Non Violent Peacekeepers playing a role in South Sudan

NCWC delegate Ellen Judd sat in on a session at the CSW with  Mel Duncan (a co-founder) and Doris Moriani, the  CEO of Nonviolent Peaceforce, and suggested this would be a good article to share. Also the link the Nonviolent Web site -
www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org

Many of you have been inquiring about the volatile situation in South Sudan, where we presently have 125 unarmed civilian peacekeepers on the ground.
I want to be clear that I am not writing to ask you for money. As someone who has been interested in Nonviolent Peaceforce, you should be informed about the work that is being done amid an escalating war. 
 
Yesterday, our Country Director in South Sudan, Tiffany Easthom, was interviewed by the Canadian Broadcasting Company: http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/ID/2451150545/.
 



We have teams protecting civilians in ten locations including Bentiu and Bor, communities that have experienced civilian massacres in the past week. Tiffany is on her way to Bentiu as I write this.
 
The crisis is overwhelming. I am so proud of our peackeepers who are courageously standing with and protecting as many civilians as they can.
In Bor, two of our peacekeepers were in the United Nations base when the attack started. They took shelter inside a tukul (mud hut) along with five women and nine children. 

On three seperate occassions men with guns approached the peacekeepers and demanded they leave the women and children to be killed. By refusing to leave them, the peacekeepers saved the lives of these women and children. 

We just completed the training of a new team of peacekeepers yesterday and start training for another team next Monday. We have a trauma counselor on the ground supporting our peacekeepers and providing psychological first aid.
While this is a highly combustible situation, I want to assure you we are following strict security protocols to protect our peacekeepers. 

Currently, I am on my way to Los Angeles to speak at the Pacific Council about unarmed civilian peacekeeping and protection work in South Sudan. 

Mel Duncan, Co-Founder and Director of Advocacy and Outreach, is in New York advising UN officials about civilian protection in South Sudan. 

I will keep you informed as the crisis unfolds.

In Solidarity,
Doris MarianiCEO Nonviolent Peaceforce

AWID - Association of Women and Developemtn issuea statement following the CSW Agreed Conclusions

CSW 58 AGREED CONCLUSIONS - REALITIES OF DEBATES, GOOD NEWS & CHALLENGES - MISSED OPPORTUNITIES - AWID

March 28, 2014 - This year’s negotiations at the CSW were hotly contested, as usual, and very important because of the new development framework that is being put forward to replace the MDGs when they expire in 2015.  As such, women’s rights advocates, organisations and movements worked extremely hard to retain existing language and tried to push forward language so that the Agreed Conclusions contained clear commitments for gender equality and women’s human rights.

The document importantly recognises that “almost 15 years after the MDGs were launched, no country has achieved equality for women and girls, and significant levels of inequality between women and men persist” also highlighting that several critical issues were not adequately included in the MDGs, including violence against women and girls; child, early and forced marriage; women’s and girls’ disproportionate share of unpaid work, particularly unpaid care work; women’s access to decent work, the gender wage gap, employment in the informal sector, low paid and gender-stereotyped work such as domestic and care work; women’s equal access to, control and ownership of assets and productive resources including land, energy and fuel, and women’s inheritance rights; women’s  and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights.

However, the geopolitics and conservative backlash that we spoke of in our recent FF, were palpable in the last days of negotiations last week, which resulted in a set of Agreed Conclusions that have largely been welcomed by women’s rights advocates, organisations and movements.

The good
Some of the important achievements in the ACs includes explicit reference to the need to learn lessons from the MDGs in shaping the post-2015 development, calling on States to “tackle critical remaining challenges through a transformative and comprehensive approach and calls for gender equality, the empowerment of women and human rights of women and girls to be reflected as a stand-alone goal and to be integrated through targets and indicators into all goals of any new development framework.” 

There is strong language on violence against women and girls (VAWG), including explicit reference to eliminating all harmful customary practices, including – female genital mutilation (FGM), child, early and forced marriage, through enacting and enforcing laws.  There are also important references to natural disasters and climate change, although no reference to common but differentiated responsibility; and the role of the media in elimination of gender stereotypes was included.

The document importantly recognises role of feminists, women’s and community-based organizations in placing the interests, needs and visions of women on national, regional and international agendas.

Women’s rights advocates fought hard to ensure that restrictive language on families, which does not recognise diverse forms of families was not included in the final text, along with reference to sovereignty which can be seen as a ‘get out jail free card’ for States to renege on their responsibilities.

