Women, peace and security: A view from the Americas

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Women, peace and security A view from the
Americas
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Inter-American Year of WomenWomen and power For
a world of equality

• Recognition of the progress made
• International framework that guarantees womens
  rights
• National-level laws and policies
• Identification of good practices and innovative
  approaches for the promotion of womens rights
• Recognition that human rights are not a reality
  for many women
• Weak public policy framework
• Lack of commitment to consistent monitoring and
  evaluation
• Lack of adequate funding to analyse and address
  problems
• Intersection of sex with race, ethnicity, social
  class, age, etc.
• Readjustment of our approaches and perspectives
  to take into account new realities (economic
  crisis, natural disasters)
• Reaffirmation of our commitment, adopted at the
  international level, to ensuring womens rights

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The Inter-American Commission of Women

• Created in 1928
• First inter-governmental organization created to
  promote womens rights first civil and
  political, then economic, social and cultural
• Composed of 34 Titular Delegates, on from each
  OAS member state
• 1994 - Inter-American Convention to Prevent,
  Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women,
  Belém do Pará Convention
• Only legally-binding international agreement
  dedicated exclusively to the issue of violence
  against women
• Ratified in every OAS member state except Canada
  and the United States
• Follow-up mechanisms MESECVI designed to
  provide technical support to States Party

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CIMs work

• Hemispheric policy forum for womens rights and
  gender equality translating international law
  into effective public policy
• Womens rights and gender equality at the centre
  of the OASs work
• Organized around the four strategic pillars of
  the OAS
• Promoting democracy
• Womens political citizenship for democracy and
  governance
• Defending human rights
• Effective public policy to make womens rights a
  reality
• Ensuring a multi-dimensional approach to security
• Responding to womens security needs - public
  and private
• Fostering integral development and prosperity
• Womens economic citizenship and security

Rights-based Approach
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Rights-based approach

• Holds at its centre the realization of human
  rights as an essential precursor to development,
  democracy, security and peace
• Rights, as opposed to public policies, are
  legally actionable
• Recourse to address the wide-ranging abuse,
  violence, discrimination and marginalization
• Powerful tool to hold governments accountable for
  their own lack of interest in womens rights and
  empowerment and gender equality
• The American Convention on Human Rights
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political
  Rights
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and
  Cultural Rights
• The Inter-American Convention on the Granting of
  Political Rights of Women
• Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
  Discrimination against Women
• The Inter-American Convention on the Prevention,
  Punishment and Eradication of Violence against
  Women (Belem do Para Convention)
• The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
  (1995)
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325
  on women, peace and security (2000)

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Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000)

• Context
• Civilians, particularly women and children, are
  the majority of those affected by armed conflict,
  including as refugees and internally displaced
  persons,
• They are targeted by combatants and armed
  elements
• Objectives
• Role of women in the prevention and resolution of
  conflicts and in peace-building
• Importance of their equal participation and full
  involvement in the maintenance and promotion of
  peace and security
• Need to increase their role in decision-making
  with regard to conflict prevention and resolution
• Need to mainstream a gender perspective into
  peacekeeping operations

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Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000)

• Areas of action
• Increasing representation of women at all
  decision-making levels , particularly in
  mechanisms for the prevention, management, and
  resolution of conflict
• Incorporate a gender perspective into
  peacekeeping operations
• Training on the protection, rights and the
  particular needs of women, particularly in
  military and civilian police personnel
• Support local womens peace initiatives and
  indigenous processes for conflict resolution -
  involve them in implementation of peace
  agreements
• Ensure respect for womens rights in re-building
  constitutions, electoral systems, police and
  judiciary
• Protect women and girls from gender-based
  violence, particularly rape and other forms of
  sexual abuse in armed conflict
• Consultation with local and international womens
  groups

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Ensuring a multi-dimensional approach to
security Responding to womens security needs -
public and private

• Relevance of 1325 in the Americas VAW
  transcends peace and conflict
• Women and girls security needs result from
  different forms of violence
• Rape and other forms of sexual violence
• Physical violence and harassment, including in
  the workplace
• Domestic violence, including rape within marriage
• Forced prostitution, including as a result of
  human trafficking
• Genital mutilation

Peace
Conflict
War
Other situations
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Ensuring a multi-dimensional approach to
security Responding to womens security needs -
public and private

• Hemispheric agenda for gender-sensitive
  multi-dimensional security
• Public security includes specific threats faced
  by women (domestic violence, sexual exploitation,
  trafficking)
• Women in security-related policy- and
  decision-making processes at all levels of
  government (executive, legislative, judicial,
  national and local)
• Dialogue between Ministries of Women and
  Ministries of Public Security
• Recognition of womens roles as mediators of
  conflict, builders of peace
• Policy dialogue on building an effective response
  to womens security needs
• Democratization of security-related
  decision-making
• Civilian oversight of security institutions
• Strengthening monitoring by civil society,
  particularly womens groups
• Dialogue between the security sector and civil
  society, particularly local level womens groups
• Bringing women into the security sector
• Participation of women as police, armed forces,
  judges, border guards, penal officers, etc.,
  within a framework of diversity and
  inter-culturality
• Application of codes of conduct and other gender
  policies