Women, War, Peace & Peacekeeping – UNIFEM

Women, War, Peace
and
Peacekeeping

“The primary challenge in the
mission is to overcome the view that gender and human rights are ‘soft’
issues that take resources away from the ‘core’ functions of the mission’s
mandate, such as establishing a judiciary or a power authority.”

Sherrill Whittington, Chief, Gender Affairs Unit, UNTAET

“Gender mainstreaming requires
specialized expertise and training in all aspects of mission operation. It
requires programmatic integration of gender into all elements of activity,
throughout the various ‘pillars’ of governance and humanitarian efforts.
It requires regular monitoring, reporting and evaluation of progress made
and obstacles encountered, as well as systems for holding the operation
accountable to achieving its goals. Finally, it requires resources to put
all of these measures in place. Gender mainstreaming needs to start from
the very beginning of a mission to ensure that structures and programmes
are designed to address the different needs of women and men for
protection, assistance, justice and reconstruction.”
Elisabeth
Rehn, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Independent Expert’s
Assessment

Introduction

Although the word ‘peacekeeping’ is not in the UN
Charter, the UN Security Council has deployed 56 peacekeeping operations
into conflict and post-conflict situations since 1948. Known as “blue
helmets” or “blue berets” UN peacekeeping personnel is made up of
contingents from a number of countries who are tasked with patrolling
buffer zones between hostile parties, monitoring ceasefires, and assisting
the hostile populations in their search for durable peace. In recent
years, the scope of peacekeeping has widened to include larger numbers of
civilians as civilian police officers, electoral experts and observers,
deminers, human rights monitors, and specialists in civil affairs and
communications. Their responsibilities range from protecting and
delivering humanitarian assistance, to helping former opponents carry out
complicated peace agreements; from assisting with the demobilization of
former fighters and their return to normal life, to supervising and
conducting elections; from training civilian police, to monitoring respect
for human rights and investigating alleged violations. More than 1,650
military and civilian peacekeepers have died while serving in United
Nations operations. more…

The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations
concludes that women make a positive difference to peacekeeping, and that
“women’s presence improves access and support for local women it makes me
peacekeepers more reflective and responsible; and it broadens the
repertoire of skills and styles available within the mission, often with
the effect of reducing conflict and confrontation. Gender mainstreaming,”
the report says,” is not just fair, it is beneficial.” Each component of
the peacekeeping involves the participation of women and each has crucial
consequences for women and men of the host country. In contemporary
peacekeeping environments, military and civilian personnel are taking on
new functions that increase their contact with women; both in providing
protection and in supporting women’s role in peace building. Military
observers are taking on more complex responsibilities traditionally
carried out by civilian, humanitarian and human rights officers, e.g.
humanitarian assessments in inaccessible areas. Women do more than act as
gender advisers in peace operations, but participate throughout, although
not in senior positions. more…

Defining
Terms

What is Gender mainstreaming in peace
operations? “mainstreaming a gender perspective in
multidimensional peacekeeping … [means] that gender issues, such as
increased equality and observing gender specific needs, become a natural
element in all parts of the peacekeeping mission. Gender issues will not
be handled by a special department alone but rather be a part of the work
of the existing organization, both in the field and at the headquarters.”

What is a Gender Adviser or Unit?
In general, gender advisers and units are responsible for ensuring that
gender concerns are integrated into all of the mission’s programmes and
activities; raising gender awareness among international staff at all
levels of authority; reaching out to groups of women at the grassroots
level; conducting gender training for peacekeepers, military observers and
civilian police; and in some cases, assisting in building the capacity of
women to participate in the peace process and helping form a national
machinery for women.

What is a peacekeeping operation?
For detailed background description of peacekeeping operations,
go to DPKO website

Who are peacekeepers? The UN
Security Council Resolution creates, defines and authorizes a peacekeeping
mission mandate under the UN Charter V, VI, and VII. Department of
Political Affairs (DPA), Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), and
Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) advise
Secretary-General and Special Representative of Secretary-General (SRSG)
who is the head of the operation, on structuring the operation. Peace
operations are based on voluntary contribution of resources, personnel and
equipment by the member states. International or regional peacekeeping
operations are also created and formed by regional organizations such as
NATO, OSCE, ECOWAS, or international coalitions.

