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WOMEN'S UN REPORT NETWORK - WUNRN®
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN & THE HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE
United Nations Human Rights Council
May 31, 2013Geneva, Switzerland
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
Menahem Kahana/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Israeli officers in a Jerusalem neighborhood adjacent to the Old City, during the demolition by the Jerusalem municipality of a Palestinian house built without a permit.
Israel-Palestine - Women in the Crossfire of Conflict - Jerusalem
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
Eleanor Roosevelt served as chair of the Human Rights Committee, and it was her leadership that was the major factor ensuring the passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Eleanor Roosevelt regarded the Universal Declaration as her greatest accomplishment.
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
IRAQ - WOMEN ON THE FRONTLINES OF WAR - LOOKING FOR THE MISSING
IRAQ - A desperate mother searches for her two children after they disappeared amid a gigantic fire at an illegal petrol station in central Baghdad. ICRC
© Panos Pictures / M. Saman
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
THE HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE
On 12 November 1984 the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 39/11 annexing the Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace, which reaffirms “that the principal aim of the United Nations is the maintenance of international peace and security” and the “aspirations of all peoples to eradicate war from the life of mankind and, above all, to avert a world-wide nuclear catastrophe”. The Spanish Society for the Advancement of the International Human Rights Law adopted in October 2006 the “Luarca Declaration on the Human Right to Peace”, which represents the result of many meetings of Spanish intellectuals and professors of international law and international relations in 2004-2006. The Association organized regional meetings in Africa, North and South America, Asia, and Europe and the Arab world. In March 2007 a consultation took place at the Palais des Nations to coincide with the fourth session of the Human Rights Council. The purpose of these meetings is to take into account the approach of different cultures in relation to the human rights to peace, and to focus on the mutual relationship between peace and human rights. _______________________________________________________________________________________
LUARCA DECLARATION ON THE HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE — Preamble —
The General Assembly,(1) Considering that, in accordance with the Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations and the purposes and principles established therein, peace is a universal value, the raison d'être of the Organisation and a prerequisite and consequence of the enjoyment of human rights by everyone; (2) Recognising the positive concept of peace which goes beyond the strict absence of armed conflict and is linked to the economic, social and cultural development of peoples as a condition for satisfying the basic needs of human beings, to the elimination of all kinds of violence and to the effective respect for all human rights;
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group on the Draft United Nations Declaration on the Right to Peace
MandateAt its 20th session, on 5 July 2012, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 20/15 by which it decided to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group to meet for 4 working days prior to the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council (25 February-22 March 2013) to progressively negotiate a draft United Nations declaration on the right to peace, on the basis of the draft submitted by the Advisory Committee without prejudging relevant past, present and future views and proposals.
Background
In its resolution 8/9, the Human Rights Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to convene a workshop on the right of peoples to peace which took place on 15 - 16 December 2009 in Geneva. Several high level experts participated in the workshop. The report of the Office of the High Commissioner on the outcome of the expert workshop (A/HRC/14/38) was presented to the 14th session of the Human Rights Council.
The Human Rights Council, in its resolution 14/3, noted with satisfaction the outcome of the workshop on the right of peoples to peace, and further requested the Advisory Committee in consultation with Member States, civil society, academia and all relevant stakeholders, to prepare a draft declaration on the right of peoples to peace, and to report on progress to the Council at its 17th session.
The Human Right to Peace Impacts All Rights of Women Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible. OHCHR HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN IMPACTED BY WAR, CONFLICT, PEACE *Civil & Political Rights*Economic, Social & Cultural Rights*Life & Personal Security - Freedom from Violence*Health - Physical & Mental + Reproductive Health*Food, Water, Sanitation*Education - Women & Children*Land, Housing/Shelter, Property*Work - Economics - Poverty*Citizenship-Nationality*Freedom of Religion or Belief*Internal Displacement*Refugee Status*Freedom of Expression*Life & Survival of Self, Family +
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
ZIMBABWE - A STARVING MOTHER WITH HER CHILD ON HER BACK, FLEES ACROSS THE BORDER TO ESCAPE CONFLICT-RIDDEN ZIMBABWE
A Zimbabwean starving woman with her child on her back flees across the border into South Africa at Beitbridge Border Post.
