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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KENYA: Courage, and Heart, on Behalf of Kenya's Women

Eight years ago, I walked into the Nairobi office of the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness expecting a mildly helpful discussion of my project on women's property rights in Kenya. Ann Njogu, CREAW's director, was clearly very busy and a serious lawyer. Within minutes, I knew that she was also a passionate, forceful advocate.

RWANDA: Woman Vies for Top Job

On average women constitute 18.8 percent of representatives in parliaments across the world according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). This gender imbalance has been subject to much feminist criticism and many campaigns for change have been staged to address the status quo. The situation is however different in Rwanda.

AFRICA: ‘Bad Governance Causes Civil Conflict'

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has told several prominent individuals, former executives of Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS) and a number of former Heads of State attending ECOWAS International Conference in Monrovia that the root causes of civil conflicts in Africa are associated mainly with bad governance, lack of respect for human rights, socio-economic and political inequity and grinding poverty.

SRI LANKA: First Political Manifesto for Women Gets Good Reviews

Political manifestos are often met with cynicism
and even ridicule, but Sri Lanka's first such manifesto for women is
proving an exception to the rule as rights activists laud its recent
launch.

Put forth by the United National Front (UNF), Sri Lanka's largest
opposition group, the manifesto was released on Mar. 15, ahead of the
April parliamentary poll.

ZIMBABWE: New Constitution - Give Women a Bigger Say

Biata Beatrice Nyamupinga

opinion

Harare — Zimbabwe is in the process of formulating a new constitution, following the signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in September 2008, and the formation of the inclusive Government in February 2009.

AFGHANISTAN: An Afghan Politician Pushes for a Comeback

By CAROLINE BROTHERS

PARIS — The people who want to silence Malalai Joya, the youngest elected politician in Afghanistan, are doing a pretty good job of it in her own country.

She has been expelled from Parliament. She has been barred from appearing in the Afghan media after denouncing the role of the warlords in politics.

LIBERIA: A Female Approach to Peacekeeping

By DOREEN CARVAJAL

MONROVIA, LIBERIA — When darkness comes to Congo Town, women in crisp uniforms take the streets, patrolling with Kalashnikov rifles and long, black hair tucked into baby-blue caps.

International: RIGHTS: EU Faults U.N. for Slowdown in Gender Empowerment

Against the backdrop of continued widespread gender discrimination worldwide, the European Union (EU) has urged Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to "urgently" speed up the creation of the proposed new U.N. agency for women.

International: Africa: Strengthening Women's Activism in Post-Conflict Africa

ABANTU for Development with support from the Global Fund for Women (GFW) and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is organizing a four-day methodology workshop under the theme "Strengthening Women's Activism in Post-Conflict Africa" in Accra for international and locally based researchers and activists from Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana.

IRAQ: Iraqi Women Crowd Ballot in Election

On the eve of Iraq's second nationwide election, a car bomb killed at least three pilgrims and wounded more than 30 near a Shiite shrine.

Violence has dropped dramatically since the first election, and the type of candidate running for office has changed too, reports CBS News Correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.

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