Despite a lot of resistance from conservative opposition, there is some language on sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights (SRHR), including access to abortion services where they are legal and some language on comprehensive sexual education (CSE).

The bad and ugly
But as has become the norm at CSW, there were tense negotiations on some of the more contested issues, with a small minority of conservative governments, including the Holy See, that hampered negotiations by objecting to concepts as fundamental as gender and the human rights of women.  In the final days of negotiations the Holy See, which only holds special observer status at the UN, went as far as to question the legitimacy of the CSW process and the final outcome document.

The AC’s fail to recognise the landmark Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA) of the World Conference on Human Rights that took place in Vienna 20 years ago; and there was lack of recognition, throughout the two week negotiations, of the indivisibility of human rights. Specific language related to the violence and discrimination that people face because of their real of perceived sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) was excluded despite the principles of human rights, which embody non-discrimination as a core principle for human rights to be guaranteed.

The Commission also failed to make the link to between sustainable development -a multidimensional concept that has ecological, economic and social dimensions – and respect for sexual and reproductive rights and diverse sexualities and gender identities.  The exclusion of reference to specific marginalised groups in the text also means that the rights of sex workers have been excluded. 

Missed opportunities
While the Commission recognised the world financial and economic crises, it did not go far enough in highlighting the particular negative impacts they have had on development, nor the need for regulation and to hold those responsible accountable.  It also missed the opportunity to recognise the need for a structural changes to the current economic model and to make link between economics and development.  Strong language regarding increasing the effectiveness of financial resources across all sectors to achieve gender equality was watered down, calling for voluntary innovative financing mechanisms as appropriate rather than aligned with existing human rights obligations. Reference the accountability of state and non-state actors for the promotion of gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment was also excluded from the final ACs, as was language to ensure access to remedies, reparation and redress.

At least year’s CSW women’s rights advocates worked hard for new language on women human rights defenders (WHRDs) to be included in the ACs.  While this year’s Commission acknowledges the public and legitimate role of WHRDS in promoting and protecting human rights, democracy, rule of the law and development, the Commission missed the opportunity to include language related to ending impunity harassment, criminalization and aggression that WHRDs experience both because of who they are and the work they do.

Link to the Agreed Conclusions

Here is the link to the Agreed Conclusions from the 58th meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women -

http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/CSW/58/CSW58-agreedconclusions-advanceduneditedversion.pdf

Report by Daniela Chivu - Women’s Political Participation and Representation Making Development Sustainable, Making Governments Responsive in Africa

Moderator: H.E. Mr. Charles Ntwaage, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Botswana to the United Nations

Dr. Massimo Tommasoli, Permanent Observer for the International IDEA to the United Nations

Ms. Rumbidzai Kanawasvika, Senior Program Manager, Democracy & Gender, International Institute For Democracy And Electoral Assistance (IDEA)

Magda, Maria del Carmen Alanis Figueroa, Magistrate , Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary of Mexico

Ms. Rumbidzai Kanawasvika, Senior Program Manager, Democracy & Gender, International Institute For Democracy And Electoral Assistance (IDEA) 

Women’s political participation in Africa

The political leadership in Africa is rapidly changing and the role of women’s participation in politics has become a priority. The emergence of new a political approach and leadership in Africa it is being looked at more and more through a Gender’s lens.

The leadership of a woman at the helm of the country or in a ministerial position has become the new goal for most political parties, for instance Liberia and Malawi have women presidents. Through the years political parties have traditionally belonged to men, although outnumbered by women, translated in numbers of votes. Nevertheless, when it comes to political representation women lack leadership in numbers. Consequently, African States are striving to have equal representation. Nonetheless, it is very important to understand how political parties provide input in their agendas during the electoral campaigns and gender equality.

Factors: Who influences progress?  

As women`s leadership lacks in numbers and men dominate the political arena progress is influenced by men, the leadership. The willingness of the political party to promote women candidates within the structure of their parties becomes crucial before and during the election campaign.

As the political parties build their manifestos for the election campaigns and as it gets closer to the elections momentum the idea of gender equality evaporates; even when countries have committed quotas to be met. The numbers do not match. Therefore, gender capacity building based on given quotas among the candidates is not met.  Women being part of the decision making process and asserting political leadership is being seen as `` taking the kitchen from home and bringing it into the party`` meaning that the function of women in politics is not relevant.