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
SOMALIA - HUNGRY WOMEN & CHILDREN IN LINE FOR FOOD AID IN WAR-RAVAGED SOMALIA
Somalia - Most of those waiting to be fed in Mogadishu were women and children.
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
Who Are the Feminine Faces of War?She is the Darfur, Sudan, 12-year-old girl, Fatouma, going from a refugee camp to get firewood, captured by militia and gang raped. Fatouma then gave birth to a rape-produced child of the enemy. Both mother and child will be always scorned. In Fatouma's case, the child she has borne marks her forever as a victim, and may spoil her chances at marriage, at having more children, at having a normal life if her family ever returns to its village, which was burned to the ground by militants more than a year ago. Naka Nathaniel/NYTimes.com
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
COMFORT WOMEN - WORLD WAR II SEX SLAVERY BY JAPANESE MILITARY
Former “comfort woman” Lee Yong-Soo (L) stands beside her supporters holding portraits of Philippine, South Korean and Chinese comfort women who were sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II.
The “Comfort Women” were primarily girls under 18, some as young as eight, who were subjected to systematic rape and enslavement at “Comfort Stations” set up in Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and China. Most of the survivors are in their 80’s.
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
WOMEN IN BLACK - GLOBAL MOVEMENT FOR PEACE & JUSTICEWomen in Black is a world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence. As women experiencing these things in different ways in different regions of the world, we support each other’s movements. An important focus is challenging the militarist policies of our own governments. We are not an organization, but a means of communicating and a formula for action.
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
Afghan Daughters as 'Opium Brides' Pay the Price for Poppy Eradication
UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS 1820, 1888, & 1889 The content of Resolution 1325 was complemented and expanded by the passage of Resolution 1820 in 2008 and subsequently Resolutions 1888 and 1889 in 2009. These Resolutions all cover topics under Women, Peace and Security.
Resolution 1820 condemns the use of rape and other forms of sexual violence in conflict situations, stating that rape can constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity, or a constitutive act with respect to genocide. The Resolution calls on Member States to comply with their obligations to prosecute the perpetrators of sexual violence, to ensure that all victims of sexual violence have equal protection under the law and equal access to justice, and to end impunity for sexual violence.
Resolution 1888 complements Resolution 1820 and asks the Secretary-General to rapidly deploy a team of experts to situations of particular concern regarding sexual violence. The Resolution further calls for the appointment of a special representative to lead efforts to end conflict-related sexual violence against women and children, and to include information about the prevalence of sexual violence in a report by UN peacekeeping missions to the Security Council.
Resolution 1889 reaffirms the provisions of Resolution 1325, stressing the need for Member States to effectively implement the Resolution. The Resolution calls on the Secretary-General to develop a strategy, including through appropriate training, to increase the number of women appointed to pursue good offices on his behalf and to submit within six months a set of indicators to track implementation of the Resolution.
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
MILITARY SPENDING VS. GENDER EQUALITY
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
Who Are the Feminine Faces of War?She is the woman in her 60’s in Bosnia, who in the privacy of a room of women victims of war crimes, takes off part of her clothes to show the scars of how she was abused in the war and cries as she lost her husband and sons and is a religious woman and was violated by the enemy.
BOSNIA WOMEN & THE PAIN OF CONFLICT
Bosnia, Srebrenica - Women pray together at a memorial in honour of their missing relatives . 08/2001 © CICR /DANZIGER, Nick
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
WOMEN FEEL TOGETHER IN A COMPLEX WORLD
What does it feel like to hide under the bed with your children, when bombs burst outside your door? What does it feel like to see your young daughter go off for firewood, and return raped, violated? What does it feel like to see your adult son step outside your village home door, to be shot and killed by waiting enemy insurgents? What does it feel like to be a young bride seeking refuge in a closet during conflict, going into labor with your first child, and medical care elusive? What does it feel like to experience your home, your dreams, even your family, evaporate in war, and for which you are innocent, helpless? What does it feel like to believe in social justice, human rights, dignity of woman and man and child, and yet starve, be displaced constantly, have no real citizenship or identity during conflict, lose all your possessions and yet protect the family as best you can, try to be strong outside, but inside feel pain, anguish, despair, tears.....tears!
