Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform

The Justice, Rule of Law, and Security Sector Reform theme focuses on the application of a gender perspective into the post-conflict process of reforming security and justice institutions, with the aim of ensuring transparent, accountable, and effective services.

Huge gaps remain in area of security sector and justice reform although the United Nations and the Women, Peace and Security resolutions have stressed that Justice and SSR must be gender sensitive throughout planning, design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation phases.

The Women, Peace, and Security resolutions stress the particular need for improved security sector responses to address and prevent SGBV. Member States are urged to undertake comprehensive legal and judicial reform to better protect women from violence (1888, OP6). Reiterating the call for prosecutions to end impunity (1325,OP11), Member States are called upon to investigate and bring perpetrators of sexual violence to justice (1820,OP4; 1888,OP6).

To help strengthen national judicial systems, and identify gaps in national responses to sexual violence, the Security Council requests that a UN team of experts work with national officials to enhance criminal responsibility for crimes of sexual violence (1888,OP8). Vetting armed forces to ensure the exclusion of those associated with past actions of rape and other forms of sexual violence is an essential component of Justice and SSR (1820, OP3; 1888, OP3). Finally, it is critical that access to justice, protection, and redress for survivors of sexual violence is ensured (1820, OP4; 1888,OP6-7).

The resolutions set out specific obligations, in addition to broader guidelines, for transitional justice and justice reform within SSR. Women’s rights must be ensured in the reform and rebuilding of the police and judiciary (1325,OP8), and within peace agreements. To facilitate this, SCR 1820 calls for the inclusion of women and women’s organisations in all UN-assisted reform efforts (OP10). Justice and SSR are crucial components of peacebuilding, and have a direct impact on a country’s ability to achieve sustainable peace. Both gender mainstreaming in policy making, and the participation of women, are integral to successful reform.

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Condemning the multiple violations of international humanitarian law and the widespread human rights violations and abuses, including those involving extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, sexual violenc

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Central African Republic
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
General Women, Peace and Security
Conflict Prevention
Human Rights
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Reconstruction and Peacebuilding
Extract: 

Condemning the multiple violations of international humanitarian law and the widespread human rights violations and abuses, including those involving extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, sexual violence against women and children, rape, recruitment and use of children and attacks against civilians, looting and destruction of property and attacks against places of worship, denial of humanitarian access, deliberate attacks against national and international personnel of humanitarian organisations, United Nations personnel and its associated personnel, and humanitarian assets, including supplies, facilities and transports committed by both former Seleka elements and militia groups, in particular the “anti-Balaka” 

Requests MINUSCA to take fully into account gender considerations as a cross-cutting issue throughout its mandate and to assist the Government of the CAR in ensuring the full and effective participation, involvement and representation of women in all sphe

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Central African Republic
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
General Women, Peace and Security
Conflict Prevention
Disarmament
Participation
Peace Processes
Protection
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Reconstruction and Peacebuilding
Extract: 

Requests MINUSCA to take fully into account gender considerations as a cross-cutting issue throughout its mandate and to assist the Government of the CAR in ensuring the full and effective participation, involvement and representation of women in all spheres and at all levels, including in stabilization activities, security sector reform and DDR and DDR/R processes, as well as in the national political dialogue and electoral processes, through, inter alia, the provision of gender advisers, and further requests enhanced reporting by MINUSCA to the Council on this issue 

Calls upon all parties to armed conflict in the CAR, including former Séléka and anti-Balaka elements, to issue clear orders against sexual and gender based violence, and further calls upon the Transitional Authorities to investigate swiftly alleged abu

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Central African Republic
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
General Women, Peace and Security
Peace Processes
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Peacekeeping
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Reconstruction and Peacebuilding
Extract: 

Calls upon all parties to armed conflict in the CAR, including former Séléka and anti-Balaka elements, to issue clear orders against sexual and gender based violence, and further calls upon the Transitional Authorities to investigate swiftly alleged abuses in order to hold perpetrators accountable, in line with its resolutions 1960 (2010) and 2106 (2013), to ensure that those responsible for such crimes are excluded from the security sector and prosecuted, and to facilitate immediate access for victims of sexual violence to available services 

S/RES/2212 (2015)

Requests MONUSCO to take fully into account gender considerations as a cross-cutting issue throughout its mandate and to assist the Government of the DRC in ensuring the participation, involvement and representation of women at all levels, including in st

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Democratic Republic of the Congo
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
General Women, Peace and Security
Conflict Prevention
Disarmament
Participation
Peace Processes
Protection
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Peacekeeping
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Extract: 

