“Women Are Key to Change” – A Discussion with Baroness Mary Goudie

Posted on April 1, 2015 by giwps

By Ashley Binetti

Baroness Mary Goudie is a senior member of the House of Lords who firmly believes that “women [must] have a voice at the peace table and at every table where decisions are made.” She frequently writes about issues facing women and children, with an emphasis on gender equity, in her blog, which has garnered international attention. This Tuesday, March 31, Baroness Goudie hosted her 5th Annual Blog Breakfast. More than 50 women leaders who work on the advancement of women and girls gathered to discuss the theme “Global Uncertainty: Women are Key to Change.”

2015 is a big year of anniversaries in the women, peace and security field; it is the 20th anniversary of UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, and the 15^th anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. Baroness Goudie reflected, “Beijing set the agenda…but hasn’t gone far enough. We need to lobby our governments, the OECD, and the G8 to work on the unfinished business of Beijing.” The Baroness noted how far we have come—particularly in terms of health and education—and yet how far the world has to go before achieving gender equality. Baroness Goudie reminded the room that economic and political participation remain the biggest gaps for women and girls around the world: “Out of 500 Fortune companies, only 23 of the CEOs are women” and “women occupy only 23 percent of parliamentary seats worldwide.”

In light of the conflict the world has seen in the past year, event moderator Stefenie Foster asked the Baroness to describe the role that women can play in peacebuilding. The Baroness recalled the triumph in passing UNSCR 1325, but urged that all actors should take concrete steps to ensure this document is not ignored as “just a piece of paper.” She continued, “There must be a woman at every [peace] table, and local women have to be there.” To achieve this goal, the Baroness stated that the international community must monitor peace processes, asking, “Why aren’t local women here? And if anyone tells you there are no qualified women, that is simply untrue.”

Rend Al-Rahim, President of Iraq Foundation, agreed that the international community must hold governments accountable. She noted the “naming and shaming” technique that Transparency International uses to shed light on corruption, and wondered if it would be worthwhile to create a similar barometer to track how governments are performing on engaging women in decision-making and reconciliation processes.

Al-Rahim also identified the importance of highlighting models where women have played a significant role in peace processes to demonstrate that inclusion works. Baroness Goudie shared that there are several such models—including Northern Ireland, South Africa and Liberia, among others. These models teach us that, beyond international pressure, “local women have to say they want to be at the table, and then show up and not leave until they are invited in.” Foster added that we have witnessed women’s meaningful engagement in the Philippines, and also in Colombia—their inclusion in negotiations is essential to engendering sustainable peace.

Alyse Nelson of Vital Voices raised another key issue facing the advancement of women: “There is incredible rhetoric on women’s equality, but political will and resources haven’t matched up. How do we get governments to put more money into this?” Baroness Goudie believes the answer lies in a combination of peer pressure and transparency. Donor governments must be encouraged to contribute additional support for these initiatives, and receiving governments must be transparent about how funds are used. The Baroness cited a paper recently published by the Gates Foundation, which describes how money is funneled into developing countries that often lack a functioning civil government or strong banking infrastructure. She emphasized that we must ensure strong governments are in place and that governance training is provided, but cautioned, “We have to be careful how we do it; we don’t want to cause ripples. We must work through NGOs [and with] governments.”

Baroness Goudie also spoke to concerns about partisan politics. She noted, “The issues we work on are thought to be soft issues, but they are powerful issues…they are good for people around the world.” The Baroness stressed that Women, Peace and Security is an area where we have been able to work across political lines; “It’s about being persistent, and saying we are not going away. These are common issues of humanity.”

Foster concluded the breakfast with one final question: How do we engage young people on these issues? The Baroness did not hesitate in saying, “We need a greater push…we need education!” Baroness Mary Goudie reminded the room throughout the morning that “If we don’t all come together, we are not going to get any change.” This means including everyone—women, men, young people, NGOs, governments and corporations—in this important work to advance gender equality and attain peace.

Ashley Binetti is the 2014-2015 Hillary Rodham Clinton Law Fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2014, specializing in human rights and transnational law.