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
PAKISTAN - FIGHTING CONTINUES - DISPLACED WOMEN & CHILDREN
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
GEORGIA-OSSETIA - CONFLICT - SUDDEN INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT
Government sources suggest that some 100,000 people have been uprooted by the ongoing conflict. Up to 12,000 people could be displaced within South Ossetia, say local authorities. Russian officials in North Ossetia indicate that there are some 30,000 people from South Ossetia now in the Russian Federation. Georgian authorities report that several thousand people have fled from South Ossetia into Georgia proper.
The family of Ramiashvili Giorgi, left, fleeing Gori, Georgia, on the back of the truck.
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
WOMEN, WAR, PEACE & DISPLACEMENT - UN WOMEN
The often-cited statistic that as many as 80 per cent of displaced populations are women and children fails to convey the complete devastation that displacement visits upon women and communities. Leaving homes, property and community behind renders women vulnerable to violence, disease and food scarcity, whether they flee willingly or unwillingly. Internally displaced women face additional dangers as they are often invisible to the international community within the context of violent conflict. Camps for refugees and the internally displaced have been criticized for not addressing women’s needs and concerns in their design and procedure. Failure to account for women’s security and health needs can make a camp that was intended to provide refuge a dangerous and deadly place for women and girls. Fortunately, the UN, governments and civil society organizations that serve displaced women are beginning to rise to the challenge of including women and a gender perspective at every stage of policy-making and implementation.
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
CONGO - RAPE EPIDEMIC RAISES TRAUMA OF CONGO WAR
Maria Shuluba, 53, was raped by armed men near Bukavu, Congo, in South Kivu Province, the epicenter of a rape epidemic. Hazel Thompson for The New York Times
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
ARGENTINA - MOTHERS OF THE PLAZA DE MAYO –MOTHERS OF "THE DISAPPEARED"
During the 1970s and 1980s, 30,000 of Argentina's sons and daughters were kidnapped, tortured and killed in the country's "Dirty War." Military juntas were deployed to annihilate left-wing opposition from trade unionists, students and activists. When the government's fear tactics had forced much of the population into silence, a group of mothers refused to hide themselves away. The mothers demanded to know the fate of their "disappeared" children by gathering and being seen. Linked arm and arm, they circled the plaza outside the Presidential Palace in Buenos Aires, carrying their children's photographs and names.
Marguerite Bouvard
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
CHECHNYA-RUSSIA - WOMEN WITH PICTURES OF MISSING RELATIVESPost-Conflict Picture Shows Bullet Holes in Background.
International concern for human rights abuses in Chechnya has virtually disappeared since the “war on terror” began in 2001. Priorities of the international community have shifted while tens of thousands of civilians have died, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and access to justice and fundamental freedoms are continuously denied.
Photographer: Thomas Dworzak
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
INDIA-KASHMIR - "HALF WIDOWS" WAIT FOR LOST HUSBANDS OF CONFLICTUncertain Status Creates Challenges for Support, Rights
Naseema, wife of missing Mehjaj-ud-Din Dar, sits outside her home in Srinagar in this September 23, 2007 - REUTERS/Danish Ismail. SRINAGAR (Reuters) - "I am neither a widow nor divorced, I am married but without a husband," said 35-year-old Rafiqa. Rafiqa, a mother of four, is one of Kashmir's hundreds of "half-widows" -- women whose husbands disappeared after their arrest by Indian security forces. Many of these disappeared men are presumed kidnapped, tortured and killed.
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
IRAQ’S WAR WIDOWS FACE DIRE NEEDS WITH LITTLE AID
Ahmed Hassan Sharmal, right, and his extended family of 30, including three war widows, are forced to share only two trailers.