Requests MONUSCO to take fully into account gender considerations as a cross-cutting issue throughout its mandate and to assist the Government of the DRC in ensuring the participation, involvement and representation of women at all levels, including in stabilization activities, security sector reform (SSR) and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) processes, as well as in the national political dialogue and electoral processes, through, inter alia, the provision of gender advisers, and further requests enhanced reporting by MONUSCO to the Council on this issue 

Work with the Government of the DRC to identify threats to civilians and implement existing prevention and response plans and strengthen civil-military cooperation, including joint-planning, to ensure the protection of civilians from abuses and violations

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Democratic Republic of the Congo
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
General Women, Peace and Security
Conflict Prevention
Participation
Peace Processes
Protection
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Peacekeeping
Human Rights
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Reconstruction and Peacebuilding
Extract: 

Work with the Government of the DRC to identify threats to civilians and implement existing prevention and response plans and strengthen civil-military cooperation, including joint-planning, to ensure the protection of civilians from abuses and violations of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, including all forms of sexual and gender-based violence and violations and abuses committed against children and persons with disabilities, and requests MONUSCO to ensure that child protection and gender concerns are integrated into all operations and strategic aspects of MONUSCO’s work and accelerate the coordinated implementation of monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements on conflict-related sexual violence and the swift deployment of Women Protection Advisers as called for in resolution 1960 (2010) and 2106 (2013), in order to seek commitments on the prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence 

Reduction of the threat posed by Congolese and foreign armed groups, in particular the FDLR, violence against civilians, including sexual and gender-based violence and violence against children to a level that can be effectively managed by the Congolese j

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Democratic Republic of the Congo
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
General Women, Peace and Security
Conflict Prevention
Peace Processes
Protection
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Human Rights
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Reconstruction and Peacebuilding
Extract: 

Reduction of the threat posed by Congolese and foreign armed groups, in particular the FDLR, violence against civilians, including sexual and gender-based violence and violence against children to a level that can be effectively managed by the Congolese justice and security institutions; 

Welcoming the efforts of MONUSCO and international partners in delivering training in human rights, international humanitarian law, gender mainstreaming, child protection and protection from sexual and gender-based violence for Congolese security institut

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Democratic Republic of the Congo
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
General Women, Peace and Security
Protection
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Human Rights
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Reconstruction and Peacebuilding
Extract: 

Welcoming the efforts of MONUSCO and international partners in delivering training in human rights, international humanitarian law, gender mainstreaming, child protection and protection from sexual and gender-based violence for Congolese security institutions and underlining its importance, and welcoming the establishment of the Women’s Platform for the PSC Framework in an effort to ensure the full participation of women in the PSC Framework peace process 

Remaining deeply concerned by the persistent high levels of violence and violations and abuses of human rights and international law, condemning in particular those involving the targeted attacks against civilians, widespread sexual and gender-based viole

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Democratic Republic of the Congo
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
General Women, Peace and Security
Conflict Prevention
Protection
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Peacekeeping
Human Rights
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Extract: 

Remaining deeply concerned by the persistent high levels of violence and violations and abuses of human rights and international law, condemning in particular those involving the targeted attacks against civilians, widespread sexual and gender-based violence, systematic recruitment and use of children by certain parties to the conflict, the displacement of significant numbers of civilians, extrajudicial executions and arbitrary arrests, recognizing their deleterious effect on the stabilization, reconstruction and development efforts in the DRC, and calling for all those responsible for all such violations and abuses to be swiftly apprehended, brought to justice and held accountable 

Reaffirming its previous resolutions 1265 (1999), 1296 (2000), 1674 (2006), 1738 (2006), 1894 (2009) and 2175 (2014) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict; 1612 (2005), 1882 (2009), 1998 (2011), 2068 (2012), and 2143 (2014) on children and arme

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Sudan
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
General Women, Peace and Security
Participation
Peace Processes
Protection
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Human Rights
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Reconstruction and Peacebuilding
Implementation
Extract: 

Reaffirming its previous resolutions 1265 (1999), 1296 (2000), 1674 (2006), 1738 (2006), 1894 (2009) and 2175 (2014) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict; 1612 (2005), 1882 (2009), 1998 (2011), 2068 (2012), and 2143 (2014) on children and armed conflict; 1502 (2003) on the protection of humanitarian and United Nations personnel; and 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013) and 2122 (2013) on women peace and security 

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