Mercy Global Concern - 2002

The Impact of Violent Conflict on Women and Girls

Released October 21st, 2002 by UN Secretary General.

Seeking to address the disproportionate impact of violent conflict on women and girls, UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan has submitted a series of concrete proposals aimed at protecting their rights to the Security Council for adoption.

In a report released today, the Secretary-General, points to the many ways that war particularly harms women, beyond death and injury. These include exacerbating existing inequalities, sending women and children fleeing across border, and subjecting them to sexual violence and torture. At the same time, Mr. Annan stresses "Women play an active role in informal peace processes, serving as peace activists, including by organizing and lobbying and security before, during and after conflicts."

The secretary- general says the extent of human rights violations against women and girls must be factored into peace support operations, and recommends that contact be set up with women's networks in order to gain more information on the issue.

Concerning the legal dimensions of the problem, Mr. Annan urges the Council to call on all parties involved in conflict to adhere to their human rights obligations under the applicable principles of international humanitarian law, human rights law and refugee law as they pertain to women and girls. The Secretary-General's recommendations to the Security Council include the need to take measures to end human rights violations specifically targeting women and girls. War tribunals need to have expertise on issues such as sexual violence as a weapon of war; to incorporate the needs and priorities of women and girls ex- combatants, women forced to serve as sex slaves or domestic servants, and families of ex-combatants in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes. Efforts should be made to ensure that amnesty provisions included in conflict settlement agreement exclude impunity from all serious war crimes, including gender-based crimes.

Mr. Annan also recommends that the Council explicitly integrate gender perspectives into terms of reference of UN missions to countries and regions in conflict. He says that all UN- brokered peace accords should address the impact of armed conflict on women and girls, their contributions to peace processes and their need and priorities in the post-conflict context. Women should also be fully involved in peace negotiations.

The report recalls that not only do women and girls constitute the majority of all victims, but they also constitute the majority of the world's refugees and internally displaced persons. It also finds that the use of sexual violence as a strategic and tactical weapon of war places women and girls at increased threat of contracting sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS.

The report suggests that the Council ensure resources for setting up gender units in peacekeeping operations. Efforts aimed at reconstructing conflict-torn societies should incorporate activities focused on specific constraints facing women and girls. Urging recognition of the impact of armed conflict and displacement on family relations, Mr. Annan calls for the development of programmes to prevent domestic violence.

"We can no longer afford to minimize or ignore the contributions of women and girls to peace-making, peace-building, peacekeeping and the reconstruction processes", the Secretary-General cautions "Sustainable peace will not be achieved without the full and equal participation of women and men."

The Council takes up the issue on Friday, 25th October, two years after its adoption of resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, which called for a greater recognition of gender perspective in peacemaking efforts.