UNSCR 2242

Contesting Feminism’s Institutional Doubles: Troubling the Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security Agenda

Citation:

Otto, Dianne. 2019. "Contesting Feminism’s Institutional Doubles: Troubling the Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security Agenda." In Governance Feminism: Notes from the Field, edited by Janet Halley, Prabha Kotiswaran, Rachel Rebouché, and Hila Shamir, 200-29. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Author: Dianne Otto

Annotation:

Summary:
"In early 2000, feminist peace activists embarked on an ambitious new strategy of engagement with institutional power, from within rather than from outside the international military and diplomatic establishment, when the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) led a coalition of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) hoping to persuade the UN Security Council to adopt a thematic resolution on women, peace, and security (WPS). Previously, the Council had shown almost no interest in women except, commencing with the 1990s conflicts in the Balkans, as victims of conflict-related sexual violence. That the Council responded positively to the efforts of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (hereafter referred to simply as the NGO Working Group) and unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 (SCR 1325) on October 31, 2000, came as a surprise to me, although, as I will explain, I have since realized that there was much for the Council to gain by (re)presenting itself as feminist-friendly. I have also been astonished by the remarkable institutional productivity that has followed the adoption of SCR 1325. Not only has it prompted annual Security Council debates on WPS and annual Secretary-General’s Reports since 2004; it has led to a further seven resolutions on this theme (as of October 2016). Cascades of gender policies, training manuals, checklists, indicators, benchmarks, targets, studies, and reports have also followed, as well as many new positions established for “gender experts,” including the special representative of the secretary-general on sexual violence in conflict and Gender Advisory Teams deployed by UN Peacekeeping to all multidimensional peacekeeping operations" (Otto 2019, 200-1).

Topics: Conflict, Feminisms, Gender, International Organizations, Peacebuilding, Political Participation, Peacekeeping, Sexual Violence, SV against Women, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, UNSCR 1820, UNSCR 1888, UNSCR 1889, UNSCR 1960, UNSCR 2106, UNSCR 2122, UNSCR 2242

Year: 2019

Participation and Protection: Security Council Dyanmics, Bureaucratic Politics, and the Evolution of the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda

Citation:

Goetz, Anne Marie, and Rob Jenkins. 2018. "Participation and Protection: Security Council Dynamics, Bureaucratic Politics, and the Evolution of the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda." In The Oxford Handbook of Gender and Conflict, edited by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Naomi Cahn, Dina Francesca Haynes, and Nahla Valji, 119-131. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Authors: Anne Marie Goetz, Rob Jenkins

Abstract:

This chapter focuses on the political and institutional factors behind the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325. It illuminates two elements of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda: participation and protection. It argues that despite the WPS Agenda’s efforts, women continue to remain underrepresented in peace negotiations and post-conflict political settlements. Further, by concentrating solely on protecting women from sexual violence, and neglecting an analysis of gender inequality and its contribution to conflict-propensity, the WPS Agenda perpetuates a protectionist narrative. This is due to opposition to the participation agenda from developing country member-states, a lack of accountability systems, and a lack of a powerful advocate within the UN bureaucratic system. The chapter concludes with suggestions for a recently formed working group under resolution 2242 to utilize, in order to better enable women’s participation in peace and security processes.

Keywords: Security Council Resolution 1325, protectionism, Security Council Resolution 2242, United Nation bureaucracy, women, Women Peace and Security agenda, gender

Topics: Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, International Organizations, Post-Conflict, Peace Processes, Sexual Violence, SV against Women, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, UNSCR 2242

Year: 2018

Engendering Peacebuilding: The International Gender Nomenclature of Peace Politics and Women’s Participation in the Colombian Peace Process

Citation:

Boutron, Camille. 2018. "Engendering Peacebuilding: The International Gender Nomenclature of Peace Politics and Women's Participation in the Colombian Peace Process." Journal of Peacebuilding & Development 13 (2): 116-21.