Furthermore, the commitments taken by African states in respect to gender equality is 30% to 40%, for example, Rwanda has integrated a constitutional provision which allows women to take a stand and become candidates in their party of preference. Thus far, 85% of the political parties in Africa have women in ministerial position, as a result of their participation in politics and seeking leadership. Nevertheless, these women hold particular files which pertain particular to women, the issues have been ghettoized.  The results, of encouraging women to participate in politics while promoting the interest of a political party in order to win any election campaign is women dealing only with women’s issues.  

Magda, Maria del Carmen Alanis Figueroa, Magistrate , Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary of Mexico

The consequences for women candidates in Mexico

Unlike the African political parties Mexico political parties approach to women candidates it quite different.  After approximately ten years of struggle, women in Mexico not only obtained a specific quota for women candidates, but have achieved to amend the Mexican constitution re-assuring women’s participation in politics. In spite, all efforts in the past five years the quota was not attained as expected. Women’s national organizations found themselves in court once again fighting for their rights.

This took another constitutional amendment ruled for new criteria, based on which a political party will choose their candidates; replace a candidate during an election campaign and after and most importantly to ensure the place of a female candidate.  If a political party, while choosing the candidates prior to an election campaign, cannot find a woman candidate the incumbent cannot a man. During an election campaign if a woman candidate resigns, she can only be replaced by another woman in an open and transparent process. Therefore, this practice will ensure gender equality.      

How the process is being undermined by men within the parties?

Most women candidates are being threatened by their male counterparts, the threats usually do not come from the candidates directly, but from those who support them. They receive personal death threats, sometimes their family members may even killed or their businesses sabotaged which in most cases are their only sources of revenue. For the women who already occupy a seat in the Mexican parliament the threats are a little more different and more persistent if they choose to run for a second mandate.

The threats begin first on the leader of the party discouraging him to allow women to run a second term, if the leader does not take the threat seriously the woman who occupies the seat will be the one who will have to take an immediate decision. Although, not all women give up their seats there are some who stand and fight for the idea of women’s participation in politics.  Consequently, in some countries achieving gender equality could be a life threatening goal.

Personal note,

How all of the above relates to us Canadian women?  We are all women we all fight for equality of rights. Canada in the last three years has become the 52^nd country in the world with respect to women’s participation into politics, women Parliamentarians. None of the political parties in Canada has taken a firm commitment to ensure a quota of women candidates. Although, in the above given examples, quotas of women candidates have been established by political parties but not respected. However, as stated above, in some cases, women fight with their lives for this right; we must agree that those women have achieved something great. Even for all the States that have female leadership, there is still a lot of work to be done and much more to be improved, particularly to achieve and maintain gender equality, the rule of law as well as human rights and education.

The political awakening of these women is an important momentum for all of us. Yes, we do have rights and we enjoy them, but there is one right we do not really practice, that of being politically active and supporting women candidates in all political parties in Canada.  Perhaps, it is time for us to re-assess our stands in this respect and perhaps it is also time  for us to become more vocal, more demanding and expecting more from our political parties.  Canada’s commitment with respect to gender equality in political parties remains none existent. It is time we stop asking and we start demanding.

--Daniela Chivu

Summary Report done by Bonnie Destounis

As a first experience, attendance to the CSW 58 Session was an eye opener for me. Although aware of the inequalities that women confront, I recognized the severity of female victimization. After the first two days, I realized that I was in culture shock, totally overwhelmed by what I heard! 

Millennium Developmental Goals for women and girls were all new to me. I listened to many excellent presentation about the atrocities committed, the violence and inequity that women and girls experience in both unindustrialized countries and developing countries. I met and listened to presentations made by exceptional women. Some of the presenters were women who rose from poverty in stricken areas to higher education and now represented NGO's at the United Nations! They had the opportunity to share their experiences, influence NGO's and the world. Through these presentations, I recognized that although there are standards for developmental goals, women are habitually not included in the development or in the implementation strategies. Women from the grass roots must participate in community based programs to ensure success. One of the most successful governments was in Rwanda. Forty eight women are members of parliament due to the fact that so many men were killed in the genocide. The country is now thriving. The success is credited to the women running their country!