What kind of role do peace operations
play? Since the end of the Cold War, the scope of UN peacekeeping
has expanded and become increasingly complex and multidimensional
involving peace-building, peace enforcement and nation-building, compared
to traditional ceasefire observation missions.

• Observer missions are
  traditional peacekeeping deployed to monitor ceasefire agreements and
  investigate and report violations, based on the consent of opposing
  parties and with the use of force only for self-defense. It prevents the
  outbreak or the spill-over of conflict. Examples include the operations
  in Golan heights and India-Pakistan.

• Peacekeeping operations are
  deployed to stabilize conflict situations after a ceasefire to create an
  environment for the parties to reach a lasting peace agreement or to
  assist implementation of peace agreements.

• Enforcement operations are
  based on the Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which gives UN Member States
  the authority to take all necessary measures to achieve international
  peace and stability. Consent of the parties is not necessarily required.
  Examples include Rwanda, Somalia, Haiti and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

• ‘Nation building’ missions such
  as the missions to East Timor, Kosovo, and Cambodia lead states or
  territories through a transition to stable government based on
  democratic principles, good governance and economic development.

Components of peace missions

• Military: Military
  peacekeepers’ role includes stabilizing the security situation,
  monitoring cease-fires, overseeing the withdrawal of armed forces,
  disarming combatants, protecting the population in demilitarized zones,
  and protecting humanitarian aid delivery.

• Civilian police (CIVPOL):
  CIVPOL’s role includes establishing the rule of law, restructuring and
  supporting national police and judicial systems in accordance with
  international standards of criminal justice, human rights, and
  democracy.

• Civilian components: The role
  includes electoral supervision, administrative components, human rights
  monitoring.

• Humanitarian affairs:
  humanitarian assistance—both food and services are provided under the
  coordination of OCHA.

Gender Components of Peace Operations

Protection and assistance for
women

• Security provision by peacekeeper is crucial in
  the insecure post-conflict situation where women are particularly
  vulnerable to including the threat of sexual violence.

• CIVPOL is not only responsible for providing
  security but also helping establish the local population’s trust in the
  police as an institution where military and/or police forces may have
  violated human rights and thus been feared by local populations.

• Especially in the case of rape, sexual assault,
  domestic violence and other crimes against women, the role of female
  police, interpreters and specialists is critical to create an
  environment where women feel safer and able to report cases.

• Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration
  (DDR) of ex-combatants, which constitute many peacekeeping mandates,
  need gender perspective. more…

• Individual women and women’s organizations in
  Bosnia, East Timor, and Sierra Leone have benefited from security
  provision by peacekeepers. more…

Participation of Local women

• In missions which involve human rights
  monitoring, electoral assistance and establishing civil administrations,
  it is critical to identify and address the gender perspectives in these
  areas, especially in the light of particular local norms and customs
  that obstruct women’s participation.

• Though many local women find work in support
  positions for the mission as secretaries and language assistants, very
  few women or men are hired locally as professionals.

• UNMIK created a consultative group of
  local representatives called the Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC). Of
  its twelve initial members, none of them were female. Since the Joint
  Interim Administrative Structure (JIAS) was created and the Interim
  Administrative Council (IAC) was established in December 1999 as the
  SRSG’s main consultative body, the KTC was enlarged to include
  thirty-six members, some 17% of whom are women. However, the creation of
  IAC led to the loss of importance of the KTC. All three Albanian
  representatives on the IAC are male while the Serb representative is
  female. An observer position for a civil society representative was
  created and Albanian women took up the position. more…

Fact
Sheet

• Peacekeeping missions are deployed in
  situations of great insecurity and instability where women face high
  risk of violence and sexual abuses. Peacekeepers take responsibility to
  prevent and protect women against violence, especially gender-based
  violence.

• Women are socially and economically
  affected by ‘peacekeeping environment,’ which is created by a large
  influx of well-paid international peacekeeping staff – military and
  non-military. Young women can become involved in and affected by
  industries and services such as bars and hotels that spring up with the
  arrival of peacekeeping operations. Many women also find work in support
  positions for the mission, as secretaries and language assistants. more…

• In Peace Operations that have a
  nation-building mandate, the mission determines “everything from a
  population’s access to water, energy and sanitation, among other
  resources, to defining legal status, constitutional guarantees and
  creating an electoral framework — all of which have a direct effect on
  women.” more… Substantial interface with the civil society
  indicates that it needs to be ensured the perspectives of women, who
  compose half the population, are included and understood in planning
  interventions. more… The UN Transitional Authority in East Timor
  (UNTAET) supported the creation of the Office of the Advisor for the
  Promotion of Equality and is given credit for the significant
  participation of women in Development Councils and the National Council.
  Establishing a gender unit within a peace operation is an excellent
  basis on which to support the basics of a national machinery for women
  in a newly independent or transitional administration.

