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: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Raises Sharia Question

The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic group dating to 1928, is stirring speculation about its influence on women in post-Mubarak Egypt. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born Dutch politician, among others, is wary.

AFGHANISTAN: Reaching Afghanistan's Hidden War Widows in Helmand

After decades of conflict in Afghanistan, there are almost two million widows leading secluded, poverty-stricken lives. But now all-female army units are going into remote villages in an effort to integrate these women into wider society.

In a small village on the edge of the Bolan desert, near Laskhar Gah, a group of women sit huddled together on a sunny terrace. Some are girls, barely out of their teens.

IRAQ: Eight Years of Abuses and Impunity

A leading human rights group released a report Monday documenting the proliferation of human rights abuses in Iraq since the United States' invasion in 2003.

Among the most egregious cases, the 102-page report by Human Rights Watch identifies women, journalists, detainees and marginalised groups, including internally displaced persons and religious minorities, as the most vulnerable populations in Iraq.

DRC: Head of UN Mission Welcomes Verdicts in DR Congo Mass Rape Case

The head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has welcomed the guilty verdicts handed down this week by a military court for rape and other human rights abuses committed by national army personnel in the country's volatile east.

DRC: DR Congo Colonel's Rape Conviction is First Step on Road to Justice

Amnesty International has urged authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to step up reforms to its justice system following the conviction of a military general for crimes against humanity.

Lieutenant Colonel Kibibi Mutware was sentenced to 20 years in jail for ordering an attack on the village of Fizi, eastern DRC, on 1 January, in which more than 35 women were raped.

DRC/UNITED STATES: US Praises Congo's Punishing of Colonel for Rape

The U.S. has praised Congo for securing the conviction of a colonel and eight other military personnel for carrying out mass rapes.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley called Monday's conviction of Lt. Col. Mutuare Daniel Kibibi and the others a "significant milestone" in a country where sexual violence is endemic.

The court of military judges was paid for partly by U.S. legal aid agencies.

DRC: Mass Rape Verdicts Send Strong Signal to Perpetrators

A senior United Nations official has welcomed today's verdicts by a military court in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which mark the first time that a high-ranking commander and several other army personnel were arrested, tried and sentenced for conflict-related sexual violence in the strife-torn nation.

GUINEA-BISSAU: Guinea-Bissau Progresses on Path Towards Stability After Last Year's Unrest – Ban

Guinea-Bissau is countering the effects of last year's unrest, and the United Nations is helping to promote security sector reform in a country that has been dogged by war, coups and assassinations in recent years, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest report.

IRAQ: Iraq Abuse Worsening for Women and Minorities: HRW

Human rights abuses remain common across Iraq with the status of women and minority groups on the decline, eight years after the overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein, according to a rights watchdog.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) also said in a report released late Monday that journalists face harassment and assault from security forces and politicians, and detainees are regularly abused to coerce confessions.

IRAN: Iranian VP Underlines Improvement of Women's Role in Muslim Societies

Iranian Vice-President Fatemeh Bodaqi in a meeting with the Afghan parliament's female lawmakers stressed the necessity for the Muslim societies to improve the position of women to serve as a role model for western countries.

During the meeting in Kabul on Saturday, Bodaqi also lauded Afghan competent women and their constructive presence in social affairs of the country.

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