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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KASHMIR: Fast Track Courts Needed for Crimes Against Women: NCW

Fast track courts should be set up for trial of cases pertaining to excesses against women, National Commission for Women (NCW) today said. "There is a need for setting up of fast track courts for trial of cases pertaining to excesses against women," NCW chairperson Mamata Sharma said, addressing Women's Peace Conference, organised by Jammu and Kashmir Peace Foundation, at SKICC here.

AFGHANISTAN: As Nato Pullout Looms, Afghan Women Face Uncertain Future

A few kilometres north of Kabul, a 22-year-old woman collapsed to the ground. The man with an AK-47 gun continued to shoot as the crowd in the background chanted, “Long live the Mujahideen.”

PERU: Peru Widens Civil War Compensation for Victims of Sexual Violence

The testimonies of sexual abuses committed during Peru's bloody internal conflict make for grim reading.

"When the first man was finished, the other abused her in the same way," recalls a teenager who witnessed her sister's rape in 1989, at the height of the country's worst political violence.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Solomons Police Must Set Example in Fighting Gender Violence: Commissioner

Solomon Islands' new police commissioner says the police must set an example when it comes to addressing the country's high rate of violence against women.

This year's World Bank Development Report cites Solomon Islands as having the world's worst level of sexual violence against women, with 64 percent of women having experienced domestic violence.

AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Execution of Afghan Woman Causes Outraged Activists to Mobilize

In a grainy video that shocked viewers around the world, a young woman named Najiba shrouded in a gray shawl sits alone on a hillside surrounded by men with guns and waits to be executed. Now Afghan activists are stepping out and speaking out in solidarity with the murdered young woman to press their government to take violence against women far more seriously—and to demand some say in whatever peace with the Taliban might come.

SOUTH SUDAN: Can South Sudan Under Salva Kiir Become a Better Place to be a Woman?

When Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, visited South Sudan in May, she heard first-hand about the precarious situation many women face on a daily basis, from domestic violence to rape.

Family Planning for Women in Conflict Areas Seen as Crucial

Wednesday is World Population Day, and the United Nations Population Fund says reproductive health is crucial for development.

Dr. Dhammika Perera, senior technical advisor for global reproductive health programs at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), said his organization believes that giving women in conflict areas access to family planning is the key to reducing maternal mortality.

DRC: Warlord Gets 14 Years for Using Child Soldiers

Convicted Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo has been sentenced to 14 years in jail, but he will have six years knocked off his sentence for the time he has already served in detention in The Hague.

RWANDA: After Liberation Struggle, Women Fight for Development

Taking part in the liberation struggle did not necessarily require one to be part of the army or fighting with weapons only. Jane Muberanyana did not hold a weapon from late 1990 when she started training to be a cadre for the Rwanda Patriotic Front till the end of the struggle, yet her contribution, along with that of many others, was critical.

LIBYA: Libya's New Women Politicians Seize Chance in Vote

Majdah al-Fallah flashes a broad smile and pumps the hands of shoppers in downtown Tripoli as she works potential voters on the campaign trail ahead of Libya's landmark national assembly elections on Saturday.

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