• The Department of Peacekeeping Operations
  has found that women’s presence in missions improves access and support
  for local women and makes male peacekeepers more reflective and
  responsible. more… Studies show that the leadership attitudes
  towards gender are fundamental to whether gender perspective is
  incorporated into policies and implemented in the operation and the host
  nation. more…

• The existence of and accessibility to
  female peacekeepers is especially critical for local women in the
  context where many women have already experienced sexual trauma and
  other violence by mostly male combatants in the war. Women experience
  fear of “seeing yet more men in uniform and positions of authority –
  even peacekeepers.” Also in some host societies, women may not be
  allowed to speak to male strangers for cultural and religious reasons.
  Thus, women peacekeepers are easier for local women to access,
  especially regarding gender-based violence. It should be also noted that
  women’s presence does not guarantee that local women’s concerns will be
  heard, considered and addressed or that human rights abuses by
  peacekeepers are deterred. more…

• During the first four decades of the UN’s
  existence only three of its peacekeeping missions included civilian
  police units (UNCIVPOL). But since the end of the Cold War, civilian
  police have been part of more than twenty UN peace missions and are
  second in number only to military personnel. Despite the effectiveness
  of female CIVPOL in dealing with cases of rape, sexual assault, domestic
  violence and other crimes against women, the number of female CIVPOL has
  been low throughout UN peacekeeping history.

• In the history of UN peacekeeping, only
  five women have held leadership and command positions: Margaret Joan
  Anstee, UN Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEMII, 1992-93), Angela King,
  head of mission for UN Observer Mission to South Africa (UNOMSA ,
  1992-94), Elizabeth Rehn, SRSG to the UN Mission in Bosnia and
  Herzegovina (UNMIBH, 1995-2001), Ann Hercus, UN Peacekeeping Force in
  Cyprus (UNFICYP, 1998-99), and Heidi Tagliavini, SRSG in UN Observer
  Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG, 2002-current).

• The UN deployed gender specialists for the
  first time in the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK, Gender Unit), the UN
  Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET, Gender Unit) and Sierra
  Leone (UNAMSIL, Gender Specialist within the Human Rights Division) in
  1999 and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC, Gender Office)
  in 2000 (independent report). But in Kosovo, the Gender Unit was
  positioned within the Civil Administration pillar not the SRSG’s office
  as planned. Following the elections of August 2001 in East Timor, the
  UNTAET Gender Affairs Unit became the office of the Advisor for the
  Promotion of Equality, located within the Office of the Chief
  Minister.

• In UNOMSA in South Africa, 46-53% of
  civilian personnel were women where the leaders, especially Angela King,
  head of mission, made it a priority to recruit qualified, international
  and local civilian women. more…

• In Kosovo, the Gender Unit has worked in
  collaboration with other elements of the mission to gather
  sex-disaggregated data, collaborated in the development of Victim and
  Witness Protection programmes, and developed a network of Gender Focal
  Points throughout the regional offices of the UN administration. Gender
  Focal Points deal with personnel issues at the mission level, whereas a
  Special Gender Advisor deals with programmes and activities of the
  mission.

• The UN’s Transitional Administration in
  East Timor (UNTAET) is an example of comprehensive achievements of a
  Gender Unit. The Unit raised awareness with the mission staff, built
  capacity, worked with East Timorese women to incorporate their concerns
  into mission policies, assisted the East Timorese Women’s Network to
  promote, implement and monitor their Platform for Action, which outlines
  the major societal issues they wanted to have addressed by the
  Transitional Administration and by the future government, ensured the
  development of gender action plans throughout the districts and
  departments as well as maintaining a focus on gender issues in the media
  through the Gender Focal Point network, ensured that gender is
  incorporated into UNTAET legislation, provided advice to the General
  Prosecutor, trained the Timor Lorosa’e Police Force and UNCIVPOL on
  appropriate responses to domestic violence and interviewing victims of
  such crimes, assisted women candidates to prepare for the elections and
  educated women in the electoral process, collaborated with the Civil
  Service and Public Employment Unit to improve gender mainstreaming in
  recruitment and appointments to decision-making bodies, and conducted
  gender analysis and gathered gender-sensitive data/indicators. more…

