WUNRN
NORWAY- IMPLEMENTATION OF UN SC
RESOLUTION 1325: PEACE & SECURITY FOR ALL
Norway Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre – Meeting of the
Standing Committee on Women
17.11.2011 – It has been said that it is more dangerous to be a woman – a
civilian – than a soldier in contemporary conflicts.
From Afghanistan to Libya, from Congo to Colombia, we witness more complex
operational environments and grave breaches of international humanitarian law.
Civilians are the subjects of targeted attacks, and conflict related sexual
violence is widespread. The battlefront has moved to the home front.
According to the UN, civilian causalities in war climbed from 15% during
World War I to more than 90% in the wars of the 1990s. How is the international
community meeting this new reality? Are we prepared?
There is growing recognition of the need for a gender-sensitive approach to
peacekeeping and peacebuilding.
The UN Security Council resolution 1325 is a key to a broader and fuller
understanding of contemporary conflicts. And it is a tool that can help us prevent,
manage and solve conflicts in more effective ways, and – not least – it can
help us protect the peace and rebuild societies after conflicts have ended.
Promoting women’s inclusion in peace and security issues is a priority for
the Norwegian Government, and we continue to improve our policies and efforts
in this area.
Firstly, we believe that women should have the same rights as men. This is a
matter of democracy and universal human rights.
Secondly, we believe that women’s inclusion leads to more sustainable peace
agreements and more effective peace operations.
Let me first touch upon why a gender perspective and women’s participation
is important in managing and solving conflicts – in making and keeping peace.
Then I will explain some of the things we try to do to effectively implement
SCR 1325.
An adequate analysis of any conflict must take into account how women are
affected. While men are shot and killed, women are “only” raped, maimed,
widowed and displaced. I see no reason why wartime threats against women should
not be given the same attention as other threats against peace and security.
The direct targeting of civilian populations often has further indirect
consequences such as poverty, weak health systems, food insecurity,
displacement and lack of access to clean water and hygiene. Women suffer more
severely from many of these indirect effects. For instance, a decline in basic
health care hits women harder because of their reproductive roles. In
Afghanistan, one woman dies in connection with childbirth every 27 minutes.
Sexual violence by armed rebels and government troops is being used as a
cheap, effective strategy to terrorise communities, force people to flee and to
humiliate and destroy communities. It is not a new phenomenon, but has been an
element in many wars throughout history. The breakdown of social order and the
subsequent brutalisation fuels aggression against women, who suffer sexual and
gender-based violence in many conflicts. Examples include DR Congo, Darfur,
Liberia, Colombia, Haiti, the Balkans in the 90s, Myanmar – the list goes on.
Security threats against women are, however, too often dismissed as
belonging to the private sphere or not being part of the real conflict. We know
now that targeted attacks against women, including sexual violence, can be just
as deliberate and destabilising as more traditional methods of war.
It is vital that a gender perspective is applied in conflicts where the
international community is mandated to provide security and protect the civilian
population. Unless the threats against half the population are known, how can
operations serve their security needs effectively?
Dialogue with both women and men gives personnel in international operations
a far better understanding of the conflict. Local women can provide information
that men are not aware of or do not focus on. For instance, women at the local
markets are often the first to know when armed groups are mobilising.
Adopting a gender perspective in peace processes can bring interventions
more in line with local needs and realities on the ground. Gender analysis,
understanding the needs of women and men respectively, can be an effective tool
for more realistic and sustainable peace building.
An example of the cost of failing to include women in peace processes is the
story of Angola. Looking back on the first peace process in the 90s, Donald
Steinberg described the negotiations he was part of facilitating as “men with
guns forgiving other men with guns for crimes they had committed against women”.
Around 40 men, and no women, sat around the table during the talks.
This imbalance meant that issues such as sexual violence, human trafficking,
abuses by government and rebel security forces, reproductive health care, and
girls’ education were given short shrift, if addressed at all.
The peace accord was based on 13 amnesties that forgave the parties for
atrocities committed during the conflict. The failure to address the widespread
sexual violence during the conflict affected the efforts to rebuild the justice
and security sector. It showed Angolan women that the peace process was
intended for the benefit of the ex-combatants and not them. After a few years,
the process faltered and war re-emerged.