UN Commission on the Status of Women 59: An Overview

Posted on March 24, 2015 by giwps

By Mara D’Amico, Alexandra Zimmerman Safir and Ashley Binetti

Though the Commission on the Status of Women meets annually, this year was especially significant as it marked the 20th anniversary of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women, where 189 countries adopted the landmark Beijing Platform for Action. This anniversary, along with the 15th anniversary of the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the transition from Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals, set the stage for critical evaluations of the progress that has been made and thoughtful plans for moving forward.

The week kicked off with International Women’s Day on March 8, and moved into the Clinton Foundation’s release of the No Ceilings Full Participation Report and #NotThere campaign. Through a mass collection and analysis of data on women and girls, the report shows us that more than 150 countries lack critical protections to ensuring women’s economic participation. We see that one in three women has experienced sexual or physical violence, often at the hands of a husband or partner. And we learn that women are still significantly underrepresented in parliaments and other decision-making bodies across the globe. This data is helping us to acknowledge the progress that has been made, and prove how far we still have to go.

Staff members from GIWPS participated in the opening week of CSW59, attending a series of events from “Realizing Gender Equality, Women’s Rights and Women’s Empowerment within and beyond the Post-2015 Development Agenda” to “The Role of Social Norms for Gender Equality” to “Women’s Economic Empowerment: Regional and Global Policy Challenges.”

Throughout the week’s events, a few key themes emerged.

Women’s Participation In Decision-Making

Across the events, subject-matter experts discussed the need for greater participation of women in decision-making at all levels. In order to advance and sustain the gains that have been made with regard to women’s health, girls’ education, women’s economic participation and involvement in peacekeeping, it is essential that women have a place at decision-making tables.

As noted by Gloria Bonder, Principal of the Gender, Society and Policy Department at FLACSO, “We’ve made many advances for women’s presence in society, and we need to make sure we talk about where we include women…We need to work to bring a future of inclusion with quality at the same time.”

Women’s participation in decision-making cannot be an afterthought, and it should be a priority in the boardroom, at the parliamentary level, in electoral processes and in families. Especially in conflict and post-conflict situations, women must be included in the decisions that deeply impact their lives and the future of their country. According to one speaker, “It’s more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in armed conflict…Women are also not consulted on their needs, which affects the quality of their assistance.” Having a place at the table can not only save their lives, but can also chart a new course for a more sustainable future.

In one session on advancing women’s political participation, Massimo Tommasoli of International IDEA noted that the Sustainable Development Goals had made “great improvements” by making “women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life” a target. However, women MPs currently represent 22% of parliamentarians, and 73% of countries have 15% or fewer women in parliament. One panelist from Kenya noted that campaign financing is one of the greatest barriers prohibiting women from entering politics, as well as threat of violence and pervasive cultural attitudes. A female parliamentarian from Kenya shared, “If I had to go through what I went through again to get elected, I would probably not run; It was so hard.”

A Focus On Women And Climate Change

As we move from the Millennium Development Goals to the Sustainable Development goals and really task ourselves with thinking sustainably, we must make it a priority to include women and girls in discussions and decisions. The impacts of climate change and natural disasters disproportionately impact women and girls, and any measures to respond to climate change should include their voices. This was a common thread throughout a number of discussions on fully realizing the Beijing Platform for Action and prioritizing gender equality in the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. One panelist echoed this sentiment in stating, “This is a key year for change. We can’t achieve any of these goals unless women and girls are front and center.”

The Role Of Men And Boys In Achieving Gender Equality

In every event that we attended, there was, at the very least, some mention of the role of men and boys in achieving gender equality. There seemed to be an overwhelming acceptance that what have long been called “women’s issues” are the concern of all, and gains in gender equality both requires and benefits those of every gender. As noted by Bafana Khumalo, Senior Programmes Specialist at Sonke Gender Justice, “Gender equality is not just about policies. It’s about life, and quality of life. There’s no other option but to include men and boys because it does benefit all.”

