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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Stressing the importance of holding municipal, legislative and presidential e...

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Haiti
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Human Rights
General Women, Peace and Security
Participation
Extract: 

Stressing the importance of holding municipal, legislative and presidential elections in a timely manner, welcoming the Haitian authorities' intention to do so, and encouraging all political parties and relevant stakeholders to work together towards this end and to promote the participation of women in the electoral process,

13. Welcomes the efforts by the Government of Liberia to combat sexual and ge...

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Liberia
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
Human Rights
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Displacement and Humanitarian Response
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Extract: 

13. Welcomes the efforts by the Government of Liberia to combat sexual and gender-based violence and further encourages it, in coordination with UNMIL, to continue to combat impunity for perpetrators of such crimes and to provide redress, support, and protection to victims;

35. Recognizes that despite progress achieved on gender equality, enhanced ef...

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Afghanistan
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
General Women, Peace and Security
Participation
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Human Rights
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Displacement and Humanitarian Response
Extract: 

35. Recognizes that despite progress achieved on gender equality, enhanced efforts are necessary to secure the rights of women and girls,strongly condemns continuing forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls, in particular violence aimed at preventing girls from attending schools, stresses the importance of implementing Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), and 1889 (2009) supports efforts to accelerate implementation of the National Action Plan for Women in Afghanistan, welcomes the Afghan Government's commitment to strengthen the participation of women in all Afghan governance institutions, including elected and appointed bodies and the civil service, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to include in its reports to the Security Council relevant information on the process of integration of women into the political, economic and social life of Afghanistan;

33. Encourages all Afghan institutions, including the executive and legislati...

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Afghanistan
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Human Rights
Extract: 

33. Encourages all Afghan institutions, including the executive and legislative branches, to work in a spirit of cooperation, calls on the Afghan Government to pursue continued legislative and public administration reform in order to ensure good governance, with full representation of all Afghan women and men, and accountability at both national and subnational levels, and stresses the need for further international efforts to provide technical assistance in this area;

23. Reiterates the importance of increasing, in a comprehensive framework, th...

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Afghanistan
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Human Rights
Extract: 

23. Reiterates the importance of increasing, in a comprehensive framework, the functionality, professionalism and accountability of the Afghan security sector through appropriate vetting procedures, training, mentoring, equipping and empowerment efforts, for both women and men, in order to accelerate progress towards the goal of self-sufficient and ethnically balanced Afghan security forces providing security and ensuring the rule of law throughout the country;

5. Decides further that UNAMA and the Special Representative of the Secretary...

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Afghanistan
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Human Rights
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Displacement and Humanitarian Response
Extract: 

5. Decides further that UNAMA and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, within their mandate and guided by the principle of reinforcing Afghan ownership and leadership, will continue to lead the international civilian efforts, in accordance with the London Conference Communique, and with a particular focus on the priorities laid out below:

(d) continue, with the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to cooperate with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), to cooperate also with relevant international and local non-governmental organizations and the Government of Afghanistan, to monitor the situation of civilians, to coordinate efforts to ensure their protection, to promote accountability, and to assist in the full implementation of the fundamental freedoms and human rights provisions of the Afghan Constitution and international treaties to which Afghanistan is a State party, in particular those regarding the full enjoyment by women of their human rights;

Recognizing the need to pay special attention to the needs and the role of wo...

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Nepal
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Human Rights
Reconstruction and Peacebuilding
Peace Processes
Extract: 

Recognizing the need to pay special attention to the needs and the role of women, children and traditionally marginalized groups in the peace process, as mentioned in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and resolution 1325 (2000),

34. Encourages all Afghan institutions, including the executive and legislati...

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Afghanistan
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Human Rights
General Women, Peace and Security
Participation
Extract: 

34. Encourages all Afghan institutions, including the executive and legislative branches, to work in a spirit of cooperation, calls on the Afghan Government to pursue continued legislative and public administration reform in order to ensure good governance, with full representation of all Afghan women and men, and accountability at both national and subnational levels, and stresses the need for further international efforts to provide technical assistance in this area;

37. Welcomes the Afghan Government's commitment to strengthen the participati...

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Afghanistan
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Human Rights
General Women, Peace and Security
Participation
Implementation
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Displacement and Humanitarian Response
Extract: 

37. Welcomes the Afghan Government's commitment to strengthen the participation of women in all Afghan governance institutions, including elected and appointed bodies and the civil service, supports efforts to accelerate implementation of the National Action Plan for Women in Afghanistan (NAPWA), to integrate its benchmarks into the National Priority Programmes and to develop a strategy to implement the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) law, including services to victims, recalls that the promotion and protection of women's rights are an integral part of peace, reintegration and reconciliation, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to include in its reports to the Security Council relevant information on the process of integration of women into the political, economic and social life of Afghanistan;

24. Reiterates the importance of increasing, in a comprehensive framework, th...

Security Council Agenda Geographical Topic: 
Afghanistan
PeaceWomen Consolidated Themes: 
Justice, Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform
Human Rights
Extract: 

24. Reiterates the importance of increasing, in a comprehensive framework, the functionality, professionalism and accountability of the Afghan security sector through appropriate vetting procedures, training, mentoring, equipping and empowerment efforts, for both women and men, in order to accelerate progress towards the goal of self-sufficient and ethnically balanced Afghan security forces providing security and ensuring the rule of law throughout the country;

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