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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EGYPT: Women Targeted in Tahrir Square

It is becoming increasingly uncomfortable to be female or foreign in Cairo's Tahrir Square, birthplace of the January 2011 Egyptian revolution.

A wave of sexual assaults against female protestors and foreign female journalists by mobs of men, some armed with sticks and belts, has taken place in the last few weeks in broad public view.

SOUTH AFRICA: President Zuma Appoints Commissioners for Gender Equality

Pretoria — President Jacob Zuma has appointed nine commissioners to the Commission for Gender Equality.

The President has appointed Mfanozelwe Shozi as a full-time member and chairperson with effect from June 1 to January 30, 2017.

Thoko Mpumlwana is also appointed as a full-time member with effect from June 1 to May 31, 2017, while Janine Hicks appointment is with effect from June 7 - May 6, 2016.

CAMBODIA: Cambodian Housing Activists Say Women Jailed in Land Dispute are on Hunger Strike

Phnom Penh, Cambodia — Four Cambodian women imprisoned for protesting their eviction from the land where their homes once stood have begun a hunger strike, a rights group said Monday.

They are among 13 women sentenced last month by a Phnom Penh court to two and half years in prison for aggravated rebellion and illegal occupation of land. They claimed the government broke promises to give them new land.

BURMA: Suu Kyi Speaks At World Economic Forum

New parliamentarian Aung Sang Suu Kyi spoke of development, gender equality and the future of Myanmar's constitution during her historic visit to the World Economic Forum in Thailand.

On Friday, Myanmar's opposition leader said one of her main goals is to attract investment that would boost job creation in her impoverished nation.

RWANDA: Gender Monitoring Office Meets Women Parliamentarians

On Monday, the Gender Monitoring Office (GMO) and the Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum (FFRP) held a meeting aiming at enhancing their partnership and information sharing on gender matters.

CAMBODIA: In Cambodia, Sentencing of Women Activists Sparks Outcry

Many around the world have died protecting it: land. The issue is highly charged in Cambodia where it flared again last week after 13 women, including a 72-year-old, were jailed for illegal occupation of land and “aggravated rebellion” after demonstrating on the site of their former homes in Phnom Penh, knocked down to make way for a commercial development, The Associated Press reported.

IRAQ and KURDISTAN: Where Arranged Marriages Are Customary, Suicides Grow More Common

With her father sitting nearby, 16-year-old Jenan Merza struggled to explain why she was lying in bed recovering from a gunshot wound.

Jenan Merza, 16, forced to wed a cousin, shot herself.

“I didn't know the gun was loaded,” she said, resting under a red-and-gold blanket in a stark room with a bare concrete floor.

IRAQ: Iraqi Women Fight For Their Rights

Watch Euronews' video report on Hanaa Edwar

With insecurity and economic hardship, Iraqis are still paying the price of years of oppression and war. And women carry a heavy burden. Hanaa Edwar, a human rights activist, has never stopped fighting for women's rights.

NAMIBIA: Violence Against Women Triggers Protest

Windhoek — About 100 people, of whom 56 were men, held a peaceful march to protest violence perpetrated against women and children under the theme 'men for healthy relationships' on Saturday.

The march started at the UN Plaza in Katutura where men, women and children gathered to show they do not condone violence committed specifically against women and children.

ZIMBABWE: Women Warn Against Early Polls

Zimbabwean women involved in politics and civil society have warned against holding elections without creating a peaceful environment for free and fair polls. They argue that it will have disastrous consequences for them and expose the vulnerable girl child to gross human rights violations including harassment, rape and displacement.

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