Despite this widespread acceptance of the inclusion of men and boys in addressing the most intractable issues facing women and girls, many speakers discussed the challenges we still face in actually implementing this charge. Hazami Barmada, co-Founder of Al-Mubadarah, echoed this sentiment in stating, “The fight for equality is not about programs and initiatives. It will require a movement, a paradigm shift. There are socio-economic and cultural issues that need to be addressed.”

Programs like the UN Women’s HeForShe campaign can start to shift these entrenched gender norms, but it is critical that we seek new and innovative ways to include men and boys in this work of shifting the thought paradigm about gender equality.

Ties Between Women And Economic Growth

While it has been recognized that more women are entering leadership positions and running large companies, women’s participation in the labor force has actually stagnated. Globally, women still face significant challenges in access to paid work, the majority of their work in the informal sector goes unrecognized, and women across every region often deal with a care burden or achieving a so-called work-life balance. However, each region also has its own unique challenges in regards to women’s economic participation, and must tailor unique policies to overcome these challenges.

During one panel event, the representative from the African region discussed women’s significant participation in small-scale mining; however, much of this participation is not counted and, therefore, is rarely captured in GDP earnings. The work they do is invisible to policy-makers and the public, but legislation for mine safety and policies to benefit women in the small-scale mining industry could have a tremendous impact in ensuring a safe working environment and that women’s participation is measured appropriately.

If we were to close the global labor force participation gender gap, global GDP could grow by 12%. Women’s economic empowerment is essential to poverty alleviation and eventual elimination, and must be an integral part of the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Need For More Data

Beginning the week with the No Ceilings Full Participation Report launch set the stage for essential discussions about the need for more data on women and girls. According to Shailaja Chandra, Chief Secretary in Delhi, “You need these tools to be able to convince governments – data, statistics, etc. Only when you have that is it possible to make policy decisions and investments.” Organizations have now spent decades planning and implementing programs to advance the status of women and girls, and thorough evaluations of these programs are necessary to determine the ways in which we move forward. We need data to see why we have made such progress globally in some areas, but still have deep-seated gender gaps in other areas.

Coming away from CSW59, the energy emanating from the almost 9,000 activists who attended is tangible. However, the outcomes of the two-week convenings are less momentous. Many women’s organizations consider the resulting political declaration to be weak, and accuse the body of backtracking on efforts to fully realize or move beyond the Beijing Platform for action.

We must build on the existing momentum to advance women’s rights and well-being across the globe, but we need to do this in a more forward-thinking way. Though it is important that we reflect critically on the progress that has been made and the goals that have not yet been achieved, we have to set a higher standard for women’s rights around the world. The Beijing Platform for Action was incredibly progressive and forward-thinking when it was adopted in 1995, and we can fully honor its significance by raising the bar now in 2015.

Mara D’Amico is the 2014-2015 Hillary Rodham Clinton Communications Fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She is a graduate of the Clinton School of Public Service, specializing in policy and programming to address gender-based violence.

Alexandra Z. Safir is the Program Coordinator for the International Council on Women’s Business Leadership at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She holds a Master’s Degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago.

Symposium Recap – “Women: Powerful Agents for Peace and Security”

Posted on February 26, 2015 by giwps

Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security Associate Director Mayesha Alam travelled to Amsterdam, Netherlands to participate in the “Women: Powerful Agents for Peace and Security” symposium, convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Discussions at the symposium focused on enhancing the participation and leadership of women in conflict and post-conflict peacebuilding. Read her recap of the symposium below.

We need to deconstruct what we mean by “peace” and “security” and reconstruct this terms, as well as how we formulate policy around them, in a way that incorporates the lived experiences of women and their grassroots level efforts. So when we say “peace” or “security”, what do we mean by this? Peace for whom and by whom? Security for whom and by whom?

As one woman leader from South Sudan, Rita Abraham, said, “The hierarchy of peace negotiations does not favour those who wage peace but those who wage war. Women are systematically marginalized from negotiations, even when mobilized for peace. It’s as if you need a gun to get to the peace table.”

What happens all too often, when the only people around a negotiation table are the warring parties, is that the discussion become about power-sharing and personal gain. This needs to be changed such that negotiations provide a roadmap for responsibility-sharing and good governance.