• The UN’s Mission in the Democratic
  Republic of the Congo (MONUC) gender office has worked towards gender
  mainstreaming throughout the UN mission, and has also collaborated with
  local women’s organizations. The gender office has its own website. more…

• Male and female peacekeepers working
  together as equals as a model has a positive impact on breaking-down
  traditional views and stereotypes of women in the local communities.
  When there is a critical mass of women, it may have the effect of
  mobilizing women in the local communities to peace-building,
  reconstruction and democratization of the country. more… “With just a token female presence,” male
  soldiers are less inclined to assert their dominance and more likely to
  behave in accordance with their own social norms. This creates an
  environment closer to that of their home society and therefore reduces
  stress and the likelihood of an atmosphere that accepts violence and
  sexual exploitation. more…

• The number of women has been low in the
  military units and the civilian police components of the missions,
  whereas their number is substantially higher in the civilian staff.
  Between 1957 and 1989, only 0.1 per cent of the field-based military
  personnel in UN peacekeeping missions were female, the figure increased
  to 1.7% in 1993. “The UN did not issue specific requests for women
  peacekeepers until 1994, corresponding with a high demand for
  peacekeepers – 78,500 in 1993, 76,500 in 1994, and 68,900 in 1995.”
  “When the call did go out, Member States largely ignored it.” In 1993,
  in 11 of 15 ongoing peacekeeping operations, women were 33 percent of
  all civilian staff with the percentage of women in civilian police and
  military unknown due to lack of record keeping. In 2000, women
  constituted 51 percent of general service staff, 15 percent of field
  staff, 26 percent of local staff, 3 percent of military personnel, and 3
  percent of civilian police personnel. As of the spring 2001, women make
  up no more than 6% of military personnel and no more than 16% of
  civilian police for any of the 13 on-going UN peace operations for which
  data is available. more…

• The male-female ratio is 67-33% in CIVPOL
  Division of DPKO. In CIVPOL peacekeeping missions, the ratio is 96-4%
  (UNMIK police: 90-10%, UNAMSIL Police: 97-3%, UNMISET police: 91-9%).
  Within the local polices, the ratio is in Kosovo police service: 85-15%,
  Sierra Leone police: 90-10%, and Timor-Leste police:
  77.8-22.2%.

• In many member states, the status of women
  in the national military is low, either not being allowed to serve, or
  being limited to certain positions. The proportion of women sent for
  peacekeeping is routinely less than that within national militaries. For
  example, 12 percent of national armed forces in the US and Canada are
  women whereas only eight percent and five percent respectively of their
  military are sent for peacekeeping.

• Few countries send women for CIVPOL in
  part because in most case women in the police forces typically serve as
  desk officers and traffic police. Also, the percentage of women in
  military police remains very low, and even in countries where women make
  up a significant portion of the national police force, they rarely
  constitute a significant presence in peacekeeping operations. For
  example, studies in Canada find women police officers are less likely to
  request postings with CIVPOL because of the length of time required away
  from their families where they have the gendered-distribution of
  household labor.

• It is important that men as well as women
  assume responsibility for gender mainstreaming. For example, Martti
  Ahtisaari (Finland), the SRSG in Namibia during the UNTAG mission made
  conscious attempts to recruit women to military and civilian posts at
  all levels, including at the senior decision-making level and he
  succeeded in raising the number of women in the professional staff to
  around 60%.

• Sergio Vieira de Mello, SRSG for UNTAET
  stressed the importance of gender mainstreaming throughout UNTAET at
  public speaking engagements, and high-level meetings, political parties
  and consultative bodies. more…

• The UN has “zero tolerance” policy on
  crime committed by its peacekeepers. The small card We Are United
  Nations Peacekeepers and Ten Rules Code of Personal conduct for Blue
  Helmets are distributed to peacekeepers. The former states “We will
  never… commit any act that could result in physical, sexual or
  psychological harm or suffering to members of the local population,
  especially women and children; become involved in sexual liaisons which
  could affect our impartiality, or the well-being of others; be abusive
  or uncivil to any ember of the public…” The latter states “Do not
  indulge in immoral acts of sexual, physical or psychological abuse or
  exploitation of the local population or United Nations staff, especially
  women and children.” more…

