Summary of Panel on Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Peacekeeping Operations, Beijing+5 special session of the General Assembly
Panel, June 8, 2000

Panelists came from diverse backgrounds and experiences in peacekeeping operations and peace related issues. They included: H.E. Dr. Speciosa Kazibwe, Vice President of Uganda and President of the African Women Committee on Peace and Development (AWCPD); Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Minister for Women's Affairs and Child Welfare (Namibia); Ms. Elizabeth Rehn, Former USG and SRSF for Bosnia and Herzegovina; General Indar Jit Rikhye, former UN military adviser; Ms. Judith Stiehm, Senior Consultant (UN DPKO); and Ms. Patricia Flor, former Chair of the CSW and Vice Chair CSW acting as the PrepCom for Beijing + 5.

Before introducing the panelists Ms. Angela King, Special Adviser to the Secretary General on Gender Issues, underlined the importance of the theme, noting that it had been the focus of several other panels during the special session. She also underscored the timeliness of the issue as reflected in the Ad Hoc Committee’s discussions on emerging initiatives. Ms King emphasized the high priority placed on the theme by the Security Council and the Secretary General, noting the efforts made towards (a) achieving a 50% gender balance in all peacekeeping operations; (b) proactive mainstreaming of gender concerns in related polices, programmes and power structures. Based on her own peacekeeping experiences, she observed that a critical mass of women in peacekeeping forces had a mobilizing impact on local women as they represent positive role models. Referring to the DPKO study that provided the substantive basis for the panel, Ms King stressed its valuable contribution in terms of providing empirical evidence of local and international women’s contribution to the success of UN peacekeeping operations.

From the outset Dr. Kazibwe pointed out that, like the majority of her African sisters, she knew little about the exact nature of peacekeeping operations. She viewed it as a new frontier for women activists in the region since this has been male dominated. Recognizing this serious deficit in knowledge about conflict situations, the AWCPD aims to educate about and promote understanding of the causes of conflict in Africa and the world. She observed that, while the peace torch was carried from Africa to Beijing in 1995, this symbolism needed to be matched with the reality of women's entry into executive branches and local government where decision-making occurs. Institutionalization of women's participation in peacekeeping and conflict resolution remains the biggest challenge given the recent acknowledgment of their critical role even by regional political organizations such as the OAU. In conclusion, she stressed the need for investment in mechanisms such as the AWCPD to support women’s role in peace building and to create a vision for "Pan African Womanism".

Ms. Flor then introduced the Honorable Ndaitwah who noted that peacekeeping operations in Namibia are viewed as successful since they effectively resulted in peace. Beyond this fact, she was not clear about other elements that made Namibia a success story and would have liked further analysis. Nonetheless, she was sure about one essential ingredient for lasting peace, namely people’s will for peace. She referred to the Windhoek Declaration on "Mainstreaming A Gender Perspective in Multidimensional Peace Support Operations."

Ms. Rehn expressed dismay at women’s similar suffering in European wars in the past as well as the present, quoting, in particular, the Balkan region. Peace Accords, such as Dayton, may have ended war but did not craft peace and marginalised women and children's concerns. She proposed that a target is set to ensure that at least 10% of total forces in national and international peacekeeping operations are women.

General Rikyhe described essential components of peacekeeping as preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peacekeeping. He stressed that while women recruitment indicated an upward trend, the UN could not extend such efforts to the national level without being seen as interfering. He pointed to strategic opportunities for promoting women in peacekeeping through high level assignment, presenting male and female candidates and special training programmes.
Ms. Stiehm presented the main findings of the DPKO study, identifying key areas for action- overcoming inertia due to force of habit, the will to implement gender sensitive policies and to sustain these through institutionalization.

This summary can also be found at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/followup/panels.html#peacekeeping