United Nations security council resolution 1325 - A dream deferred?

trueBy Netsai Mushonga

We are approaching the 15th anniversary of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1325 of 2000, on women, peace, and security in October 2015. Women from Africa and other continents pushed for the passage of this resolution, and it was met with pomp and ceremony.

Female peacebuilders perceived Resolution 1325 as a tacit endorsement by the United Nations Security Council of the agency of women in post-conflict peacebuilding and governance processes.

Previously the UN and other peacebuilding agencies had perceived women only as refugees and victims in conflict and post-conflict situations.

Women of Africa needed such endorsement since there are currently nine UN peacekeeping missions on the continent, a testament to the high frequency of violent conflict. But has the rhetoric of Resolution 1325 been transformed into reality for women in the post-conflict UN member states of Africa?

The main pillars of Resolution 1325 are equal participation of women in peacebuilding, governance, and conflict resolution at all levels; protection of women from all forms of violence, especially violence against women, prevention of war and violent conflict; promotion of women’s socio-economic well-being; and the mainstreaming of a gender perspective in UN and regional peacekeeping missions.

Under the equal participation pillar, women have been largely ignored in post-conflict processes such as peace negotiations, where decisions are made about post-war reconstruction and reconciliation.

Women have been excluded from other critical processes such as truth and reconciliation, disarmament and demobilisation, constitution-making, security sector reform, as well as socio-economic reconstruction after conflict.

A 2010 study by UNWOMEN of 31 major peace agreements since 1992 revealed that women formed a paltry four percent of the signatories to peace agreements, and formed only 9 percent of the negotiation teams in 17 cases for which such data were available.

The inadequate representation of women in peace negotiations results in  an unsustainable peace, as women bring to the table an awareness of issues that are often ignored in such negotiations, such as socio-economic well-being, human rights, and accountability mechanisms for all stakeholders.

Resolution 1325 guarantees accountability for violence against women, especially sexual violence, which is extremely prevalent in the majority of post-conflict states in Africa, as well as in the so-called “peaceful democracies” like South Africa.

A 2013 study by Gender Links revealed that 37 percent of women had experienced intimate-partner violence, 30 percent of men admit to perpetrating sexual violence, and 43 percent of men had perpetrated violence against women, at least once in their lifetime.

Reports coming from most post-conflict states in Africa, such as Liberia and Sierra Leone, indicate high levels of violence against women and very low rates or reportage and conviction. Dr Dennis Mukwege, director of Panzi Hospital, which specialises in treating survivors of sexual violence from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), describes the extent of rape in its eastern region as an ongoing “plague” that is “massive, violent and dramatic”.

The best strategy to systematically implement Resolution 1325 is through the use of national action plans (NAPs). Africa has developed twelve such NAPs for implementing Resolution 1325, and several other countries on the continent are in the process of developing action plans.

The NAPs systematically mainstream Resolution 1325 processes into government planning and execution of mandate, which puts implementation of the main pillars of the resolution within reach.

The process of developing the NAP allows for dialogue between critical stakeholders on women’s equal participation, protection, prevention of war and violent conflict, and promotion of women’s socio-economic well-being.

The NAP also provides a roadmap to help determine the actors and resources needed for advancing the women, peace, and security agenda. However, NAPs are only as strong as the political will of the government authorities backing them, as it is ultimately governments that must provide the human and financial resources for implementation of these plans.

The UN is beginning its engagements for the 2015 high-level review of Resolution 1325 that will determine the rewording of the resolution in line with lessons learnt over the past fifteen years. It is critical that women and men working to bring a positive peace to the world actively contribute to this process.

Women peacemakers in particular have learnt many lessons since the passage of Resolution 1325 in 2000. For example, it has been observed that the wording of Resolution 1325 is too weak and does not bind states firmly to its provisions: it “urges, encourages, requests and invites” signatory states, but neither “demands” nor “instructs” those states as other resolutions do.

Further, UN Security Council resolutions should be time-bound; should mandate sanctions against member states that do not comply; and should compel states to dedicate human and financial resources towards their effective implementation.

The six UN Security Council resolutions on women, peace, and security look good on paper, but what women need are changes on the ground that make a real difference in their lives.

 

As we approach the 15th anniversary of Resolution 1325, it is time to both think inward and think outward if we are to accelerate the peace agenda worldwide. Resolution 1325 should have a transformative agenda, whereby political players begin to work actively to stop wars and engage in holistic and inclusive peacebuilding.

Financial and human resources should be committed in abundance to this critical cause by the UN and its member states. The UN and regional bodies such as the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) should select women leaders for both negotiating peace and keeping peace, and demand the same from their counterparts across the negotiating table.

The current state of affairs, in which UN member states are free to choose whether to implement or ignore Resolution 1325, does not augur well for the security of their citizens, especially women and girls.

As the president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, correctly observes: “Women’s contributions to the search for durable peace are remarkable and unparalleled, but most often overlooked.” Embracing the women, peace, and security agenda might be just what the world needs if it is to build sustainable cultures of peace and tolerance.

Netsai Mushonga is a Senior Manager at the Centre for Conflict Resolution in Cape Town.