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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Author of Elusive Peace Teaches Incarcerated Women Peacemaking Skills

Douglas E. Noll Professional Mediator and co-founder of Prison of Peace, a non profit organization dedicated to teaching peacemaking and mediating skills for incarcerated women, discovered insights from working with inmates that helped shape his new groundbreaking book, Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts (Prometheus Spring 2011).

Women Must Be Brought from the Margins of Conflict Prevention, Mediation 'Into the Centre, Where They Belong', Says Secretary-General

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's remarks at the Security Council open debate on woman and peace and security, in New York, 28 October:

I commend Nigeria's choice of theme for today's debate, and I thank Madam President and Council members for understanding and agreeing to start earlier than usual to allow me to participate in this important meeting.

AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan's Secret Weapon

On Friday, President Obama announced that all American troops would leave Iraq by year's end. Newspapers and broadcasts--to say nothing of Facebook and Twitter--hummed with the news.

YEMEN: Yemeni Women Burn Their Veils to Protest Government Crackdown

Hundreds of Yemeni women on Wednesday set fire to traditional female veils to protest the government's brutal crackdown against the country's popular uprising, as overnight clashes in the capital and another city killed 25 people, officials said.

SIERRA LEONE: In Sierra Leone, ActionAid Discusses Access to Justice With Rural Women

As part of its campaign to reduce injustice and increase Access to Justice (AtoJ) for women in Sierra Leone, ActionAid Sierra Leone has convened one day advocacy dialogue on safety and security for women accessing justice in Freetown on Monday October 24, 2011.

SUDAN: Report Expresses Concern for Women's Rights in the Two Sudans

A report published in conjunction with a human rights conference to be held in Gambia from 24 October to 7 November paints a bleak picture of the plight of women in North Sudan, reserving caveated optimism for South Sudan.

KASHMIR: Kashmiri Women Yearn for Peace, Economic Stability

Women of Jammu and Kashmir from both the sides of the Line of Control (LoC) expressed their desire for peace, security and economic stability in the region and demanded an immediate end to the protracted conflict.

The women during a two-day intra-Kashmir conference held at Gulmarg demanded their participation in all the peace-building initiatives and peace negotiations on Kashmir.

INTERNATIONAL: Women's War Stories Go Untold

The changing role of women in war was the topic for discussion in a forum that attracted politically-minded members of the College of William and Mary community to the Commonwealth Auditorium Monday. “Women, War and Peace” is a five-part series on PBS that chronicles women's experiences during and after wartime, aiming to tell stories that often go untold.

UN chief meets with Yemeni Nobel peace laureate

UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday welcomed Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkul Karman, and underscored the worsening economic and humanitarian situation in her country.

LIBERIA: Nobel Peace Prize Winners Sirleaf and Gbowee Reflect Liberian Women's Strength

I went for a walk in Liberia two years ago. It started "upcountry" where the forest is thick and the air still, on the border with Sierra Leone, the West African country twinned with Liberia through common turbulent recent history. And it finished a month or so later on a giddying day when the jungle lifted and I stepped on to buttermilk sands rinsed by the horizon-less Atlantic.

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