• In Peacekeeping Handbook for Junior Ranks, soldiers are
  advised “Be aware of the human rights of women and children and
  never violate them [emphasis theirs]; Behave in a way that you do
  not exacerbate violence of the human rights of women and children in the
  host country; Be forewarned of facing long periods of sexual abstinence;
  Do not involve yourself in any sexual relationship which may create
  long-lasting complications for you and others. Do not involve yourself
  with a sexual affair with any member of the local population. This may
  have the effect of jeopardising your personal integrity as well as the
  honour of your unit; Do not view fellow UN personnel or members of the
  local population as objects to be trifled with. In both cases this could
  have serious consequences for your career; and Be aware of sexually
  transmitted diseases (e.g. AIDS).”

• The MONUC Code of Conduct contains
  information on conduct in the Democratic Republic of Congo regarding the
  prohibition of sexual abuse and/or exploitation by all members of the
  Civilian and Military components of MONUC. UNAMSIL established a
  Coordination Committee for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and
  Abuse. more…

• Status-of-forces agreements between UN and
  host countries and the contribution agreement between the UN and
  contributing states both accord exclusive jurisdiction to contributing
  states for prosecution of peacekeeping soldiers who commit a crime in a
  peace operation. Therefore, when peacekeepers commit crimes such as rape
  or trafficking, they are under national jurisdiction of troop
  contributing countries, not host countries or the UN. The only recourse
  for the mission leadership is to send the personnel home. Despite the
  requirement for reporting the outcome of cases of crimes committed by
  its military personnel to the UN’s Head of Mission is stated in the
  model agreement, many contributing countries do not fulfill the
  undertaking.

• In confronting the significant increase in
  the trafficking of women, the deployment of CIVPOL is especially
  important for border control. In September of 2000, UNMIK created a
  Trafficking and Prostitution Investigation Unit in Kosovo and by the end
  of 2001, had established units in all five regions of the country. The
  UN mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina created a Special Anti-Trafficking
  Operations Project (STOP) to develop a strategy for action in the
  prevention of trafficking with results of more than 200 raids and 350
  repatriations. This was the first UN anti-trafficking initiative.
  Involved in identification of women exploitation networks in the Balkans
  for prostitution, rescue of victims, with the support of IMO
  (International Organization for Migrations), for repatriation, and
  protection of victims and witnesses of trafficking related cases. more…

• Contributing states are responsible for
  taking action against peacekeepers that commit crimes. Some contributing
  countries do not have penal codes that criminalize all forms of sexual
  or gender violence. For example, the rape and murder of an 11-year-old
  Kosovo girl by a US soldier made headline and the charges of felony,
  rape, sodomy and murder were filed against him who was eventually
  sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Often, if prosecutions
  are carried out by the soldier’s home country, they are not made public,
  as they take place in military courts, which are closed procedures. more…

• The creation of the International Criminal
  Court enables prosecution of peacekeepers who commit sexual abuses
  including involvement in trafficking and prostitution rings under the
  universal jurisdiction. However, under the Security Council resolution
  adopted unanimously in July 2002 and extended in June 2003, members of
  UN peacekeeping missions from nations that have not ratified the Rome
  Statute are immune from investigation or prosecution.

  On 5 January 2005, the Office of
  Internal Oversight (OIOS) submitted its report (A/59/661) on the
  investigations into allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA)
  in MONUC to the General Assembly. Out of 72 allegations, OIOS compiled
  twenty case reports, 19 of which implicated peacekeepers from three
  contingents. All of the victims were Congolese girls under the age of
  18. Five out of six were under age 14. In most cases, victims had sex
  with the assailants in exchange for milk, eggs, chocolate, bread and /
  or less than five US dollars in cash. Male minors and male youth were
  also often involved in bringing the girls to the peacekeepers in
  exchange for one US dollar and / or food.

  •  The OIOS team noted that programmes
  and resources were not being properly allocated to prevent the economic
  and food insecurity that often caused the girls and boys to get involved
  with the aggressors. Lack of schooling opportunities and the consequent
  youth idleness was also noted as a contributing factor. The team also
  raised doubts as to whether peacekeepers had been adequately briefed on
  the Code of Personal Conduct and whether the code was being properly
  enforced and reinforced. Insecurity of perimeter fencing, which
  encouraged illicit mixing of the military and general population,
  inadequate patrols by military police and insufficient enforcement of
  military discipline, the absence of off-duty programmes for peacekeepers
  and the lack of prevention strategies and programmes were all identified
  as factors contributing to the creation of a serious and ongoing SEA
  problem.

