Children, the elderly, and women in particular suffer the most from armed conflict. Rape, detention, and forced displacement are amongst the human rights abuses that women often endure. Yet, during post-conflict recovery women’s experiences and perspectives are often ignored. How can a gender perspective be included in policy and programming, asks International Alert?

Modern warfare has moved from the battlefield to the cities and villages: the percentage of civilian casualties has risen from five percent at the beginning of the 20th century to an estimated 90 percent at its close, according to the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. Women and children, it is estimated by the UNHCR, comprise 80 percent of refugees and internally displaced people. Sexual violence against women is used as a strategy of war. The UN now recognises rape as a `crime against humanity`, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Rome will be able to hold perpetrators to account (the ICC can be formally established with 60 ratifications - it currently has 139 signatories and 46 ratifications).

Far more women than men are victims in armed conflict, yet women are beginning to have more active roles, as fighters, leaders and activists. Women often have an increased burden of responsibility during conflict both running the household and providing an income. As a result of the genocide in Rwanda, over half the households were run by women. Women also engage in peacebuilding and conflict resolution strategies: lobbying to get rape included as a crime against humanity by the ICC, providing leadership courses for women wanting to engage in political activity, literacy training for women and girls, or legal awareness programmes, for example.

Questions that need addressing include:

• Should humanitarian aid be kept distinct from other policy instruments?
• Do the 'new wars' need new responses, as some advocate?
• Is it the underlying causes of conflict - poverty, human rights abuses, or complex problems of social identity and ethnicity (Sri Lanka, for example) that need tackling?
• Should humanitarianism be encouraging complementarity between humanitarian aid and foreign policy, diplomacy, and trade for example?

'Human security' is the meeting of needs ranging from poverty alleviation to a recognition of, and adherence to, human rights. How far are women's needs included in this approach? The Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is a powerful framework of international agreements promoting women’s inclusion in peace and security processes. Yet, despite the existence of this and other charters, women’s needs and perspectives are still largely overlooked. No women were involved in the 1995 peace talks in Bosnia, whilst only one Kosovar woman attended the Rambouillet Process.

International Alert - part of a loose coalition of transnational NGOs and civil society groups, launched the global campaign 'Women Building Peace: From the Village Council to the Negotiating Table' in June 1999. Highlighting women’s contribution to peace and development processes, the campaign supports dialogue between women’s groups and international policy makers. The adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in October 2000, which encourages governments to put women at the forefront of planning and programming assistance for sustainable peace and security, was a major step forward, and gives political legitimacy to women's struggle for a seat at the negotiating table. Further initiatives include the need for the international community and donors to:

• design programmes with explicit conflict prevention and peacebuilding objectives to benefit the most vulnerable - women, children, and the elderly
• consult women’s groups in post-conflict situations to gain a better understanding of their needs with a view to strengthening women's empowerment
• engage in good planning and follow-up activities including providing technical expertise, effective management support, and resources to ensure that all programmes include a gender perspective
• invest in research that will lead to sex disaggregated data to support policy formulation and monitoring indicators
• ensure that strategic analysis and assessment underpin policy and programming to benefit women and other vulnerable groups
• provide sustainable financial resources to enable women’s groups to participate in development, peace and security.

Source(s):
'Women Building Peace: Changing the Status Quo', in Philadelphia Law Review by A. Adrian-Paul, forthcoming 2002 (available from the author)
'Getting it Right? A Gender Approach to UNMIK Administration in Kosovo', Kvinna Till Kvinna Foundation: Sweden by A. Lyth, 2001
'Conflict and aid: enhancing the peacebuilding impact of international engagement: a synthesis of findings from Afghanistan, Liberia and Sri Lanka', International Alert, by J. Goodhand with P. Atkinson, forthcoming December 2001

id21 Research Highlight: 12 January 2002

Further Information:
Ancil Adrian-Paul
International Alert
1 Glyn Street
Vauxhall
London SE11 5HT, UK

Tel: +44 (0) 207 793 8383
Fax: +44 (0) 207 793 7975
Contact the contributor: aadrian-paul@international-alert.org

International Alert

Other related links:
Insights #39 'Politics vs aid?'

'No women, no peace: gender perspectives on positive peace initiatives'

'Victims or partners? Working with women to rebuild the Balkans'

Peacewoman provides an international information exchange

See the Women's Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan

Women Building Peace promotes the role of women in peacebuilding

UNIFEM Publication Looks at the differences Women Make in Peace Negotiations