all levels in order to ensure their better participation in development efforts and to increase the likelihood that peace will last.

The seven-point action plan presented by the Secretary-General in his recent ...

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The seven-point action plan presented by the Secretary-General in his recent report on women's participation in peacebuilding (S/2010/466) is an excellent tool in that respect. If implemented, it will serve as a valuable contribution to the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000).

We would like to thank our partners, who were very supportive of us in this e...

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We would like to thank our partners, who were very supportive of us in this endeavour. In particular, I would like to thank the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and, of course, the United Nations family in Liberia and other partners from the international community.

We Liberians are proud to have been among the first to develop a national pla...

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We Liberians are proud to have been among the first to develop a national plan through a collaborative effort of the Government, United Nations agencies, local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations and other partners. Our plan was launched in 2009 during the International Colloquium on Women's Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security.

We are heartened and very encouraged by the increasing global recognition of ...

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We are heartened and very encouraged by the increasing global recognition of the important role of women in all facets of national life, from peacebuilding to recovery and development. We have also utilized resolution 1325 (2000) as a tool for promoting the involvement of Liberian women in all sectors of society. The Liberian national action plan for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) is a response by the President, Ms.

To make specific roles and responsibilities clear, the Liberian national acti...

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To make specific roles and responsibilities clear, the Liberian national action plan delineates a lead agency and collaborators for each activity, in addition to ensuring coordination for the implementation of the activities.

The Government has also taken measures at the institutional, political and le...

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The Government has also taken measures at the institutional, political and legal levels to ensure the plan's implementation, including an amendment to the penal code extending the legal definition of rape, making it a non-bailable offence, and increasing its penalty to life imprisonment.

However, we have taken some concrete steps, and the plans for the next two ye...

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However, we have taken some concrete steps, and the plans for the next two years include the development of a strategy to ensure 20 per cent participation of women in the security sector by 2011. Presently, women constitute 30 per cent of immigration officers and 15 per cent of the national police.

However, some challenges remain, and I will name a few that militate against ...

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However, some challenges remain, and I will name a few that militate against the effective implementation of the plan.

Discussions with different stakeholders in Liberia highlighted the importance...

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Discussions with different stakeholders in Liberia highlighted the importance of implementing the Liberian national action plan at the local, national and subregional levels over four years. The implementation periods are thus designed as short term, lasting 18 months; medium term, lasting 30 months; and long term, lasting 36 months.

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