WILPF Advocacy Documents

Date/month:

6 November 2012

Document type:

Position

The international system is continuing to fail the people of Syria: the UN Security Council has not only lost sight of its role under the Charter to secure peace, but some of its members could be deemed to be in direct violation of international law. There is overwhelming evidence in the form of statements and reports from Syrian women and men, which bear witness to on-going systematic atrocities in the country such as massive and widespread rape, torture, gender based violence, disappearances, arrests and detentions of women and girls and compounding all of this horror: honour crimes.

In a highly militarised society, backed by the international arms trade to Syria, economic interests and massive use of weapons against civilians, there are an alarming number of women and girls facing the devastating consequences of acts performed in the name of “honour”. In short, women and girls who have been raped, are being killed by members of their own families. These “silent” crimes are becoming the most crucial security threat to women and girls and are hidden under the rubric of culture and tradition.

“Honour is everything to my family. I will kill all of you before I let anyone touch you”: quote from a Syrian refugee woman in a discussion, disclosing that honour is a primary concern that affects women’s decisions to report gender based violence. (IRC report “Syrian women and girls: Fleeing death facing on-going threats and humiliation”2012)

It is the issue of “honour” which makes sexual violence such a useful act, particularly in the context of war. It is used to humiliate and to destroy communities by turning those communities against themselves because honour has been violated. This culture of honour is one of the cornerstones in patriarchal societies – east and west – that build their power on fear.

There is now absolutely no excuse for the Security Council to remain incapacitated by its own power games. It can and should intervene on this issue even if it resolutely reneges on all its other obligations.

Russia and China have refused to recognise the situation in Syria as a threat to international peace and security and hence there has been no action under Chapter VII. There is an obvious fear of the use/abuse of any resolution to effect regime change. The issue of honour killings changes that. The crime is widespread and systematic; it is perpetrated by all parties. It is used as a weapon of war.

So the Security Council should remind itself of its SCR 1820 and we set out here the relevant parts:

“Noting that civilians account for the vast majority of those adversely affected by armed conflict; that women and girls are particularly targeted by the use of sexual violence, including as a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instill fear in, disperse and/or forcibly relocate civilian members of a community or ethnic group;

…Despite its repeated condemnation of violence against women and children in situations of armed conflict, including sexual violence in situations of armed conflict, and despite its calls addressed to all parties to armed conflict for the cessation of such acts with immediate effect, such acts  continue to occur, and in some situations have become systematic and widespread, reaching appalling levels of brutality,

Recalling the inclusion of a range of sexual violence offences in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the statutes of the ad hoc international criminal tribunals,

Stresses that sexual violence, when used or commissioned as a tactic of war in order to deliberately target civilians or as a part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilian populations, can significantly exacerbate situations of armed conflict and may impede the restoration of international peace and security, affirms in this regard that effective steps to prevent and respond to such acts of sexual violence can significantly contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security, and expresses its readiness, when considering situations on the agenda of the Council, to, where necessary, adopt appropriate steps to address widespread or systematic sexual violence;

This describes what is happening in Syria. It is being used to humiliate and hence to require the killing of women. It is being used as part of systematic attacks, which are “intended to destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. And that means that it is genocide and the Security Council cannot sit back and yet again allow another genocide!

This transcends regime change and does not implicate it. It transcends factionalism. Since all parties to the conflict are engaged, the issue transcends the concerns of the Russians and the Chinese who should therefore be able to join with the other members of the Security Council to put into action the demands set out in SCR1820, namely:

The immediate and complete cessation by all parties to armed conflict of all acts of sexual violence against civilians with immediate effect
That all parties to armed conflict immediately take appropriate measures to protect civilians, including women and girls, from all forms of sexual violence
Notes that rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity, or a constitutive act with respect to genocide
And WILPF would therefore submit that the Security Council immediately seeks reference to the ICC to investigate with a view to future prosecution.
Affirms its intention, when establishing and renewing state-specific sanctions regimes, to take into consideration the appropriateness of targeted and graduated measures against parties to situations of armed conflict that commit rape and other forms of sexual violence against women and girls in situations of armed conflict;

So WILPF would submit that it is now entirely appropriate to look at what measures can be put in place.

The doctrine of the Responsibility to protect is not just about pillar 3, it is about the prevention of genocide and crimes against humanity. If the act of raping women and children is insufficient to invoke the obligations that the Security Council has, then surely the killing of those women and children by their families as a result of that rape, essentially instrumentalising culture to effect crimes, has to be the considered for what it is: a crime against humanity.

WILPF is not calling for armed intervention. The examples of Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya show that armed intervention only exacerbates violence in the short and the long term. Instead, commit to implementing 1820 and do so now.

Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

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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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

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

VICE-PRESIDENT

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

PRESIDENT

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.

WILPF Afghanistan

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.

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

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.

Militarised masculinity

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.

Feminist peace

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.