How do we do this? Listen to women on the ground. If they’re living it, they’re the true experts. They know what it takes to survive.

Increase both the participation of women as well as their perspectives during peace negotiations. How do we do this? Make sure that every internationally mediated peace process includes one male mediator and one female mediator. And in the terms of reference for mediators, include guidelines and requirements related to gender sensitivity. These are two measures that can move us towards developing an international standard of practice.

Civil society and government need to work more constructively together.CSO and government do not need to be friends but they do need to be able to partner.Peace is a multi-stakeholder process, but, too often, the participation of anyone that is not a direct warring party is simply cosmetic. One way to make the dialogue a partnership is by focusing on common goals and mutual interest.

If you want women to be in decision-making positions, they need to be able to perform at their best and navigate the systems through which peace, governance and security are operated. This requires capacity-sharing (new terminology to replace capacity-building which connotes that women on the ground are lacking in capacity).

Two examples:

a) Electoral quotas — if you are going to create quotas for women to participate in formal politics, you need to make sure they are able to work the system and survive – to actually lead. Otherwise, quotas can be counterproductive.

b) Political parties — political parties in too many places have a bad reputation for their dysfunctional nature, for corruption and poor leadership, and for partisanship that ultimately undermines good governance. And yet, without political parties, there cannot be a true democratic system. Women often choose not to run for office because of the way political parties work. There is a need to overhaul and clean up parties. Democracy without women is impossible. And democracy without political parties is also not possible.

More than rights trainings or gender sensitization trainings, what women on the ground need are real entry points to engage directly in decision-making, whether or not they’re engaged informal politics.

If you want to encourage governments to incorporate women into the process, don’t just blame and shame, but also use positive examples. How do we do this? Elevate those who are leading by example. Use positive examples to change mindsets; in every single country there are women who are doing important and transformative things. Highlight them and hold their governments accountable based on these positive examples rather than only negative examples.

Violence takes many forms and one of the troubling trends now is gender-based violence and abuse being perpetrated through ICT. Maybe it seems like a lesser form of violence, but it can incite serious physical and mental harm, especially for women in politics or women human rights defenders. It feeds into institutions, it feeds in domestic violence within the home, and it can make very real barriers for women to participate that a) did not exist before or b) buttress old barriers.

The WPS agenda needs to be broadened to include and engage with private security (not just police, armies and insurgent groups), especially as the role of private security companies grows in places like Afghanistan (UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions do not recognize this actor). The same is true for the intelligence agencies. There is very little understanding and research on this topic. These agencies, especially in the Countering Violent Extremism space, have operated until now in a gender-blind way that actually does more harm than good and also undermines their objectives.

Apply the principle of “Do No Harm”to the implementation of UNSCR 1325/the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. This is especially for donor agencies and governments who are increasingly trying to engage on these issues but don’t necessarily know how to. Even where good intentions exist, bad practice triumphs. A few common mistakes include:

a) Not listening to women on the ground
b) Speaking on behalf of women on the ground, rather than letting them speak for themselves
c) Providing inadequate support to women’s groups due to the way in which international aid is administered or false perceptions (such as women’s groups are unable to manage financial resources, ill-equipped to handle large sums of money)

Mayesha Alam is the Associate Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. Ms. Alam is an Adjunct Faculty in the School of Foreign Service where she co-teaches a graduate seminar on women, peace and security. She is the author of Women and Transitional Justice: Progress and Persistent Challenges (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). Originally from Bangladesh, she received her M.A. in conflict resolution at Georgetown University and her B.A. in international relations and biology from Mount Holyoke College.

The Great Unfinished Business of the Beijing Platform for Action

Posted on December 18, 2014 by giwps

This essay by Ambassador Melanne Verveer was originally included in a publication by the Wilson Center’s Women in Public Service Project entitled Beijing+20: Looking Back and the Road Ahead, Reflections on Milestones in Women’s Leadership in the 21st Century.

Twenty years ago, I joined then-First Lady Hillary Clinton on a trip to Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women. It was there that she declared, for all the world to hear, that “human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.”