This story is one example, among many, of how not to build peace. Of the 39
conflicts that have erupted in the past 10 years, only eight are entirely new;
31 are recurrences of conflicts that were never fully resolved. A growing body
of evidence shows that including women in peace processes increases the chances
of reaching durable and robust peace agreements.
More than 10 years after the adoption of Security Council resolution 1325,
the realm of hard politics is far from being gender-sensitive. However,
resolution 1325 has influenced our thinking, our norms and our attitudes in
fundamental ways. There is a strong momentum for women’s empowerment and
participation. Countries like Norway have a responsibility to translate the
words of the resolutions on women, peace and security into action on the ground.
Promoting the participation and roles of women in conflict management, in
peace processes and in peacebuilding is a strong priority for the Norwegian
Government. Our support for the implementation of the Security Council resolutions
on women, peace and security are part of our efforts to promote gender equality
and international peace and security. The two are closely linked.
Earlier this year, Norway launched an updated action plan – a new strategic
plan on women, peace and security for the next three years. The plan includes
concrete measures to increase women’s participation and influence in
peacebuilding and in peace negotiations.
I believe a truly integrated approach is a key to success. We need to make
women’s rights and participation a natural part of the whole range of peace and
security issues that we are involved in, and we must continue to change the
attitudes of policy-makers, mediators and peacekeepers. This issue is being
raised and promoted across various divisional boundaries in the Ministry and by
Ambassadors from Kathmandu to Kabul, from Khartoum to New York.
In addition to mainstreaming gender in our work, we continue to provide
targeted support for women on the ground and to promote women’s participation
in peace processes. Women in conflict are not just vulnerable victims passively
waiting for our protection. Women have always carried out vital work on the
ground in conflict areas – protecting children, giving support to victims,
mediating between groups, protesting, and reconciling communities.
One of the reasons why I so strongly welcome this year’s Nobel Prize is that
it puts a spotlight on the many women who take on this work.
Norway has a high and visible profile internationally in relation to the women,
peace and security agenda. We raise the issue of women’s participation and
protection in a large number of political meetings, in the UN and in NATO and
in other regional organisations.
For instance, Norway has been a vocal supporter of the rights of Libyan
women during the transition process, and we have pushed for their participation
and constitutional rights. We have also continuously raised the issue of Afghan
women’s rights and participation in several meetings with the Afghan
Government, including with President Karzai. We actively support their right to
participate in shaping Afghanistan’s future.
When we act as facilitator or mediator in a peace process, we use our role,
our voice, our financial means and technical assistance to secure the best
possible representation of women in all aspects of – and on various levels of –
the peace process. For example, resolution 1325 is high on our agenda in our
work in the Philippines, and we are pleased to see the high level of women’s
representation in the process. Norway has supported the UN Gender and Mediation
strategy, and we continue to promote women’s participation in peace processes
and give visibility and a voice to women on the ground at every opportunity.
Our Government also gives high priority to following up 1325 in the security
sector, both in the military and the police. We are implementing special
measures to increase women’s representation both in Norway and in international
operations. Just as important as improving the gender balance is ensuring that
all our personnel, both men and women, understand how to apply a gender
perspective in their work.
Our Minister of Defence will make sure that Norwegian military operations
are based on a gender analysis and that our operational demands are adjusted
accordingly. Therefore, we have increased and improved training on gender
and resolution 1325. We emphasise this issue in our contributions to the UN and
other organisations and we cooperate closely with our Nordic neighbours in
order to keep improving our work.
In recent years, Norway has paid special attention to one of the cruellest
aspects of armed conflict: sexual violence. Hundreds of thousands of women and
girls – as well as boys and men – have been victims of rape and sexual violence
over the past two decades. We have increased our support to the victims,
including medical, judicial and economic assistance. For instance, we have
supported mobile courts in DR Congo, which has resulted in the successful
investigation and prosecution of perpetrators. An effective fight against
impunity is one of the most important ways of preventing these abuses. We have
helped to keep the issue on the international agenda and seek to ensure that it
is treated with the same sense of urgency as other threats against
international peace and security.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasise once again our strong commitment to
women’s participation and protection in peace processes and in conflict
management. Unfortunately, there is still a striking gap between words and
action when it comes to implementing the Security Council resolutions on women,
peace and security. We must do more to ensure that women can play their
rightful roles in international peace and security. And we must do more to
ensure that threats against women in armed conflicts are recognised for what
they are: real security threats.
Speech/article, 17.11.2011
Categories: Releases