Author: Camille Boutron

Keywords: Colombia, gender politics, women's empowerment, liberal peace-building

Annotation:

Summary:
"The peace negotiations held between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Habana between 2012 and 2016 represented a historical precedent for the inclusion of a gender approach in conflict resolution. If gender and women’s issues had not been noteworthy topics during the first two years of the negotiations (2012–2014), this configuration changed in a significant way with the establishment in September 2014 of a gender subcommittee at the negotiations table, composed of representatives of the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas (Bouvier 2016, 21). The gender subcommittee was established thanks to the combined endeavours of women’s organisations and those of the actors from the international community engaged in promoting the gender lens in Colombian peacebuilding. It played a substantial role in the inclusion of a transversal gender perspective in the peace agreement signed by both parties on 26 September 2016. Indeed, no peace agreement had ever gone so far in the inclusion of a gender perspective since the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 of October 2000, which laid the foundations for the subsequent elaboration of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) global agenda and represented a starting point for the adoption of many additional UN resolutions ensuring women’s leadership in peacebuilding and preventing sexual violence in armed conflicts (UNSCR 1889, 1820, 1888, 1960, 2106, 2242). These resolutions enabled the constitution of a broader roadmap guiding the inclusion of women in international peace politics. Colombia appears to be an emblematic case when it comes to analysing the various forms of implementation of the WPS agenda" (Boutron 2018, 116).

Topics: Gender, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, Peacebuilding, Political Participation, Post-Conflict, Sexual Violence, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, UNSCR 1820, UNSCR 1888, UNSCR 1889, UNSCR 1960, UNSCR 2106, UNSCR 2242 Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Colombia

Year: 2018

Building Resilient Societies: The Relevance of UNSCR 1325 in Egypt's Political Transition

Citation:

Nasser, Salma. 2018.  "Building Resilient Societies: The Relevance of UNSCR 1325 in Egypt's Political Transition." Journal of International Women's Studies 19 (6): 35-52.

Author: Salma Nasser

Abstract:

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and 1820 and the more recent 1888, 1889, 1960, 2106, 2122 and 2242 reflect a rights-based approach to human security with a focus on the prevention of violence against women and girls and fostering their active and meaningful participation in public life in conflict and post conflict contexts. This is a particularly important framework in the African context where, over the past 5 years alone, conflict has plagued over 18 countries and has had devastating socio-economic impacts on women and led to the weakening of justice systems and social norms, which at the best of times secure minimum protection for women. In 2011 the North of the continent boiled over with political unrest which culminated with civil war in some countries. A notable phenomenon is that even in countries that escaped the predicament of armed conflict, women were subject to many of the same threats. As such, while UNSCR 1325 addresses the protection of women in times of armed conflict and peace building, provisions are still relevant in cases of political transition such as that of Egypt where there have been serious challenges to security, justice and accountability. The institutional framework in place for protecting women in conflict calls for their integration into the ensuing decision making process and inclusive dialogue is the only way to develop resilient and effective institutions for societies in transition. This paper will present a case study of lessons that could be learnt from UNSCR 1325 in terms of protecting women and girls from violence; ensuring the mainstreaming of gender perspectives in national policies; and increasing the participation of women in decisionmaking and political transition processes.

Keywords: UNSCR 1325, women's rights, violence against women, political transition, Egypt, peace building

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Conflict, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Gender Mainstreaming, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, International Organizations, Justice, Peacebuilding, Political Participation, Post-Conflict, Rights, Security, Human Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, UNSCR 1820, UNSCR 1888, UNSCR 1889, UNSCR 1960, UNSCR 2106, UNSCR 2122, UNSCR 2242 Regions: Africa, MENA, North Africa, Asia, Middle East Countries: Egypt

Year: 2018

© 2023 CONSORTIUM ON GENDER, SECURITY & HUMAN RIGHTSLEGAL STATEMENT All photographs used on this site, and any materials posted on it, are the property of their respective owners, and are used by permission. Photographs: The images used on the site may not be downloaded, used, or reproduced in any way without the permission of the owner of the image. Materials: Visitors to the site are welcome to peruse the materials posted for their own research or for educational purposes. These materials, whether the property of the Consortium or of another, may only be reproduced with the permission of the owner of the material. This website contains copyrighted materials. The Consortium believes that any use of copyrighted material on this site is both permissive and in accordance with the Fair Use doctrine of 17 U.S.C. § 107. If, however, you believe that your intellectual property rights have been violated, please contact the Consortium at info@genderandsecurity.org.

Subscribe to RSS - UNSCR 2242