On the 24th of April Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, and Hervé Ladsous, Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations briefed the Security Council on Women, Peace and Security. The open briefing was followed by closed consultations with Council members. Briefings by the head of UN Women such as this provide an important opportunity to hear about the situation of women’s rights and must be continued by the Council.
Opening the briefing, Bachelet’s statement emphasized the vital role women play in reconstruction and resolving conflict. Here, Bachelet highlighted the ongoing collaboration between UN Women and the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) to better integrate women into mediation bodies and conflict resolution actions globally.
Noting the opportunity presented by elections to enhance women’s participation, Bachelet spoke of the joint initiative with civil society, ‘Women’s Situation Room for Peaceful Elections’, designed to ensure women’s protection in campaigning and voting during the Senegalese elections last month.
On a less positive note, Bachelet voiced disappointment on the failure of transitional leaders to acknowledge the role of women in achieving the Arab Spring revolutions, amplifying the voices of women who felt that they are being denied legitimate roles in reconstruction efforts.
On the topic of the ongoing conflict in Syria, Bachelet stressed the need to facilitate effective reporting on cases of sexual violence in conflict, stating that, “up to now it has been difficult to obtain information, and I urge the Council to be attentive to the gender dimensions of the crisis”.
Praising the involvement of women at Peace Talks held on Afghanistan and South Sudan, Bachelet emphasized that this should not be the exception to the rule as “in conflict resolution, women’s participation and gender expertise provide a firm foundation for women’s post conflict participation”.
In relation to the intersection of gender, rule of law and transitional justice, Bachelet highlighted the need to ensure accountability and redress for war crimes committed against women in conflict. Here she expressed the concerns of women in Mali and Yemen over the passing of laws providing amnesty for war crimes.
Bachelet praised the Office of the High Commission on Human Rights for the establishment of Commissions for Libya, Syria and Côte d’Ivoire, all three of which included gender experts and were able to expose the presence of sexual and gender based crimes. What is needed now according to Bachelet is implementation and support for follow-up on issues identified, including the presence of severe obstacles to reporting in Libya, namely, stigma, intimidation, family pressure and the fear of reprisals.
Finally, Bachelet stressed the importance of including reparations programmes in measures to ensure transitional justice, and reiterated the need to strengthen and promote legislation able to solidify women’s rights in the post-conflict period, ensuring that any gains made on women’s rights are not lost during reconstruction.
Following Bachelet’s briefing, Hervé Ladsous, Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) took the floor to update the Council on protection, security and women’s participation in UN mandated peacekeeping countries.
Echoing Bachelet Ladsous spoke of elections as an opportunity to gain greater representation and a louder voice for women in Parliament and society. Accordingly, he spoke of the training sessions run with potential women leaders by the United Nations Mission in Liberia to integrate a gender perspective into the 2011 Presidential election.
On the topic of sexual violence, Ladsous stressed that the protection of civilians was ultimately the responsibility of Governments. “Our peacekeeping missions cannot act as a surrogate for state authority,” he said. “We must do our best to strengthen frail state institutions to facilitate their ability to better protect civilians. We must also be prepared to protect civilians directly.” Examples of these preparations have been the development of a gender curriculum for National Cadets and the deployment of a Sexual and Gender Based Violence Team to support the National Police force in Haiti.
Although some progress had been made, Ladsous stated that the level of protection afforded to women in many of the UN’s peacekeeping countries remained unsatisfying. He concluded that both the council and Governments needed to redouble efforts to ensure that all women have access to protection and justice. “In states where the capacity of both the civilian and military justice systems remain weak, efforts must be renewed to strengthen judicial and military institutions – this is definitely the long-term solution to providing protection for civilians.”
Matt Mahmoudi (he/him) is a lecturer, researcher, and organizer. He’s been leading the “Ban the Scan” campaign, Amnesty International’s research and advocacy efforts on banning facial recognition technologies and exposing their uses against racialized communities, from New York City to the occupied Palestinian territories.
Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.
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Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.
Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.
Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.
In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region.
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WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.
Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.
Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.
WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.
In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.
In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.
