Gender-aware Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR): A Checklist

Women play essential roles in DDR processes, yet they are almost never included in the planning or implementation of these processes. However, since 2000, the United Nations and all other agencies involved in DDR and other post-conflict reconstruction activities have been in a better position to change this state of affairs by using Security Council Resolution 1325, which sets out a lucid and practical agenda for measuring the advancement of women in peacebuilding. Resolution 1325 begins with the recognition that women's visibility, both in national and regional instruments and in bi- and multilateral organizations, is crucial. It goes on to call for gender awareness in all aspects of peacekeeping initiatives, especially demobilization and reintegration, urges women's informed and active participation in disarmament exercises, and insists on the right of women to carry out their post-conflict reconstruction activities in an environment free from threat, especially of sexualized violence.