United Nations (NY) - The Security Council held an open debate on "Women, Peace and Security", on 24-25 October 2000, in the Security Council Chamber. This is the first time in history of the UN that the Security Council has devoted an entire session to a debate on women's experiences in conflict and post-conflict situations and their contributions to peace. The meeting was sponsored by Namibia, which holds the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of October.

As the Security Council met on October 24 in an open meeting to consider the issue of women, peace and security, an overwhelming number of speakers stressed the need to include women in every aspect of peace-building initiatives, specifically calling for their involvement in decision-making processes.

While some of them emphasized further that that involvement should be at local, national, regional and international levels, a number of other speakers also underscored the importance of appointing more women as special representatives and envoys of the Organization. The Secretary-General was called on to address that particular imbalance.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the Security Council, in its statement on the United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace on 8 March, had declared that maintaining and promoting peace and security required women’s equal participation in decision-making. "I am here today to ask you to do everything in your power to translate that statement into action", he said.

He said women had proved instrumental in "building bridges rather than walls". They had also been crucial in preserving social order when communities collapsed. Conflict resolution and prevention called for creative and flexible approaches. "In all these areas, we have seen examples of women playing an important role", he said. Yet their potential contribution to peace and security was still under-valued and they were still under-represented at the decision- making level.

Reiterating that point, Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Angela E.V. King told the Council, "We cannot exclude half the world’s resources from participating in the peace process". Gender equality issues were absolutely essential to success of any peace operation, she added.

Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), said that without the participation of women in the peace processes, those processes themselves suffered, for there would be neither justice nor development. If women were half the community, why were they not half the solution? Further, how could warlords be brought to the table and not women?

India’s representative said that while she appreciated the Council’s expressed sentiments that equal access and full participation in power structures and in all efforts to prevent and resolve conflicts were essential for the maintenance of peace and security, she noted that a Council dominated by men illustrated the problem, not the solution.

At the start of today’s meeting the Council members and delegations also viewed a short video presentation on women and peace.

Statements in today’s debate were made by the representatives of: Jamaica; United States; Tunisia; Argentina; China; United Kingdom; Bangladesh; Russian Federation; Netherlands; Canada; France (on behalf of the European Union and associated States); Malaysia; Ukraine; Mali; Mozambique; Egypt; Democratic Republic of the Congo; South Africa; Liechtenstein; Singapore; Pakistan; Japan; Cyprus, Republic of Korea; New Zealand; Zimbabwe; Indonesia; United Republic of Tanzania; Australia; Croatia and Belarus.

Security Council Press Release 24 October 2000

United Nations Security Council, BRAMA:file

RealAudio: UN VIDEO 3 hour 4 min length, start Ukrainian representative at 2:46 to 2:57

Mr. Volodymyr G. Krokhmal, Deputy Permanent Representative (Ukraine), said the international resolve to safeguard women’s rights in conflict situations had substantially strengthened in recent years, in response to the increased targeting of women and other civilians, which had become a shameful instrument of contemporary warfare. In the legal field, the international community had further developed the body of law dealing with crimes against civilians, with special emphasis on the protection of women. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court incorporated gender-based persecution within its jurisdiction, and listed rape, enforced prostitution and other forms of sexual violence as war crimes and crimes against humanity. The International Tribunals on Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia both explicitly incorporated rape as a crime against humanity within their jurisdictions. Both had issued indictments charging sexual violence as genocide.

In spite of all international efforts, women continued to be the most vulnerable victims of armed conflicts, he continued. With the rapid proliferation of intra-State wars and other hostilities, civilians often represented the overwhelming majority of the victims, with women and girls targeted for the most brutal forms of attack, including rape, sexual mutilation, sexually humiliating treatment and forcible impregnation. Sexual violence brought with it the risk of the HIV/AIDS. In addition, women experienced the trauma of losing relatives and friends in times of armed conflict, and of having to take the responsibility for the care of surviving family members. In addition, they constituted the majority of refugees and displaced persons.

Ukraine was very concerned about that situation, and strongly condemned the targeting of women in situations of armed conflict, he said. The Council should give special consideration to the particular needs of women affected by armed conflict when considering action aimed at promoting peace and security. It was important that the Secretary-General’s reports to the Council, dealing with specific conflict situations and developments in the field, incorporate a gender perspective in addressing various aspects of conflict analysis and conflict resolution.

He said that the Secretary-General should ensure that personnel involved in United Nations peacekeeping and peace-building operations had appropriate training on the protection, rights and particular needs of women. Security Council resolutions setting up or extending peacekeeping operations should provide for a clear mandate to address the protection of women and girls against sexual violence, abduction, forced prostitution, trafficking and threats imposed by military, paramilitary and other groups. The presence of women in United Nations missions could foster confidence and trust among the local population, a critical element in any peacekeeping mission.

Women were still under-represented in decision-making with regard to conflict, he said. Their initiatives and visions for peace and security were rarely heard during peace negotiations. Women should not be viewed primarily as the victims of armed conflict. The international community should use the potential of women as agents of preventive diplomacy, peacekeeping and peace-building.