Summary

● Introduction and key facts………………………………… p. 3

● Timeline and previous UN actions ……………………… p. 4 to p.

5

● UN Missions …………………………………………………….. p.
6 to 8

● Main documents and resources ………………………….. p. 9

( Source : Photograph: Mauricio Duenas Castaneda/EPA)

Introduction and Key Facts

Today, it is estimated that approximately 90% of war casualties are civilians, the majority of which are
composed largely of women and children. Although entire communities are often victims of their
circumstance and environment, women and girls are particularly affected because of their status in
society.
The majority of communities currently engaged in armed conflict around the world do not adhere to the
rules of war as dictated by the Geneva Convention. Rather, these parties in conflict situations employ
various means of violence against women as a systematic strategy of warfare.

By its definition, conflict-related sexual violence refers to incidents or patterns of sexual violence against
women, men, girls or boys occurring in a conflict or post-conflict setting. This kind of violence usually has
direct or indirect links with the conflict itself or occur in other situations of concern such as in the context
of political repression. These forms of violence, namely, against women, include rape, murder, sexual
slavery, forced pregnancy, and forced sterilization. The presence of armed conflict consequently results in
a near exponential increase of sexual violence within and beyond the community.

The increase of sexual violence in turn renders women vulnerable to poverty, unemployment, and the
destruction of valuable assets. On average, conflict and post-conflict countries have reported that essential
health services crumble at a rate of 2.5 times higher than the worldwide average.
While the name and location may inadvertently change over time, the first order implemented in areas
of conflict is almost invariably to establish limits on women’s access to education and health services.

Restrictions have been enforced through an increasing and alarming use of violence. These violations
against women are the sign of an extremist form of fundamental conservatism. The agenda shared by
various extremist groups devotes a significant proportion of efforts to focus on the suppression of
women’s autonomy and a further emphasis on the preservation of outdated, stereotypical gender roles.
While the subordination of women remains to be at the forefront of the agenda for these extremist
groups, the same cannot be said for the response of the ongoing international community. As it currently
stands, the international community has failed to acknowledge that the presence and continued
empowerment of women remains to be the founding principle of a stable community.

In a war not everyone is a soldier.

Timeline and previous

actions of the UN
1995 – The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is adopted by 189 UN Member States, which
makes women and armed conflict one of 12 critical areas of concern. 1995 – South Africa’s Truth and
Reconciliation Commission employs steps to facilitate women’s participation such as, gender training for
all commissioners; preparatory workshops, particularly for rural women; and development of
gender-sensitive reparations policies.

1997 – The African region develops a "First Ladies for Peace Initiative” which includes conferences on
peace & humanitarian issues.

1998 – Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) adopts agreed conclusions on women and armed
conflict that calls for action in ensuring gender sensitive justice by means of increasing the participation of
women in peacekeeping, while simultaneously addressing disarmament, illicit arms trafficking, landmines
and small arms.

1998 – Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court prohibits “rape, sexual slavery, enforced
prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization and other forms of sexual violence”.

1999 – The Organization of African Unity and the Economic Commission for Africa launches the Women's
Committee on Peace and Development.

2000 – The Security Council adopts the ground-breaking resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security;
the first resolution to link women’s experiences of conflict to international peace and security.
2002 – The Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone includes rape, sexual slavery, enforced
prostitution, forced pregnancy and any other form of sexual violence among the constituent elements of
crimes against humanity.

2004 – Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) adopts conclusions on women’s equal participation in
conflict prevention, management and conflict resolution and in post-conflict peacebuilding

2005 – Israel amends the 1951 Equal Rights for Women Law, which mandates that there must be equal
representation for women in bodies that shape national policy, including peacebuilding bodies.

2007 – Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers agree to the establishment of a Commonwealth

Working Group on Gender, Peace and Security to address gender equality issues in peace and post-conflict
processes. 2008 – The Security Council adopts resolution 1820 which reaffirms its resolve to eliminate all
forms of violence against women, including by ending impunity. Additionally, the Council recognizes sexual
violence as a security problem that requires a systematic security response.

2008 – Secretary General - Ban Ki- moon in his report on Small Arms to the Security Council stresses that
gender approaches are particularly relevant for targeted policy interventions, as are prevention and
response activities to address small arms victims, survivors and perpetrators, as well as community
leaders, peace negotiators and peacekeepers.

2009 – Security Council Resolution 1888 mandates peacekeeping missions to protect women and girls
from sexual violence in armed conflict.

2013 – UN Security Council adopts a resolution that sets in place stronger measures such as development
and deployment of technical expertise for peacekeeping missions and UN mediation teams supporting
peace talks; improved access to timely information and analysis on the impact of conflict on women and
women's participation in conflict resolution in reports and briefings to the Council; and strengthened
commitments to consult as well as include women directly in peace talks.

2015 – In October 2015, the Security Council will convene a High-level Review to assess 15 years of
progress at the global, regional and national levels.
What to do?
While progress has been made, there are still considerable challenges in the question of women and
armed conflict. It needs to be noted that despite the various facets of challenges present, there are
numerous possible solutions that have the capability of addressing not only the concern of women and
armed conflict but also other pertinent issues. The concern over the question of women and armed
conflict has existed since the dawn of mankind, however, there are still nagging doubts over the capability
of most societies to destroy the“subservient” perception of women.
Oftentimes, the most effective solutions are not just encompassed within the larger spectrum of
solutions, but also arise from small, humbler beginnings. Perhaps, the beauty of these small scale solutions
is that they often do not require the support of other nations, nor as much resources.