Women globally have made significant progress in the last 20 years: more girls are in school than ever before, maternal mortality is decreasing, and women’s economic participation is growing. Laws have been enacted to combat violence against women, but, still too often, they are not enforced and policies are not implemented. Women are also frequently shut out of political leadership. Despite the undeniable progress, much remains to be achieved for women and girls to enjoy full equality—not just on paper, but in reality. This discrepancy that divides rhetoric from reality is not just a women’s issue. Research and experiences show that when women and girls progress, all of society progresses.

Our world is plagued by dozens of armed conflicts that threaten the safety and security of millions of men, women, and children on a daily basis. Women and girls bear a disproportionate toll. Rape is a strategic tool of war, and women are sidelined in the processes where decisions are being made about them and their families. It is essential that women have a place at the table in peacemaking and that they actively participate in peacebuilding.

We also know that economic prosperity is critical to peace and security. Women represent 80 percent of the global purchasing power, and investing in women helps to grow economies and stabilize communities. Our economic progress as a global community will stagnate if women remain disempowered, disenfranchised, and excluded from decision making positions in governance and the economy.

Including women’s voices and perspectives in peacemaking ultimately helps entire societies reconcile, rebuild, and achieve a just and lasting peace. Yet, women are consistently underrepresented in peace processes. Of some 39 active conflicts over the past 10 years, women have made up only 4 percent of peace negotiation teams. Moreover, only 16 percent of some 585 peace treaties drafted in the past 20 years contain references to the critical role of women. This exclusion is not only shortchanging women, but also undermining peace and security.

As we mark the 20th anniversary of the Platform for Action adopted at Beijing in 1995, and the 15th anniversaries of the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the establishment of the Millennium Development Goals, let us renew the commitment to women’s progress and a better world that these pronouncements represent. We have yet to fully realize their objectives and so we must seize the moment to do more.

Growing women’s political decision-making capacities and opportunities, especially in conflict-affected and post-conflict settings, remains the great unfinished business of the Beijing Platform for Action. This will require innovation, collaboration, and determination, but I believe that by working together—in government, civil society, and the private sector – we can create progress and level the playing field. It is our collective responsibility to fulfill the promise we made 20 years ago, that women’s rights are human rights, once and for all. We cannot settle for anything less.

Ambassador Verveer is the Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She served as the first Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues with the U.S. Department of State.

Smart Power through Inclusivity in an Increasingly Volatile World

Posted on December 15, 2014 by giwps

Originally posted on Huffington Post here.

The brutality of ISIS, Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the Ebola epidemic are issues that give us the sense that we are returning to a harsher and more violent world of “realpolitik” than what we have witnessed during the last couple of decades. Decision makers are constantly faced with the difficult task of how to most effectively use resources to maximize national security and enhance international peace. But, when the world is on fire, is there really room to ignore the role of women in peace and security?

The answer is no! Focusing on women, peace and security does not mean shifting focus from “hard” to “soft” issues. Women constitute half the world’s population. Incorporating their perspectives is not merely the right thing to do, it is also the smart and strategic thing to do. Ensuring women’s participation is at the heart of better understanding and dealing with the threats that we face with the right instruments, and in the most effective manner possible. This agenda serves as a critical instrument in the work to prevent armed conflict, create peace where violence has broken out, and support reconciliation and reconstruction processes after war.

At a recent speech at Georgetown University on inclusive security, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton noted that when women participate in peace processes, “overlooked issues such as human rights, individual justice, national reconciliation, and economic renewal are often brought to the forefront.”

The backdrop for these issues is the United Nations Agenda for Women, Peace and Security, which was codified in the landmark Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), as well as a number of subsequent resolutions that build upon this foundation and lay out steps for implementation. Many countries have already started grappling with these issues by writing National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security, and by implementing these perspectives within military, diplomatic and development operations.

However, implementation is slow and, in many cases, accompanied by strong resistance and lack of understanding. By building the knowledge and capacity of those designing and implementing national action plans, we can ensure that progress quickens on women, peace and security around the globe. According to Secretary Clinton, we must begin “shifting from saying the right things to doing the right things, putting into action the steps that are necessary not only to protect women and children, but to find ways of utilizing women as makers and keepers of peace.”