  •  Despite the presence of the team, sexual
  interactions between the local population and the military personnel
  continued during the investigation. The report emphasized that there
  continued to be a lack of a protection and deterrence programme at the
  present time.

  •  In addition to a more robust SEA policy
  that DPKO is currently developing, the OIOS team made the following
  recommendations:

  1. Upon review of the individual cases, DPKO
  should request the relevant TCCs to take appropriate action against the
  personnel and inform the department.

  2. DPKO and MONUC should implement a strong
  prevention programme protecting the most vulnerable and establish a
  rapid-response detection programme.

  3. Senior MONUC managers must become more
  involved and demand accountability from civilian administrators and
  contingent commanders in the mission. MONUC must take steps to ensure
  that administrators and officers demonstrate implementation of all
  existing regulations and policies aimed at preventing SEA.

  4. DPKO and MONUC should provide regular
  briefings for troops on their responsibilities to the local population
  and prohibited behaviours and to ensure that all troops and civilians on
  UN missions are fully conversant with UN policies of the subject of SEA.

  5. The MONUC Force Commander should enforce
  strict discipline over the personnel under their command.

  6. MONUC should identify and implement measures
  that ensure all military compounds are adequately secured.

  7. MONUC should collaborate with OCHA and NGOs to
  strengthen existing programmes to empower and protect the vulnerable
  populations to allow for alternate means of survival.

  8. DPKO should consider a wider application of
  prevention and detection policies to protect against SEA by
  peacekeepers. This may include the designation of local officials or
  NGOS to receive reports of SEA, the expeditious central reporting of all
  cases to senior management, mission based rapid-response teams,
  education programmes for troops on their responsibilities and on
  sanctions for SEA, the public naming and shaming of those found to have
  engaged in SEA, and the permanent exclusion from peacekeeping missions
  of those troops who engage in SEA and of their contingents’ commanders.
  more…

Treaties and
Institutions

The UN Department of Peacekeping Operations (DPKO):
website

International Association of Peacekeping Training
Centres: website

Pearson Peacekeeping Centre: English, French

Tools &
Checklists

• The DPKO Gender Resource Package (October 2004)
• DPKO
  gender training materials

• Inclusive Security, Sustainable Peace Toolkit:
  Chapter on Peace Support Operations

• UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
  Training for Civilian
  Personnel in Peacekeeping Operations on the Special Needs of Women and
  Children in Conflict.

• Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and
  International Trade (DFAIT) and the United Kingdom Department for
  International Development (DFID). Gender and Peacekeeping Training Course, released in
  2000. available online with detailed trainers notes and
  resources.

• Canadian International Development Agency
  (CIDA), Gender Equality and Humanitarian Assistance: A Guide to
  the Issues. This resource offers a clear explanation of how issues
  of gender affect humanitarian assistance missions, including rebuttals
  to the most frequently raised objections to incorporating a gender
  dimension in humanitarian assistance. There is also a guide to reviewing
  proposals and reports to ensure adequate attention to gender, and a list
  of sector-specific considerations and questions for humanitarian
  operations. (In French)

• Gender Equality and Peacebuilding: An Operational
  Framework, CIDA

• Code of Conduct for Combatants, ICRC

• Amnesty International Program for Implementing Human
  Rights in Peacekeeping Operations

• “Questions to Ask about Gender and Peace Support
  Operations.”

• Training of Civilian Personnel for International
  Missions offered by the German Federal Foreign Ministry by the
  Center for International Peace Operations.

• On women’s participation throughout peace
  support operations especially in the mission planning, “Communique Regarding Women and Participation in Peace
  Support Operations and Post-Conflict Reconstruction” NGO Meeting,
  Bishopsgate, UK, 30 June 2003

• Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). Report of The Task Force on Protection from Sexual
  Exploitation and Abuse in Humanitarian Crises and the Plan of
  Action. June 2002. Although this report and Plan of Action are on
  humanitarian assistance, they contain insights which are also useful for
  peace operations.