The first order that requires immediate implementation is that of eradicating limits on a woman’s access
to education and health services. Together with this, needs to be a proactive measure to encourage the
participation of women in all facets of a nation’s economic and political agenda.
The education of a women should not under any circumstances be side-lined, rather, it should remain a
priority. The fact remains that the fundamental peace and security of any community and nation lies and
begins with the empowerment of women. Arguably a primary concern over the issue is the continued
perception and “subservient” status of women that
is still dominant in cultures and communities worldwide. A natural inclination would be to counteract the
negative perception of women by significantly highlighting their respective roles and contributions to the
larger society. Another effective measure of counteracting the general disregard of a women’s rights is
through the legal means embedded within a country. Beyond the rule of law, attention should also be
directed towards public servants and officers of the law. With appropriate standards and tools in place,
healing through quasi-judicial and non-judicial systems could also be achieved through a public
acknowledgement of the violation, by allowing the victim to testify. The acknowledgement of a violation
and crime breaks the silence surrounding violence, while inviting further discussion including the
restoration of the individual’s control over herself and by extension, her life. The United Nations
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the NGO Tokyo Tribunal and the South African Truth and
Reconciliation Commission are examples of such forums.
Justice, accountability, healing, reconstruction and peacebuilding are, and continue to remain, contested
issues and processes that many post-conflict nations continue to struggle with.8 Interestingly enough,
other recommendations include the exploration of including gender-specific legal and institutional
reforms, including the repeal of all discriminatory legislation and enactment of gender-progressive laws.

Conversely, addressing the rights and violent crimes against women following a period of armed conflict
is of a completely different issue. For many of these issues, these solutions are long term solutions that
address the contributing factors that lead to armed conflict with a simultaneous focus on dealing with the
aftermath and destruction of communities. Following the apartheid in South Africa, a Truth and
Reconciliation Commissionwas established for those very purposes. The practice of rape by Security
Forces, opposition political groups, and those in the camps of the liberation movements did not fully
emerge prior to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearing.
It has been argued that truth commissions have allowed for the experiences of women to be visible and
legitimate. The mandate by its very nature demands a gender sensitive approach all the whileexplicitly
reflecting the nature of violence and human rights violence against women. Additionally, it is crucial
for women to have access to information on the mandate, structure, functioning and safety measures
available. 10

In regards to the participation of women in economic and political agendas, further improvement
remains to be witnessed. Reparations, beyond that of a financial one, have been identified as a crucial
solution to the issue. In certain circumstances, women centered economic compensation or access to
productive resources or credit may assist in enhancing women’s economic empowerment and autonomy,
consequently resulting in a transformative society and nation. Following the armed conflict in Sierra Leone,
the recommendations of reparations included free health care, mental care, skills training, community
reparations, provision of housingand pensions, and urgent interim reparations for specific categories of
individual beneficiaries, including amputees, war wounded, and victims of sexual violence, war widows
and children affected directly by the conflict.
Ironically enough, post-conflict situations have the ability to provide unique opportunities to introduce
an inclusive political framework to advance the political participation of women. The international
community, through its various forms and organizations, must work with women’s organizations, and other
national governments to support post-conflict constitutional, legislative, and electoral reform. These
reforms are fundamental to raising the bar of gender equality in post conflict areas. Countries, such as
Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, South Africa and Timor Leste, have taken important steps to increase the
number of women legislators in post-conflict elections, including revisions of constitutional and legal
frameworks to remove discriminatory provisions; reform of electoral systems, specific targeting of women
in voter registration, provision of security during elections, training of women candidates, and introduction
of temporary special measures such as quotas.
 Beyond that, the involvement of the international community is essential to assisting in women’s peace
and conflict resolution initiatives around the world. Their presence in various post conflict nations have
facilitated a smoother transition to assist in the creation of structures that are representative of both men
and women. The collective efforts of the international community, namely through the UN and its
subsidiary bodies like the United Nations Peacekeeping force have strengthened outreach, in terms of
uniting the different national women’s constituencies. Other possible recommendations that could
potentially be explored would be the formation of a female military and peacekeeping unit.
The realm of possible solutions to counteract the circumstance of women and armed conflict vary
considerably;however, the empowerment of women must ultimately remain a focal point. Beyond the
principality of the solutions, further effort and resources also need to be developed and devoted to better
implement the policies,and programs.
Main Documents and Resources
This list is indicative and should not be taken as a given.

● Human Rights Watch. (September, 1996). Sexual Violence during the Rwandan Genocide and its
Aftermath. Retrieved from Shattered Lives:
http://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/Rwanda.htm
● Commission on the Status of Women VMUN 2016 Background Guide 14 Manjoo, R. (2004,
November). The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission—. Retrieved from UNRISD:
http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BCCF9/(httpAuxPages)/F2177FF8C83E0BB4C1257234005919
07 /$file/Manjoo.pdf
● UN Women . (n.d.). The Beijing Platform for Action: inspiration then and now . Retrieved from UN
Women. UN Women. (n.d.). Women & Armed Conflict. Retrieved from Beijing Platform for
Women:
http://beijing20.unwomen.org/en/in-focus/armed-conflict
● United Nations. (1995, September ). Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action . Retrieved from
UNWomen:
http://beijing20.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/csw/pfa_e_final_we
b.pdf# page=93
● United Nations Department of Public Information. (2000, May). Women and Armed Conflict.
Retrieved from United Nations Entity for Gender Equality & the Empowerment of Women:
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/followup/session/presskit/fs5.htm
● United Nations Security Council. (2013, June 24). Resolution 2016 (2013). Retrieved from
Directory of UN Resources on Gender and Women's Issues:
http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/2106%282013%29
● United Nations Security Council. (2013, October 18). UN Security Council Resolution 2122 on
sexual violence in conflict. Retrieved from Women & Armed Conflict:
http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/2122(2013)