CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS

The Global Study makes key findings on how to build sustainable peace through participation, protection, justice, prevention and much more. Each chapter, available below, details these recommendations and contextualizes core issues of peace and security within the needs and concerns of women in specific situations of conflict.

WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION AND A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE POLITICAL

Actors involved in mediation and conflict resolution remain resistant to including women, claiming success is judged on effectiveness, not inclusiveness. Yet the history of traditional peacemaking is littered with examples of failed mediation attempts and broken peace agreements...

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Percentage of peace agreements including at least a reference to women
(1990 to Oct 2000 and Nov 2000 to 2015)

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“If the goal of a peace process is only to end violence, then women — who are rarely the belligerents — are unlikely to be considered legitimate participants. If the goal is to build peace, however, it makes sense to gain more diverse inputs from the rest of society.”

Marie O’Reilly, Andrea Ó Súilleabháin, and Thania Paffenholz,

“Reimagining Peacemaking: Women’s Roles in Peace Processes”

PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN HUMANITARIAN SETTINGS

Humanitarians, development workers, the international and regional human rights system, and the interventions of our peace and security actors must address the full range of violations of the rights of women and girls protected by international humanitarian...

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Maternal Mortality Ratio, deaths per 100,000 live births, 2013 estimates

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“Now the same girls that were encouraged to go to school, aren’t going back. Some, because of the fear of all this crisis[...]. But other cases are because of their own families, their own parents. Some parents say, no more school for their children, no more school for their girls—especially girls—because they are afraid of the girl being abducted, being killed, and so on, so forth.”

Sylvie Jacqueline Ngodongmo, President,

Women International League for Peace and Freedom, Cameroon, UN Women Video Interview, 2015

TOWARD AN ERA OF TRANSFORMATIVE JUSTICE

Justice must be transformative in nature, addressing not only the singular violation experienced by women, but also the underlying inequalities which render women and girls vulnerable during times of conflict and which inform the consequences...

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Percentage of respondents that expressed if reparations are provided they should be given individually/to the community/both

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“We are not talking about any peace. We are talking about sustainable peace built on justice—and we call that real democratic peace.”

Syrian women's rights leader,

“The Pieces of Peace: Realizing Peace Through Gendered Conflict Prevention”

KEEPING THE PEACE IN AN INCREASINGLY MILITARIZED WORLD

Women’s presence in the security sector has been found to significantly lower rates of complaints of misconduct, significantly lower rates of improper use of force, or inappropriate use of weapons, and are less authoritarian in their interactions with citizens and lower ranking officers. Women in peacekeeping operations have been found to increase the credibiltiy of forces...

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“Time should come, when we don’t really need to refer to resolution 1325, because we have fully mainstreamed the role of women in peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and it will just be a natural phenomenon.”

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Namibia Minister of Foreign Affairs,

UN Women Video Interview, 2015

BUILDING INCLUSIVE AND PEACEFUL SOCIETIES IN THE AFTERMATH OF CONFLICT

Women in conflict-affected and recovering countries lack economic opportunities necessary for survival, remain confronted by daily violence in their homes and communities, struggle to cope with heavy burdens of care and dependency, and continue to endure the emotional and physical scars of conflict, without support or recognition. In the aftermath of conflict...

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“Gender must be at the heart of socioeconomic development and peace consolidation. Supporting women in their initiatives is supporting the entire nation.”

Respondent to the civil society survey for the Global Study, working in Burundi

PREVENTING CONFLICT: THE ORIGINS OF THE WOMENS, PEACE AND SECURITY AGENDA

The world has lost sight of some of the key demands of the women’s movement while advocating for the adoption of resolution 1325: reducing military expenditures, controlling the availability of armaments, promoting non-violent forms of conflict resolution, and fostering a culture of peace...

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Total military expenditure by region (Total USD billion, 2011 constant prices and exchange rates)

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“Women, peace and security is about preventing war, not about making war safer for women.”

Participant at the Asia-Pacific regional civil society consultation for the Global Study

COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM WHILE RESPECTING THE RIGHTS AND AUTONOMY OF WOMEN AND THEIR COMMUNITIES

Across regions, a common thread shared by extremist groups is that in every instance their advance has been coupled with attacks on the rights of women and girls—rights to education, to public life, and to decision-making over their own bodies....

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“The adoption of Security Council resolution 1325 was indeed a watershed, and there is much to be celebrated with this achievement. But we also have to use it to challenge the underpinnings of marketised and militarised international peace and security.”

Felicity Ruby, Secretary-General of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom at the time of the adoption of resolution 1325

KEY ACTORS FOR WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY (including HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS)

Since 2000, the UN has integrated WPS commitments into its entity-specific work and many Member States have adopted national plans to address and monitor implementation of the WPS agenda...

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Peacekeeping and Special Political Missions headed and subheaded by women

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“For this fifteenth anniversary I would like to see more member states develop and adopt national action plans…[N]ational action plans that will have the active participation of civil society, of local communities... National action plans that would have the necessary budget and technical resources so that we will not see governments napping…”

Mavic Cabrera-Belleza,

International Coordinator, Global Network of Women Peacebuilders

WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY AND THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL

Over the past fifteen years, the breadth and quantity of women, peace and security language used by the Council has greatly increased. However, actual implementation of these mandates has been uneven...

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“It is equally important that the Security Council, as the highest UN body entrusted with peace and security matters, leads by example in fully implementing the WPS agenda.”

The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, submission to the Global Study

LINKAGES BETWEEN HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS AND THE SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY: OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENHANCED ACCOUNTABILITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION

The Security Council, with its adoption of resolution 1325 and the six subsequent resolutions on women, peace and security, has made clear that women’s human rights and gender equality are central to the maintenance of international peace and security...

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“...[S]ustainable peace requires an integrated approach based on coherence between political and security measures, development and human rights agendas, including gender equality and the rule of law.”

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, submission to the Global Study

FINANCING OF THE WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY AGENDA

The failure to allocate sufficient resources and funds has been the most serious and persistent obstacle to implementation of women, peace and security commitments...

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The World Bank’s gender and non-gender informed allocations (Total USD million) to fragile and non-fragile states (Financial years 2010 - 2014)

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“We need long-term financial support—not driven by donor priorities for projects—in order to build our capacity to participate and address the structural inequalities which drive conflict in our region.”

Participant at the Asia-Pacific regional civil society consultation for the Global Study