Participation

The Participation theme focuses on women’s representation and participation in peace processes, electoral process – as both the candidate and voter – UN decision-making positions, and in the broader social-political sphere.

The Security Council acknowledges the need for strategies to increase women’s participation in all UN missions and appointments to high-level positions in SCR 1325(OP3) and 1889(OP4) and further emphasises the need for women’s participation in peacebuilding processes (1889). 

Specifically, it calls for the mobilisation of resources for advancing gender equality and empowering women (OP14), reporting on the progress of women’s participation in UN missions (OP18), equal access to education for women and girls in post-conflict societies (OP11), and the increase of women’s participation in political and economic decision-making (OP15). Until this language translates into action, the potential for women’s full and equal contribution to international peace and security will remain unrealized.

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RWANDA: East Africa: President Kagame Discusses ICC, FDLR, EAC Integration, Women Majority in Parliament and More At Press Briefing

President Paul Kagame said that Rwanda had already expressed a strong opinion on the International Criminal Court (ICC) at its inception ten years ago - questioning it's premise - and the years that followed proved that Rwanda had made the right decision in not signing the Rome Statute. President Kagame said this at a press briefing with editors of print and broadcast.

RWANDA: We Should Support Efforts to End Rape in Conflict

BY GITURA MWAURA, 10 OCTOBER 2013

ANALYSIS

Towards the end of last month, the UN General Assembly passed what was touted as "a landmark declaration to stop rape in conflict."

A record 113 countries - more than half of the UN member states in one sitting - agreed to support the Declaration. The countries expressed support for strengthened efforts to end rape in war.

GUATEMALA: One Woman's Campaign Against Violent Crime and Corruption

Claudia Paz y Paz has a tough job as the first female attorney general in Guatemala, one of the most violent countries in Latin America.

In Guatemala City, shopkeepers in cramped surroundings sell tortillas and soft drinks from behind thick metal bars that run from floor to ceiling. The well-off are retreating not just to gated communities, but gated enclaves with their own shops and gyms.

SE EUROPE: Women's Role in Building Effective Defence Institutions in Southeastern Europe

Around 25 experts addressed the role of women in promoting transparency, accountability and integrity in the defence and security sector, at a seminar held in Podgorica, Montenegro, on 25 September.

COLOMBIA: National Summit of Women for Peace Starts in Colombia

About 400 Colombian women, representing all the political sectors, ethnic groups and organizations in the country will exchange here, since Wednesday until Friday, proposals and national and international experiences on the construction of a stable and lasting peace.

MYANMAR: No Woman, No Peace

Never mind the fact that Myanmar's most famous person is a woman—Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. For women and girls, the nation formerly called Burma can often feel like a frustrating and hostile place.

Zimbabwe Lawyers say Police Breach New Constitution, disperse Women Activists, ban Peace March

The new constitution, adopted ahead of the July elections, guarantees freedoms to demonstrate and gather, said Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights on Friday.

But on Thursday baton-flailing police dispersed women activists in front of the Harare parliament building who were calling for “peace and development” and action to improve living standards for Zimbabwe's poorest.

Japan Joins International Group To Improve Status Of Women

Japan joined the Equal Futures Partnership, a U.S.-led multilateral initiative to increase political and economic participation by women, at a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.

Power, Empowerment and Violence against Women, Study Violence as backlash against womens activism

How best can international development agencies and indigenous NGOs support the efforts of women in the countries where they work to challenge the violence against them? What is development, who are the intended beneficiaries, and at what cost? The next section will argue that violence against women has often been framed as a concern for development agencies in narrowly economic terms.

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