Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abyei (implementation of UNISFA mandate from 1 December 2014 to 30 January 2015)

Date: 
Friday, January 30, 2015
Document PDF: 

Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abyei (implementation of UNISFA mandate from 1 December 2014 to 30 January 2015)

Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abyei (implementation of UNISFA mandate from 1 December 2014 to 30 January 2015).pdf

Code: S/2015/77

Period of Time and Topic: Sudan- Abyei; implementation of UNISFA mandate from 1 December 2014 to 30 January 2015

Women, Peace and Security

The report includes two references to women’s participation that go slightly beyond UNISFA’s mandate and briefly discuss women’s participation. UNISFA police advisors organized workshops on protection of civilians and gender equality, which women attended (S/2015/77, para. 9). Humanitarian actors also provided vocational training for women (S/2015/77, para. 19).

References in Need of Improvement

Both of the references on women’s participation could have been strengthened by providing more information. Additional information on how many women attended the workshops, how women and women’s civil society organizations had input into the design of the curriculum and its implementation, and how the workshops were meaningful in regards to PoC and gender equality should have been included to ensure women’s human rights and concerns were reflected in the workshops (S/2015/77, para. 9). Similarly, reporting on the vocational training for women should have included what kinds of training were provided, how many women it reached, where the programs were offered, and how women and women’s civil society organizations were involved in the design and the trainings would have made the second reference much stronger in ensuring that women’s concerns were addressed through the program (S/2015/77, para. 19). If the workshops and trainings did not include women or incorporated their concerns, the report should have included the gaps in their participation and next steps for UNISFA and the relevant humanitarian actors to improve it (S/2015/77, para. 9, 19).

Missed Opportunities

Given UNISFA’s limited mandate in regards to gender, the only opportunity the report missed was not including any information on the implementation of UNISFA’s zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse in the personnel deployment section to have more consistent information on UNISFA’s work on prevention (Resolution 2179 (2014), OP 22).

Ideal Asks for WPS Transformation

The report should be improved with an explicit reference to and analysis of all genders, emphasizing diverse masculinities and femininities, including the dynamics between and among genders as well as the power relations and hierarchies at play, and the intersection of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, class, and age across all political, peace, and security processes.