PRESS CONFERENCE ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY

PRESS CONFERENCE ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY

Addressing correspondents at a Headquarters press conference today, just ahead of tomorrow’s Security Council debate on implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, several women dedicated to advancing the text’s aims called on the Council and Governments to develop policies to ensure women’s equal participation in peace and security decision-making.

In his report to the Security Council on implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) last year, the Secretary-General said that the resolution “holds out a promise to women across the globe that their rights will be protected and that barriers to their equal participation and full involvement in the maintenance and promotion of sustainable peace will be removed.  We must uphold this promise”.

Participants in the press conference from the Non-governmental Organization (NGO) Working Group on Women, Peace and Security were: Basma Fahkri of Iraq; Khin Ohmar of Burma; and Goretti Ndacayisaba of Burundi.  Rachel Mayanja, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, also spoke.  The Group was formed in May 2000 to press for the Security Council’s adoption of such a text.  Since the resolution’s adoption a few months later, on 31 October 2000, the Group shifted its focus to the support and monitoring of implementation of the text, which it had translated into 60 languages.

Among the member organizations of the Working Group were the Boston Consortium on Gender, Security and Human Rights; Hague Appeal for Peace; International Alert; International Women’s Tribune Centre; Femmes Africa Solidarité; Women’s Action for New Directions; and Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children.

In opening remarks, Ms. Mayanja said this year marked the fifth anniversary of a landmark resolution, which, for the first time, addressed the issue of women, peace and security, despite the fact that she and others had been talking about that for more than 30 years.  The resolution fundamentally changed the position of women in conflict, as they were not seen simply as victims, but as contributors to the peace process.

She said that women were working at the grass-roots level, and had travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Iraq, Afghanistan, and so forth, to share their experiences.  The United Nations system had been tasked by the Security Council to devise a system-wide action plan showing exactly what the Organization was doing to advance the commitments agreed in the resolution and all others that had followed. 

Her office, which chaired the Inter-Agency Task Force on Women and Peace and Security, prepared the action plan, together with the NGO Working Group.  The plan presented both long-term and high-impact strategies, which, if implemented, would go a long way towards realizing the commitments and objectives of the Council in that regard, she said.  (The action plan is annexed to the Secretary-General’s report, which will be before the Security Council tomorrow in document S/2005/636).

NGO Working Group member Khin Ohmar, providing a brief overview of the situation in Burma, said her country had been a “very tough challenge” for the international community, including the United Nations.  Human rights violations continued, including the arrest and detention of political activists.  Just as the United Nations celebrated its sixtieth anniversary, a leader and 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate marked her tenth year of detention under house arrest.  Another offender, a young woman who had refused to do forced labour, had sued the local authorities, and with the help of the International Labour Organization (ILO), had won her case.  From February to July, alone, four political prisoners had died in custody, owing to torture, she said.

She said that the armed conflict had continued for more than half a century, and with 70,000 child soldiers in the Burmese army, the country ranked the highest in the world in the use of child soldiers.  In addition, 1 million internally displaced persons were hiding in the jungles, especially in the eastern part of her country.  All across the borders with India and Bangladesh, there were more than 700,000 refugees, and an estimated 100,000 children had no access to education or health care.  In Thailand alone, about 2 million migrant workers from Burma, mainly women, were simply trying to survive.  Migrant women in the refugee camps faced a double risk, owing to their status.  Four days ago, two women had been gang raped and another had suffered an attempted rape. 

Resolution 1325 was important because it focused on the protection of women in armed conflict and sought to promote their participation in the peace processes, she said.  The text of the resolution had been translated into more than 10 ethnic languages, and since its adoption, training sessions on peace building had been organized.

Ms. Fahkri explained that the Women’s Alliance for a Democratic Iraq was a member of the Iraqi Women’s Network, which was comprised of 100 women NGOs based in Iraq.  After the fall of the previous regime, women found the freedom to form NGOs, as well as the ability to speak up and try to build the new, freshly born Iraq.  The problem, unfortunately, was the level of ongoing violence.  Despite that, women were persistent and confident that they would make a difference.  But, they needed the support of the world community as they strove to participate in Government at all levels, from electoral campaigning to constitution drafting.

Yesterday, she said she had attended the Arria-style Security Council meeting, which had been a great opportunity to meet with Council members.  They were very encouraging and had opened the floor for a dialogue, which meant they wanted to hear “our side of the story”.  In Iraq, 55 per cent of the population now were women, from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds.  Women had attained 31 per cent of the seats in the National Assembly.  While women had voted for the recent referendum on the constitution in order to move forward, they had reservations and they would seek to amend the constitution to empower women.

She added that the personal status law, which gave women greater rights in such areas as marriage, child custody and divorce, was also important.  She had recommended to the Council yesterday that it open a dialogue with all parties involved to limit the violence, which was crippling efforts to help Iraq.

Ms. Ndacayisaba, who also participated in the Council meeting yesterday, worked for the association “DUSHIREHAMWE”, which means “let’s reconcile”.  The grass-roots organization had been involved for 10 years in peacebuilding, in a network that covered 13 provinces among the 17 in Burundi.  It was presently servicing 10,000 people.  Daily, Burundian women were facing the challenges of peace, security and development.  She appreciated the efforts of the United Nations, through the work of the gender unit of the United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB), which had greatly helped Burundian women sensitize the Government in the introduction of gender perspectives in the electoral process.  She also saluted the contribution of international organizations and United Nations agencies, which had assisted Burundian women in the peace negotiation processes and in the organization of elections.  That had resulted in women’s effective participation in the institutions “from top to bottom”.

She said that Burundi’s present political situation was marked by progress in the democratic process and in the reinforcement of good governance, as a result of a successful election process.  It, nonetheless, was still very fragile.  Among the challenges was the persistent insecurity caused by the National Liberation Front, which took on bigger proportions and was having damaging effects on women and children.  She asked the Security Council, through ONUB, to impose urgent measures against the Front, with the goal of protecting civilians. 

The women living in combat zones had direct experiences with abuse and, therefore, should be at the centre of the ceasefire negotiations, she said.  Women’s networks, like hers, should be consulted to assure that conflict zones, such as Bujumbura Rurale, had adequate representation.  Because Burundian security was largely contingent on the regional situation, she proposed that the United Nations apply the recommendations of the Great Lakes Regional Conference on Peace, Security and Development.

Another challenge pertained to the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of civilians, she said.  The DDR programme “completely neglects” civil society’s participation and was being conducted under the sole supervision of politicians and military officials.  Arms proliferation among civilians was another security threat, as weapons were used for revenge, looting and sexual violence against women and girls.  To encourage civilians to return their weapons, she proposed that family income-generating projects be identified with women’s help.  The Security Council and the international community should require that her Government and ONUB design a clear strategy involving civil society, and especially women, in all DDR processes.

Highlighting the challenges related to justice and the mechanisms against impunity, which was a major obstacle to lasting peace in Burundi, she urged the Council to set up a truth and reconciliation commission, without delay.  Other challenges concerned good governance, the feminization of poverty, and the impact of HIV/AIDS on a fair and equitable development process.

(A United Nations staff member familiar with African issues translated
Ms. Ndacayisaba’s remarks.)

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For information media • not an official record