More attention has been given to violence against women and girls in armed conflicts but little has been done to involve women in resolving such conflicts, a review of UN Resolution 1325 has shown.
The review further suggests that on the average, only three per cent of the military in the UN missions are women, and the majority of these are employed as support staff.
A representative from the Foundation of Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA), Mrs Theodora Antwi, who spoke to The Mirror during a press conference organised by the United Nations Information Centre in Accra, said the review showed that the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security made under its agenda over the 15 years had not achieved much.
“This means that the number of women in resolving such conflicts has not changed since 2011 and has changed little from one per cent of women peacekeepers in 1993,” she said.
Resolution 1325
The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 in October 2000 which was aimed at preventing violent conflicts, including gender-based violence; protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse.
The resolution also intended to increase participation and gender perspectives in all conflict resolution, peacekeeping and peace-building; and finally in peace-building and recovery efforts.
Recommendations
The review, which was led by the former Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict and former Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy, called for the prioritisation of the consultation and participation of women in the implementation, monitoring and accountability of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It also called for gender equality and women’s human rights to be both a focus area of the World Humanitarian Summit which would be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in May this year and also be integrated throughout the summits themes.
It further called for the protection of women and girls’ rights at all times and ensure that efforts to counter violent extremism strategies do not stereotype or instrumentalise women and girls.
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