Peace and Security
Peace and Security
Peace and Security
COVER PHOTO: Women attend the September 26, 2012 Open Day
Workshop on the UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace
and Security in Malha, North Darfur. Photo: UNAMID/Sojoud Elgarrai
and informal peace negotiations by raising awareness recovery efforts, and the establishment of gender-
among mediators and parties to conflict as to the long- responsive post-conflict institutions. Through a
term, strategic importance of women’s inclusion. UN partnership with the Peacebuilding Commission and its
Women also works to make gender expertise available secretariat, the Peace Building Support Office (PBSO), UN
during negotiations, as well as to strengthen women’s Women works to ensure that gender issues are addressed
capacities and influence to engage in these processes. UN in all peacebuilding efforts of the UN and that 15 per cent
Women has championed women’s participation in peace of funds going to post-conflict recovery are earmarked for
negotations for Syria, Myanmar, South Sudan and Mali, projects whose principle objective is to enhance gender
and supported the Colombia peace talks which led to equality. In numerous countries, UN Women supports
significant numbers of women at the table and a gender gender-sensitive security sector reform and
perspective in all aspects of the final agreement. UN demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants. In
Women has also held regional trainings of women addition, UN Women promotes efforts to increase the
mediators in West Africa and the Horn of Africa, numbers of women in post-conflict governance
Myanmar, South East Asia and Central Asia, and deployed instituions; a strategy that has proven effective at
gender advisors to the offices of special envoys in the increasing social spending, and which contributes to long-
Sahel, Great Lakes, Syria and Burundi. term stability.
2
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www.unwomen.org August 2016
4. Ending impunity: UN Women works to protect approximately half with technical expertise, with a specific
women’s and girls’ human rights and security by focus on ensuring that action plans have concrete targets,
promoting access to justice, building the rule of law and resources for implementation and monitoring plans.
supporting accountability for conflict-related sexual and More than two-dozen countries are currently drafting and
gender-based violence. Since September 2013, UN negotiating NAPs, and have reached out to UN Women for
Women has co-located a Gender and Rule of Law support.
Specialist with the Global Focal Point (GFP) on Police,
7. UN coordination and reporting: UN Women is
Justice and Corrections Areas in the Rule of Law. This
responsible for the annual report of the Secretary-General
specialist ensures appropriate gender mainstreaming in
on women, peace and security, as well as the Secretary-
country programmatic support provided by the GFP. UN
General’s report on the situation of and assistance to
Women’s ‘Gender-Sensitive Transitional Justice’
Palestinian women. UN Women also chairs the Inter-
programme supports women’s engagement in holistic
Agency Standing Committee on Women, Peace and
post-conflict justice processes at the international level, as
Security, which brings together all relevant UN entities
well as in Kosovo, Colombia and the Philippines. Further,
with civil society as observers.
through a roster managed together with Justice Rapid
Response, UN Women has deployed gender advisors and 8. Engagement with the Security Council: UN Women is
sexual violence investigators to all UN Commissions of the secretariat for the Security Council’s Informal Expert
Inquiry established since 2009, fact finding missions, Group (IEG) on Women, Peace and Security. The IEG was
investigations of the International Criminal Court and formed in response to resolution 2242 (2015), to support
national acountability processes. This roster – the only the Council in the implementation of its commitments to
one of its kind – has been recognized by the Security women, peace and security. In the first half of 2016, the
Council and Human Rights Council, and in the past two IEG briefed the Council on women, peace and security
years alone has contributed to the achievement of a issues in Mali, Iraq, Central African Republic and
number of ‘firsts’ in accountabilty for sexual violence Afghanistan. UN Women’s Executive Director also
crimes at the national, regional and international levels. regularly briefs the Security Council, and the Peace and
Security section gives detailed technical briefings to new
5. Countering violent extremism: The targeted violation
Security Council members.
of women’s rights by extremist groups highlights the ways
in which gender inequality underpins extremist agendas 9. Catalytic funding: In February 2016, the UN launched
and is directly related to violent conflict. UN Women’s the Global Acceleration Instrument on Women, Peace and
efforts in this area promote a gender-sensitive approach Security and Humanitarian Action (GAI). The GAI is a
to preventing and countering violent extremism which pooled funding mechanism that aims to re-energize action
includes activities to: expand and deepen a data-driven and stimulate a significant increase in the financing of
evidence base on the drivers of extremist violence and its women’s participation, leadership and empowerment in
impact on women and girls; ensure counter-terrorism humanitarian response and peace and security settings.
frameworks integrate gender and are informed by UN Women serves as a secretariat for the GAI, which is
experiences of women; increase access to justice and administered through the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund
essential services for victims of sexual and gender-based Office.
violence in the context of terrorism and violent
extremism; and increase women’s participation and Related Knowledge Products
Radhika Coomaraswamy, Preventing Conflict, Transforming
leadership in counter-terrorism response and prevention
Justice, Securing the Peace: A Global Study on the
efforts. At the global level, UN Women is an active Implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution
member of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task 1325 (UN Women, 2015).
Force, co-chairing the new working group which ensures
Evaluation Office of UN Women, Evaluation on the contribution
gender is considered in all efforts of the UN system in
of UN Women to increasing women’s leadership and
preventing and countering violent extremism.
participation to peace and security and humanitarian response
6. National Action Plans: UN Women works to create an (2014).
enabling environment for the implementation of national UN Women, Sourcebook on Women, Peace and Security (2012).
commitments to women, peace and security. As of May
UN Women, In Focus: High-level Review on Women, Peace and
2016, 64 countries have developed national action plans
Security: 15 years of Security Council resolution 1325.
on resolution 1325 (NAPs); UN Women has supported