Institutional is Ing Gender in Peacekeeping Operations-Lessons Learned and Best Practices

8/6/2019 Institutional is Ing Gender in Peacekeeping Operations-Lessons Learned and Best Practices

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Institutionalising Gender in Peacekeeping

Operations: Lessons Learned and BestPractices

Clare Hutchinson

Gender Advisory TeamUNDPKO


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Evolution of gender and

peacekeeping With the unanimous adoption of

Security Council Resolution 1325on Women, Peace and Security on

31 October 2000, a legal framework

was set to address womens rights

in the context of peacemaking,peacekeeping and peace-building

operations, laying the foundations for

institutionalisation of a broader

gender mandate for UN peacekeeping

operations.


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Small steps in a big mandate

Development of policy and operational tools;

Knowledge management and documentation ofgood practice;

Development of partnerships with Member Statesand UN system partners;

Promotion of gender balance among peacekeepingpersonnel;

Development and provision of gender awareness

training to peacekeeping personnel; Appointment of specialist gender advisors in the

missions.


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Where have we come from?

1999 the first Gender Specialist appointed to

Human Rights Section in UNAMSIL; Kosovo and Timor Gender Advisers;

The Windhoek Declaration, adoption of SCR1325;

2003 Gender components in 4 missions;

MONUC, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNAMA; 2004 Appointment of Gender Adviser HQ


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Making gender count!

Developed a team vision and identity;

Developed foundational policy and guidelines, 2006DPKO Policy Directive on Gender, 2008 SOPs andGA guidelines, 2006- now guidelines for the police,elections, political affairs officers and military;

Invested in knowledge management and knowledgesharing; Invested in cohesive approach to gender, annual

meetings, training, consultation with the field;

Adoption of DPKO/DFS Action Plan for 1325 andformation of the Gender Task Force;

Consultation with Member states


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Challenges remain

Lack of understanding of the negative

consequences if gender equality considerations areoverlooked;

Limitations in the political will to take this issue on

board in a serious way, Gender responsibility is the role only of gender

teams

Limited human and financial resources Lack of gender balance


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Good practice: Sudanese Women as agents

of peace UNMIS collaborated with academic institutionsin Khartoum and Southern Sudan to conduct

workshops on Young Women as Agents ofPeace. The workshops provided an opportunity to buildthe capacity of young women as future changeagents in creating and nurturing a culture of peace inpost-conflict Sudan. Womens recommendations included,establishing a committee to advocate for a cultureof peace; set up Peace Centres for young people;

include a peace syllabus in the school curricula;launch a public education campaign on toleranceand respect for diversity; creation of opportunitiesfor young women to participate in decision-making


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Good Practice: UNAMAhelps to

reform a controversial law The UNAMA Gender Unit supported

civil society groups in their successful

advocacy efforts around the ShiaPersonal Status Law. The law, whichprovoked international controversybecause of its contentious articles on

legalizing rape within marriage, andprohibiting the mobility of Afghanwomen.

UNAMA played an active collaborativerole, in providing substantive analysis ofthe law, and supporting theGovernment of Afghanistan, humanrights activists, and womens civilsociety groups in advocating for it.


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Good Practice: Security

Sector Reform in Burundi Strategy to integrate the specific

needs of men and women in the

SSR process, including facilitating aholistic approach to SSR in whichwomens needs, especially theirsafety from gender based violence,

were fully integrated into the reformprocess.

Training modules developed forsenior officials of the Force deDfense Nationale (FDN), andmunicipal administrators

The army trained troops and NCOson womens security and genderbalance in the army.

Establishment of womens units


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Good Practice: MINUSTAH

CVR

The CVR strategy is a community-based programme forthe reduction of violence in the most vulnerable areas inHaiti. 12 priority zones were identified in which

community forums were established, each managed by asecretariat of community representatives and chaired bythe office of the Mayor, and including womenassociations and organizations.

The forums are vehicles for discussion to establish thepriority needs of the community, identifying at-risk youthsto be assisted by professional training courses, and

serving as a basis for the development structuredcommunity cohesiveness. On the basis of recommendations from each forum, the

CVR programme develops, implements and monitors aseries of projects targeting the identified needs.

These include specifics projects for women and childrenvictims of violence, labour Intensive projects that employ

a large number of unskilled labourers of which 30 percent are women. CVR programme prioritize income generation projects

that specifically support women affected by armedviolence.


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Good Practice: Gender

policy in Liberias National

Police Force The number of women officers In the Liberia

National Police (LNP) has risen to 15 per centfrom 2009. This follows the 2006 adoption of theLNP Gender Policy, which among otherobjectives, aimed at increasing the number ofwomen police officers through the EducationSupport Programme (ESP).

The ESP fast tracks the education of womenwho dropped out of school during the conflict, toenable them to qualify for the West AfricanEducation Certificate, a requirement for entry tothe Police Academy. The ESP also acts as a

remedial course for the high levels of illiteracyamong women The presence of more women officers has been

accompanied by growing interest among youngwomen to join the LNP.


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BEST PRACTICE

ONUCI: Gender and

Media ONUCI through its gender unit and

PIO initiated training sessions tostrengthen the capacity of thestakeholders in national media.

Local journalists, Directors of

publications, womens networks,NGOs and women members ofpolitical parties were trained on howto engender information and media

materials to improve the image ofwomen in politics and other domains. It highlighted how to eradicate

stereotyped trends in portrayingwomen and girls in media and how tocontribute in improving the image ofwomen in the electoral process.


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Good Practice Importance

of gender in mission

planning

(UNAMID) was established in January 2008with a Gender Unit in place from the outset. Planning documents contained gender

equality objectives that enabled the GenderAdvisory Unit to provide technical support to

the military, police and relevant civiliansections in implementing their specificgender mandates.

In particular, the Gender Unit collaboratedwith the Chief of Staffs Planning Unit in thedevelopment of the Mission ImplementationPlan and Work Plan, thus ensuring theestablishment of gender equality as astrategic objective of the mission ab initio.

Gender officer also sits in JMAC to providegender guidance in planning.

Documents

Institutional is Ing Gender in Peacekeeping Operations-Lessons Learned and Best Practices