BAGHDAD — Her twin sisters were killed trying to flee Falluja in 2004. Then her husband was killed by a car bomb in Baghdad just after she had become pregnant. When her own twins were 5 months old, one was killed by an explosive planted in a Baghdad market. Now, Nacham Jaleel Kadim, 23, lives with her remaining daughter in a trailer park for war widows and their families in one of the poorest parts of Iraq’s capital. Johan Spanner for The New York Times
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
GIRL CHILD SOLIDERS GLOBAL REPORT
Girl soldiers and others gathered at a Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) (Maoist) event in Tila, Rolpa district, Nepal (Marcus Bleasdale 2005). Despite progress, efforts to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers are too little and too late for many children.
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
AFGHANISTAN - WOMEN REPORTERS UNDER THREAT
Female journalists stay at home or change profession because of attacks.
By Shapoor Saber in Herat
Khadija Ahadi used to be the most active journalism student in town. At press conferences in Herat, she would always be there with her video camera, usually the only woman in the room. Nobody was surprised that she landed a job as the deputy editor-in-chief of Radio Faryad after her studies. But now her successful career has suddenly been stopped – by force.
“Some men threatened me because I am a reporter, but initially I kept working and I didn’t tell my family because they would have stopped me,” said Ahadi, 32. “Then one day they threw two grenades in my house. I have not gone to work since.’’
Although Herat is the most developed and secure province of Afghanistan after Kabul, very traditional views on the role of women in society persist. Women are struggling to make an appearance in public life.
Ahadi is not the only woman journalist with problems. Those who graduate from the journalism department of Herat University also face violent resistance when they start working. The situation is so bad that an increasing number of women reporters stay at home or change profession.
They all know about Nilofar Habibi, the former newsreader on Herat’s state-run radio and television station. Last year, men cut her in the arm with a razor blade and threatened to kill her if she appeared on television again. Shortly thereafter, a woman came to the house of the 22-year-old journalist and stabbed her in the stomach.
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
LIBERIA - INDIAN WOMEN UN PEACEKEEPERS HAILED IN LIBERIA
The UN’s first all-female peacekeeping force of more than 100 Indian policewomen arrive in Monrovia in Jan 2007.(CNN) -- They are trained in sophisticated combat tactics and weaponry, crowd and mob control, counter-insurgency. They patrol the streets of the Liberian capital, expected to keep the peace after years of war. Most of them are also mothers and form an all-women unit from India, policing in a country where a 15-year conflict was characterized by sexual violence. Rape, according to the United Nations, remains the No. 1 crime reported to police in Liberia. The Indian women were pioneers, the unit's experience in Liberia an experiment for the United Nations.
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
UN ARMS TRADE TREATY
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
HUMANITARIAN IMPACT OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS: UNSPEAKABLE SUFFERING - WOMEN
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
SYRIA CONFLICT - MOTHER'S FACE OF TRAUMA - ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS
Hussein Malla/Associated Press
A Syrian mother carried her injured son into Lebanon.
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
WOMEN’S UN REPORT NETWORKWUNRN®
WOMEN - UNTAPPED SOURCE OF PEACE
Untapped source of peace,The only real hopeIs to draw upon the collective wisdom of women. Those with direct experience of the cost of war:The life of child, grandchild, sibling, spouse.The loss of limb or mind of someone near and dear,The loss of laughter, the pervasiveness of fear,The loss of hope for the future.
Untapped source of peace,Those who have known domestic violenceSeen the effect of bullying on sonsSeen daughters become silentSeen light go out in their eyesThe loss of innocence,in an unsafe world.the message deliveredthat they don't matter. Untapped source of peace,Women with empathywho live in a world apart:are safe, loved, and fortunate. yet can imaginebeing helpless, beaten and rapedThen forced to bear a childconceived in violence.
Women who know in their heartsThat what happens to any womananywherecould happen to them. Untapped source of peaceWomen who see loved ones filled with vengeance and hate,Hyper-vigiliant, fear-ridden, or afraid to sleep because of the nightmares.Husbands, brothers, sons and now daughtersHome from warsBearing little resemblance to who they could have beenIn a peaceful world. Untapped source of peaceWomen in circles,Women connecting,Women togetherBringing the sacred feminine, Maternal instinct, sister archetypeMother power Into the world. --Jean Shinoda BolenFrom Urgent Message From Mother: Gather the Women, Save the World