We know that women are uniquely and disproportionately affected by armed conflict, climate change and natural disasters. We also know that women are oftentimes marginalized. Accountability for harms suffered – such as sexual violence – is bargained away during negotiations to end hostilities. The same is often true after a peace agreement is signed. Is it really any surprise then that half of all peace agreements fail within the first five years of being adopted?

Policies and practices to protect women during conflict and ensure their participation in the resolution of those conflicts rely on an understanding of women’s roles within society. Ine Eriksen Søreide, Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Norway, reminds us, “women are not only the victims – they’re also important actors.” Grassroots women are, more often than not, mobilized for peace, but they rarely receive the recognition they deserve from national and international authorities. Their voices do not always carry over into the halls of power.

Focusing on advancing women’s roles in peace and security efforts, including military operations, is not only about women’s rights, but also about increasing operational effectiveness. Missions in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan have clearly demonstrated that military operations often require a gender perspective in order to be effective – whether for intelligence gathering, stabilization mandates, or training and equipping local forces. Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO has argued, “integrating gender perspectives into our activities makes us a more modern, ready, and responsive alliance…it allows us to respond better and smarter to the many complex security challenges we face today.” Major General Adrian Foster, Deputy Military Adviser for the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations similarly argues that “gender is no longer an optional-add on; it is an operational necessity.”

The security threats and challenges we face, most often, result from a failure to address the root causes of conflict. The women, peace and security agenda sees a broader scope of security issues, which can help decision makers to recognize and deal with the underlying causes of problems and the instruments needed for dealing with them – preferably before armed conflicts or terror attacks occur. According to Staffan de Mistura, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, “In no place have I not seen women being major a player in helping…to produce a peaceful solution to a conflict.”

A solid foundation of research and experience shows us that gender equality, women’s participation and the implementation of gender perspectives lead to increased effectiveness in our aspirations for peace, security and human rights – locally, nationally and globally. It is certainly not a “silver bullet”, nor the answer to every problem. However, dealing with the complex security challenges facing our world indeed requires incorporating women into peace and security operations for greater effectiveness.

Co-authored by Ambassador Melanne Verveer and Dr. Robert Egnell. Ambassador Verveer is the Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She served as the first Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues with the U.S. Department of State. Dr. Robert Egnell is the Senior Faculty Adviser for the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, and is the founding Director of the Stockholm Center for Strategic Studies.

Human Rights Day: Women, Peace, and Security

Posted on December 11, 2014 by giwps

Originally posted on the Clinton Foundation blog here.

Agents of Peace, Agents of Change

Today, on Human Rights Day, No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project is proud to join the United Nations in calling for “365 Days of Human Rights” to ensure that we not only celebrate global efforts to uphold peace once a year, but work to promote peace, human rights, and inclusive security every day.

While many communities lack critical defenses to protect them from violations to thier rights and opportunities, women and girls remain particularly vulnerable, and are often disproportionately impacted by conflict, war, and civil strife. Yet still, women frequently do not have a voice in mediating or resolving conflicts, and are also vastly underrepresented in peacemaking negotiations, at the decision-making table, and among peacekeeping and police forces. Of the hundreds of national and international peace treaties signed in the last 20 years, fewer than 10 percent included women negotiators, and fewer than 3 percent had any women signatories.

Last week at Georgetown University, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton discussed the essential need to include women in peacemaking processes, and noted that women are not just “victims of conflict, they are [also] agents of peace and agents of change.”

“When women are involved in the peacemaking processes,” Secretary Clinton noted, “overlooked issues such as human rights, individual justice, national reconciliation, economic renewal are often brought to the forefront.”

The tactics that women employ in peacemaking are what Secretary Clinton calls “Smart Power;” using, in her words, “every possible tool – leaving no one on the sidelines – showing respect even for one’s enemies . . . that is what we believe in the 21st century will change the prospect for peace.”

Promoting Inclusion

How can we ensure that women as well as men are supported to participate equally in the peace and security process?

The path has been years in the making.