• University for Peace (Costa Rica) “Gender
  Sensitive Code of Personal Conduct”

Gender training

There is a
need for gender mainstreaming in all training courses and specific courses
on gender and peace support operations.

• Primary responsibility for training peacekeepers
  is on member states. Peacekeepers have been sent with little training
  and briefing on, and therefore with little understanding of,
  gender-based violence during the war and the implication of their
  presence on local women. DPKO training for peacekeeping personnel
  involve both pre-deployment training and in-mission training during
  operations. The former is for Troop Contributing Nations in their
  preparation of peacekeeping forces. The latter is conducted by Mission
  Training Cells in UNTAET, MONUC, UNAMSIL and UNMEE and includes host
  national representatives to provide contextual discussion on the
  experiences of conflict for both men and women. All current major UN
  peace operations have received this training.

• Two materials are available online: “Gender and Peacekeeping Operations – Gender Training.”
  Training and Evaluation Service, DPKO. 2002 and “Gender and Peacekeeping Operations: In-Mission
  Training.” Training and Evaluation Service, DPKO. 2001.

• Training and Evaluation Service (TES) of DPKO is
  in the process of implementing the Gender and Peacekeeping Project. The
  project is currently in the phase of producing a Generic Gender and
  Peacekeeping Training Package, as well as a Gender and Peacekeeping
  Field Manual. The publication (forthcoming) has been developed for
  Member States’ training purposes and its electronic version has already
  been distributed to Missions. TES is currently developing a Gender and
  peacekeeping manual targeted at middle level military personnel. The
  manual should be completed by December 2003. more…

• United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) launched
  a groundbreaking two-year programme for HIV/AIDS prevention and gender
  awareness training for peacekeepers in Sierra Leone in March 2003, in
  partnership with DPKO, UNAIDS, UNAMSIL , UNIFEM, and the International
  Centre for Migration and Health (ICMH). It aims to curb infection by and
  among troops and have peacekeepers take on the role of leadership to
  educate communities on HIV/AIDS. more…

• To date, United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and
  Eritrea (UNMEE) has conducted HIV/AIDS awareness courses for 800
  civilians, 10,000 peacekeepers, 27,000 Eritrea Defense Force and 100,000
  Ethiopia Armed Force personnel.

• UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
  has also developed materials designed for civilian personnel entitled:
  Training for Civilian Personnel in Peacekeeping Operations on the
  Special Needs of Women and Children in Conflict. This material was used
  for training in UNMIBH, UNMEE, MONUC and UNMIK. more…

• Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and
  International Trade (DFAIT) and the United Kingdom Department for
  International Development (DFID) developed Gender and Peacekeeping
  training course in 2000, which is available online with detailed
  trainers notes and resources. The gender training materials by DPKO are
  based on this Canadian and British material. more…

UNIFEM Action &
Analysis

“UNIFEM has initiated an important collaborative
effort with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), UNICEF
and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), to
integrate gender training into the pre-deployment induction courses for
peace keepers and military observers assigned to the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC). At the global level, UNIFEM is a partner in an
initiative to develop gender training modules for peacekeepers, being
coordinated by the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre in Canada. Additionally
UNIFEM is collaborating with the Lessons Learned Division of DPKO, in an
effort to develop policy and operational guidelines to engender
peacekeeping operations around the world.” more…

In the area of protection, UNIFEM West Africa
Regional Office has supported gender responsive community based care for
HIV/AIDS sufferers in the peacekeeping environment in Sierra Leone and
worked to mainstream gender in HIV/AIDS programming throughout the UN’s
mission. UNIFEM has partnered with UNFPA, UNAIDS and DPKO to assess the
intersections of gender, conflict and HIV/AIDS in Sierra Leone.

UN
Documents

• Windhoek Declaration: The Namibia Plan of Action On
  ‘Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective In Multidimensional Peace Support
  Operations.’” organized by the Lessons Learned Unit of DPKO and
  hosted by the Government of Namibia on the 10th Anniversary of the
  United Nations Transitional Assistance Group (UNTAG) in Windhoek,
  Namibia on 31 May 2000. Plan of Action include : negotiations, mandate,
  leadership, planning, structure and resources of missions, recruitment,
  training, procedures, monitoring, evaluation and accountability, and
  public awareness.

