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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MIDDLE EAST: Arab Women Say Unrest in Region Is Creating Opportunity for Equal Rights

Azza Kamel, a women's rights advocate in Egypt, said the popular uprisings in her country and its neighbors are creating new opportunities for women.

“There was no difference between women who were veiled or not veiled,” Kamel said at the United Nations in New York, referring to the protests that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule last month. “The revolution created a land as free for women as for men.”

DRC: UN Report Details Suffering of Rape Victims, Recommends Reparations

A United Nations report unveiled today highlights the deprivations endured by thousands of victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including poverty, denial of justice and lack of access to medical and psychological treatment, and recommends the establishment of a reparations fund.

DRC: Mobile Court a Sign of Hope

Eleven soldiers found culpable in the rape of more than 50 women in the Congolese town of Fizi Centre in January, have begun serving lengthy sentences in the provincial capital, Bukavu. Their speedy trial and sentencing by a mobile court is a welcome sign of a new commitment to ending impunity for sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

DRC: First Convictions for Ordering Mass Rape in Congo

Congo is “the rape capital of the world,” according to Margot Wallstrom, the UN's Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict. Speaking to New Europe last September she had a sharp message for the warlords and bandits that were preying on civilians in Eastern Congo, “This time we'll get you. We do not accept this.”

LIBERIA: The Women's Fears at Our Borders

The endless battle against extortion, drug smuggling, sexual abuse and gender based violence - crimes that have exposed the activities of our security forces along the borders of Liberia are nothing short of a stinging state of affairs. The more we think the situation has been minimized, the more it hits the roof.

BRAZIL: Women in Pacified Favelas Claim Their Rights

The peace imposed on the more than 200,000 people living in the Complexo do Alemão group of favelas in Rio de Janeiro by Brazil's military police is helping to pave the way for the recognition of basic human rights.

PAKISTAN: Violence Against Women to Increase in Future: Experts

Experts have predicted an increase in the incidents of violence against women (VAW) in future and termed the trend a natural product of new social order which allows larger space for women.

INTERNATIONAL: UNESCO: Conflict Robs 28 Million Children of Education

Warfare is stopping 28 million children worldwide from receiving an education because of sexual violence and attacks on schools, the UN education fund says.

The report's author told the BBC one of the worst-affected places was the Democratic Republic of Congo, calling it "the rape capital of the world".

One third of the rapes reported in DR Congo involve children, Unesco says.

KAZAKHSTAN: A Female President For Kazakhstan?

If you believe Central Asian women are reluctant to take part in politics, then think twice.

Three Kazakh women have so far applied for candidacy in the country's April 3 presidential election. A fourth female hopeful, pensioner Zaure Masina, has changed her mind and withdrawn her application.

INTERNATIONAL: Women's Participation Gains Ground, Faces High Hurdles

Where women have gained a political voice around the world, there have been tangible gains for democracy, including greater responsiveness to citizen needs, increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines, and more sustainable peace.

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