Exploitation of women and girls takes place primarily from poor countries and frequently from countries where they suffered an environmental disaster such as that in Haiti. Girls and women are left homeless and desperate. They are promised work. They are kidnapped, abused and forced into prostitution. This is a serious problem that affects all countries including Canada where they are brought to and forced into prostitution. The NGO's impelled that men should be prosecuted for using a service rather than criminalize women for prostitution. Major cities across Canada are places where kidnapped women are forced into prostitution. Several massage parlors offer more than a massage! This is a very lucrative business that is established in developed countries like Canada and the United States. These are usually operated by cartels who force women into prostitution (through false promises) .

Education plays a key role in reducing violence against women and girls. The educational program must be an integral part of early education programs in schools; young people must be given the tools for empowerment; boys and men play an equally important role in this education. Men must comprehend the magnitude of human rights as they pertain to women. Authorities, such as police, lawyers, judges all have to understand the significance that women have equal rights and participate as equal citizens. They must be educated as well.

I appreciated that many of the parallel presentations that I attended presented significant data that reported on the success or failure of the diverse projects implemented in various countries. The fact that data is being on the projects implemented, will hopefully contribute to solving some of the inequities women and girls continually confront.

Because of my first hand experience in living and working at the Baffin Regional Hospital, NWT Canada, when I listened to the many presentations that concentrated on the violence and assaults towards women and girls, my concern focused on Canada's Aboriginal population where women and girls do encounter comparable experiences and hardships. As Canadians, we must address issues in our own country as well, the Aboriginal population!

Although not part of the CSW the "equality effect of the 160 Girls", partially funded by the National Council of Women of Canada Development Organization, has made legal history in Kenya, indeed in Africa and beyond; it has set the high water mark for girls' rights internationally. The decision recognizes the obligation on the Kenyan police to conduct proper investigations in cases of sexual abuse, and could easily be extended to apply to other forms of gender-based violence. Equally of importance is the fact that the police asked for training to assist them in the execution with the High Court's "160 Girls" decision. The equality effect and its partners will also engage in a variety of public education strategies in foreign countries to raise awareness about the court decision, and to keep the State accountable. The success of this victory provides inspiration that progress is being made!

I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to attend the Commission of the Status of Women forum (CSW58). It was an overwhelming and exceptional experience that I recommend.

--Bonnie Destounis

Women Seek Stand-Alone Goal for Gender in Post-2015 Agenda

By Thalif Deen Reprint |      

Brazilian women have been making headway in traditionally male-dominated areas. Construction workers in Rio de Janeiro. Credit: Fabiana Frayssinet/IPS

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 24 2014 (IPS) - The 45-member U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) concluded its annual 10-day session Saturday with several key pronouncements, including on reproductive health, women’s rights, sexual violence, female genital mutilation (FGM) and the role of women in implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The heaviest round of applause came when the Commission specifically called for a “stand-alone goal” on gender equality – a longstanding demand by women’s groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) – in the U.N.’s post-2015 development agenda.

Still, the primary inter-governmental policy-making body on gender empowerment did not weigh in on a key proposal being kicked around in the corridors of the world body: a proposal for a woman to be the next U.N. secretary-general (SG), come January 2017.

 
Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, a former U.N. under-secretary-general who is credited with initiating the conceptual and political breakthrough resulting in the adoption of U.N. Security Council resolution 1325 on women and peace and security, told IPS the annual CSW session is the largest annual gathering with special focus on issues which impact on women, and thereby humanity as a whole.

"It attracts hundreds of government and civil society participants representing their nations and organisations. After the very late night consensus adoption, the agreed conclusions of its 58th session, which focused on the post-2015 development agenda, show a striking gap in firmly establishing the linkage between peace and development in the document," he said.
"The mainstream discussions in this context have always been highlighting the point that MDGs lacked the energy of women's equal participation at all decision making levels and the overall and essential link between peace and development. So, in UN's work on the new set of development goals need to overcome this inadequacy. Somehow this still remains in the outcome of CSW-58.

"Adoption of the landmark U.N. Security Council resolution 1325 boosted the essential value of women's participation. Its focus relates to each of the issues on every agenda of the U.N. There is a need for holistic thinking and not to compartmentalise development, peace, environment in the context of women's equality and empowerment," Ambassador Chowdhury said. "It is necessary that women's role in peace and security is considered as an essential element in post-2015 development agenda."

“I did not hear it, but it’s a good question to raise given that a major section of the CSW’s ‘Agreed Conclusions’ were on ensuring women’s participation and leadership at all levels and strengthening accountability,” Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, international coordinator at the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), told IPS.