• Women, Peace and Security: Study Submitted by the
  Secretary-General pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1325
  (2000). United Nations, 2002. The Secretary-General’s study on
  women, peace and security conducted according to the mandate of Security
  Council Resolution 1325, coordinated by the Special Adviser on Gender
  Issues and Advancement of Women in close cooperation with the
  Inter-agency Taskforce on Women, Peace and Security. Chapter V is
  dedicated to the issue of peace operations.

• Security Council Open Debate on Gender and
  Peacekeeping (July 25 2002) Press release

• DPKO Lessons Learned Unit ‘Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Multidimensional
  Peace Operations’ July 2000.

• United Nations Division for the
  Advancement of Women (DAW). “The Role of Women in United Nations Peacekeeping.”
  Women 2000 No.1 (1995).

• United Nations International Research and
  Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW): Gender Aspects of Conflict and Peace

• “Report to DPKO on the Implementation of
  Security Council resolution 1325.” UNTAET (United Nations Transitional
  Administrations in East Timor), 25 May 2001. PDF TO LINK WORD DOCUMENT
  FROM EAST TIMOR COUNTRY PROFILE

• Activities report from the Office of Gender Affairs (OGA)
  of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of
  the Congo (MONUC):

• “The UN Transitional Administration in East Timor: Gender
  affairs.” Sherrill Whittington. Development Bulletin
  53.

• United Nations Mission in Bosnia and
  Herzegovina (UNMIBH). Trafficking in human beings in Bosnia andHerzegovina. A
  summary report of the joint trafficking project of the UN Mission in
  Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
  Rights. May 2000.

• UNAIDS initiated a Cooperation Framework
  with DPKO with a view to integrating a comprehensive HIV/AIDS policy
  within DPKO. Together, they designed and produced the “HIV/AIDS
  Awareness Card for Peacekeeping Operations.” The plastic cards are
  currently distributed in all major UN peacekeeping operations along with
  a code of conduct card for peacekeepers. The card is translated into 10
  languages and contains an inner pocket for condoms and basic facts about
  HIV/AIDS. more…

• United Nations Population Fund. The Impact of Conflict on Women and Girls: A UNFPA
  Strategy for Gender Mainstreaming in Areas of Conflict and
  Reconstruction. 2002.

• Remarks by Jacques Paul Klein, SRSG for Bosnia-
  Herzegovina “Beijing Plus Five Review” March 29 2000

• International Day of United Nations
  Peacekeepers. May 2003. contains various background readings and
  pictures on UN peacekeeping. more…
  (questions and answers on united nations peacekeeping” contains
  questions on gender as well as HIV/AIDS issue. more…

• Special Committee on Peacekeeping
  Operations first placed gender mainstreaming on its agenda at its
  session in 1999 and has since kept gender mainstreaming and gender
  balance issues under review. Its website includes the link to the
  selected UN documents. more…

• Gender and Frontline Perspectives on Peacekeeping and the
  Brahimi Report: Report of the panel discussion on the absence of a
  gender perspective in peacekeeping and in the Brahimi Report. Panel
  discussion report from Women’s Caucus for Gender Justice,
  2001.

• Karley Ziegler. “Report on the VIII Seminar of the Challenges Series Human
  Rights and Gender Issues in Peacekeeping.” Pearson Peacekeeping
  Centre in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, Canada, 28 May – 1 June
  2001.
  
• United Nations Peacekeeping in the Service
  of Peace more…

• The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO)
  released a policy paper on Human Trafficking and United Nations Peacekeeping in
  March 2004. The paper aims to define the problem—whose victims, the
  paper acknowledges, are mainly women and very frequently children—in the
  context of UN peacekeeping. The paper proposes a strategy for DPKO to
  address human trafficking, based on lessons from previous missions and
  consultations with partner organizations in anti-trafficking, which will
  include awareness and training, discipline, accountability and community
  relations, and support to Anti-trafficking activities. The “development
  of further peacekeeper targeted materials on human trafficking, sexual
  abuse and exploitation and gender-based violence” will be one aspect of
  the awareness and training project.

• The Department of Peacekeeping Operations
  Handbook on United Nations Multidimensional Peacekeeping Operations
  (December 2003) dedicates one chapter to Gender Mainstreaming. This chapter outlines some of
  the gender dimensions of conflict and post-conflict, and urges the
  planners and implementers of peacekeeping operations to take into
  account the gender-based differences in post-conflict needs and
  priorities. This chapter also provides checklists and basic advice on
  incorporating a gender perspective into peacekeeping operations.