UN Peacekeeping

Gender, Peacekeeping & Peacebuilding

Background on Gender and UN Peace Operations

Gender refers to the differing roles, and social relationship among, men, women, boys, and girls. These roles are shaped by social, cultural, economic, and political conditions, as well as expectations and obligations within society, which in turn influence how each group is affected by armed conflict. (Sorenson 1998)

The global attention toward gender in peace and security has come a long way in the last fifteen years.

  • 1990s: Contemporary armed conflicts increasingly targeted civilian populations; women and girls, in particular, were found to endure unimaginable suffering during armed conflict.
  • 1995: Women and armed conflict was identified as one of the critical areas of concern at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, prompting the adoption of gender-sensitive language within the field of conflict.
  • 2000: The 1998 Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court recognized rape and other sexual violence occurring within the context of war, as crimes against humanity.
  • 2000: The UN Security Council adopted resolution 1325 on “women, peace and security,” to address the impact of war on women and to underline the importance of their participation in all facets of UN peace operations. The resolution also recognized the contribution of local women to decision-making in conflict prevention and their proactive role in building local capacity as part of peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts.
  • 2002: In his report on women, peace and security, Secretary General Kofi Annan stated that “We can no longer afford to minimize or ignore the contributions of women and girls to all stages of conflict resolution, peacemaking, peace-building, peacekeeping and reconstruction processes. Sustainable peace will not be achieved without the full and equal participation of women and men.”

Gender Mainstreaming in UN Peace Operations

The understanding of the gender dimension of conflict is essential if peacekeeping and peacebuilding are to succeed in the long-term. Indeed, men, women, boys, and girls experience conflict differently, and as a result, they have distinct needs in the post-conflict phase. Contrary to common belief, women are both victims of, and participants in armed conflict. As victims, women are particularly vulnerable to threats of violence, including sexual violence. Women also participate actively in armed conflict. For example, women are believed to make up one-third of FARC members in Colombia and up to 30% of the fighting force in El Salvador; in addition, about 12% of the RUF in Sierra Leone were women. As a result, gender must be recognized as a vital component of plans and programs to avoid, mitigate and resolve conflict situations, and to build sustainable peace. Doing so involves mainstreaming gender perspectives in all aspects of UN peace operations to ensure that interventions are relevant to all stakeholders involved, responsive to their needs, and effective in its promotion of equality.

Gender mainstreaming refers to “the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality.” (ECOSOC Agreed conclusion 1997/2)

Role of Women in Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

Research shows that women can play a key role in peacekeeping situations. According to UNIFEM's 2000 Independent Experts Assessment on Women, War and Peace, the presence of women in peace operations (including female police, interpreters, and specialists) makes a positive difference. The presence of women:

  • Improves access and support for local women;
  • Facilitates communication with victims of assault, sexual abuse, violence, etc.;
  • Can provide a greater sense of security to local populations (women and children);
  • Helps create a safer environment for women in which they are not afraid to talk;
  • Makes men peacekeepers more reflective and responsible;
  • Broadens the repertoire of skills and styles available within a mission;
  • Can help to reduce conflict and confrontation.

At the beginning of 2006, women constituted approximately 1% of military personnel and 4% of police personnel in UN peacekeeping missions. Women also account for 30% of the international civilian staff and 28% of the nationally recruited civilian staff. While women are said to be underrepresented at all levels of UN peace support operations, participation is increasing.

Remaining Challenges

To improve mainstreaming of gender perspectives, the UN has recently introduced gender advisers to support the implementation of resolution 1325. Their role is to provide practical guidance and innovative strategies for addressing the specific needs of women and men in every aspect of UN operations (including DDR, police, military, mine action, elections, human rights and the rule of law). Ten peacekeeping missions currently have a full-time gender adviser. However, even with such efforts to mainstream gender perspectives in all aspects of UN peace operations and incorporate a gender dimension to international policies, gaps remain visible:

  • Programmes are often ‘gender blind;’ they do not take into account the different experiences of women and men, resulting in the implementation of narrow policies;
  • Gender discrimination (i.e., the issue of rape as a weapon of war) is still a major problem in armed conflict, as demonstrated by the thousands of children born out of rape and the growing number of women dying of HIV/AIDS;
  • Female combatants face particular challenges when returning to civilian life, as they are often stigmatized by their communities. By contrast, women also play a significant role in helping child soldiers to reintegrate into civilian life;
  • Women’s leadership in peace processes is still limited.

It is also important to recognize the crucial role of women in local communities. According to the 2004 Report of the Secretary General on Women, Peace and Security, “Women can call attention to tensions before they erupt in open hostilities by collecting and analysing early warning information on potential armed conflict. Women play a critical role in building the capacity of communities to prevent new or recurrent violence. Women’s organizations can often make contact with parties to conflict and interface with Governments and the United Nations.” The role of women is even greater when they are involved during the early stages of a mission.

Women Serving in UN High-Level Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding Appointments

Since the beginning of the 1990s, 5 women have been appointed as Head of mission or Special Representatives of the Secretary-General (SRSG). At present, there are no women appointed as SRSGs and 2 women appointed as Deputy Special Representatives of the Secretary-General (DSRSG). A number of women are also currently serving in other high-level UN appointments related to peace and security.

Former women SRSGs:

  • Margaret Joan Anstee—Angola (UNAVEM II), 1992-93.
  • Elizabeth Rehn—Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH), 1995-2001.
  • Carolyn McAskie—Burundi (ONUB), 2004-2006.
  • Ann Hercus—Cyprus (UNFICYP), 1998-99.
  • Angela King—South Africa (UNOMSA), 1992-94.

Current DSRSG:

  • Ameerah Haq—Afghanistan (UNAMA), June 2004.
  • Patricia Waring-Ripley—Kosovo (UNMIK), August 2005.

Women currently serving in other UN high-level appointments:

  • Radhika Coomaraswamy (Sri Lanka)—SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict.
  • Eveline Herfkens (Netherlands)—SG Executive Coordinator for the MDGs Campaign.
  • Hina Jilani (Pakistan)—SRSG on Human Rights Defenders.
  • Rachel N. Mayanja (Uganda)—UN Special Advisor on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women.
  • Carolyn McAskie (Canada)—UN Assistant Secretary General for Peacebuilding

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