She said that in pre-CSW conversations, she heard the names of two possible candidates from Europe – whose turn it is to field candidates on the basis of geographical rotation – but both were men.

“The question is: Is the United Nations ready for a woman SG?” she asked.
Dr. Abigail E. Ruane, PeaceWomen Programme Manager at the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), told IPS the biggest thing at the CSW session was support for a gender equality goal in the post-2015 development agenda and the integration of gender throughout the proposed sustainable development goals (SDGs).

She said the recognition of the link between conflict and development was also important because it is not one that is usually recognised.

Asked about the proposal for a woman SG, she said: “I didn’t hear any discussion of a woman SG in the sessions I participated in.”

Harriette Williams Bright, advocacy director of Femmes Africa Solidarite (FAS), also told IPS the various civil society and CSW sessions she attended did not bring up the discussion of a woman as the next SG.

Still, she said the commitment of the CSW to a stand-alone goal on gender equality is welcomed and “we are hopeful that member states will honour this commitment in the post-2015 development framework and allocate the resources and political will needed for concrete progress in the lives of women, particularly in situations of conflict.”

Antonia Kirkland, legal advisor at Equality Now, told IPS her organisation was heartened that U.N. member states were able to reach consensus endorsing the idea that gender equality, the empowerment of women and the human rights of women and girls must be addressed in any post-2015 development framework following the expiration of MDGs in 2015.

“Throughout the process there has been broad agreement that freedom from violence against women and girls and the elimination of child marriage and FGM must be achieved,” she said.

“Equality Now believes sex discriminatory laws, including those that actually promote violence against women and girls, should be repealed as soon as possible to really change harmful practices and social norms,” Kirkland added.
Cabrera-Balleza of GNWP said the call for a stand-alone goal on gender equality; women’s empowerment and human rights of women and girls; the elimination of FGM and honour crimes, child, early and forced marriages; protection of women and girls from violence; the protection of women human rights defenders; the integration of a gender perspective in environmental and climate change policies and humanitarian response to natural disasters; “are all reasons to celebrate.”

She regretted the CSW conclusions did not make a link between peace, development and the post-2015 agenda.

The earlier drafts of the Agreed Conclusions were much stronger in terms of defining this intersection, she noted.

“I hate to think delegates see peace and development and gender equality and women’s empowerment as disconnected issues or that peace is an easy bargaining chip. …that there is no text on the intersection of peace, security and development defies logic,” she said. “How can we have development without peace and how can we have peace without development?”

Cabrera-Balleza pointed out that “even as we hold governments accountable to respond to this gap, we need to have a serious dialogue among ourselves too as civil society actors – across issues, across different thematic agendas.”

Dr. Ruane of WILPF told IPS that despite longstanding commitments to strengthen financing to move words to action, including through arms reduction, such as included both in the plan of action at the Earth Summit in Rio (1992) and the Beijing women’s conference (1995), “governments gave in to pressure to weaken commitments and ended up reiterating only support for voluntary innovative financing mechanisms, as appropriate.”

In a statement released Monday, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) said that while the MDGs resulted in a reduction of poverty in some respects, the goals furthest from being achieved are those focused on women and girls – particularly on achieving gender equality and improving maternal health.

Executive Director of U.N. Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said the agreement represents a milestone toward a transformative global development agenda that puts the empowerment of women and girls at its centre.

She said member states have stressed that while the MDGs have advanced progress in many areas, they remain unfinished business as long as gender inequality persists.

As the Commission rightly points out, she said, funding in support of gender equality and women’s empowerment remains inadequate.

Investments in women and girls will have to be significantly stepped up. As member states underline, this will have a multiplier effect on sustained economic growth, she declared.

At the conclusion of the session, CSW Chair Ambassador Libran Cabactulan of the Philippines said “it is critical, important and urgent to appreciate every tree in the forest, and have an agreement on how big, how tall or how fat each tree.
“At the same time, we need to be mindful of the entire forest,” she added, pointing out that “the absence of peace and security in the discourse on post-2015 agenda does not make a whole forest.”
 

Who was there!

More than 6000 representatives from 860 civil society organizations have registered for CSW58. Nearly 135 events have been organized by UN agencies at UN Headquarters in New York, alongside the official meetings of the Commission, as well as more than 300 parallel events hosted by the NGO community close to the UN premises.