In 1995 at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, 189 countries adopted a landmark Platform for Action to promote the full participation of women and girls in all aspects of society, including the need to support and empower women in peace negotiations during times of armed conflict. Five years later, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), to affirm and encourage the active participation of women in all aspects of peacemaking processes.

Earlier this year, Secretary Clinton announced that No Ceilings would partner with the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security and the Institute for Inclusive Security to launch the first-ever National Action Plan Academy that would work to advance national action plans (NAPs) on women, peace and security, pursuant to UNSCR 1325.

Secretary Clinton’s remarks at Georgetown launched the inaugural meeting of this academy, a three-day conference that brought together delegations from ten countries around the world, which currently have, or are developing, NAPs on women, peace and security.

Throughout the conference, the academy offered technical workshops with experts from civil society, the military, police, and government to share successes, failures, best practices, and challenges to help improve policies and inspire effective solutions to advance women’s participation in peace and security. In the last session, each country delegation – from Afghanistan to Japan, Norway to the U.S. – made commitments, by both government and civil society, to uphold and strengthen NAP implementation in their respective countries.

This academy, and the ongoing work to develop and implement national action plans in the U.S. and abroad, are evidence that we are truly working 365 days a year to promote inclusive security, ensure women are a central part of the conversation, and protect human rights for all – today and every day.

Terri McCullough is the director of No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project, a Clinton Foundation initiative led by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. She has a B.A. in politics from the University of California at Santa Cruz and lives in New York City with her husband, daughter and son.

Japan Reaffirms Its Commitment to Women’s Participation in Peacebuilding

Posted on December 8, 2014 by giwps

In partnership with the Institute for Inclusive Security, Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security co-hosted the inaugural National Action Plan Academy December 3-5 at Georgetown University to share best practices on developing, implementing and reviewing National Action Plans.

A National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security represents a country’s express commitment to realizing UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), which seeks to increase women’s participation in peacebuilding and protect women from sexual violence. While the UN Security Council called upon member states to create NAPs in a 2004 presidential statement, only 48 Countries currently have NAPs, with Afghanistan being the most recent. There is still a long way to go—this number represents less than 25 percent of all UN member states, and the existence of a plan does not guarantee its implementation.

During the Academy, we had the privilege of speaking with Rui Matsukawa, Director of the Gender Mainstreaming Division in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to learn more about Japan’s forthcoming NAP.

Japan began developing its NAP in September 2013, and is hoping to publish the plan in early 2015. When asked about the inspiration for embarking on this journey, Ms. Matsukawa said it was greatly facilitated by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s enthusiasm: “Prime Minister Abe’s government is really interested in women’s empowerment and gender equality—domestically and internationally. The Prime Minister’s leadership is the ‘why now’ piece.” She also noted the Prime Minister’s work on increasing women’s participation in the Japanese business world through womenomics, as well as Japan’s recent $3 billion contribution in Official Development Assistance for women’s empowerment initiatives.

In its NAP, Japan has focused on five themes contained within UN Security Council Resolution 1325: participation, protection, prevention, relief and recovery, and monitoring and evaluation. In summarizing the NAP’s focus, Ms. Matsukawa stated, “First, it’s about gender mainstreaming in peace and security; second, its about promotion of women’s rights issues more broadly.” The NAP’s provisions encompass prevention of and training on sexual and gender-based violence, assistance after natural disasters, peace education, victim assistance, participation of women in the community both politically and economically, and assistance to internally displaced persons and refugees, and more. Furthermore, the action items in the NAP apply not only to improving women’s status internationally, but within Japan’s own population as well. “If we promote externally, we promote internally,” Ms. Matsukawa affirmed.

The effort to develop Japan’s NAP has been a truly collaborative affair. Several government agencies and civil society organizations have come together to create a holistic, multi-layered approach. The government departments involved include the Ministry of Foreign affairs, Ministry of Defense, National Police Department, Ministry of Justice, Department of the Interior’s Peace Keeping Operations Secretariat, and Natural Disaster Department, among others. Each ministry has a representative in the office that coordinates internally within their department, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs serves as the coordinator.

“Our NAP is very specific and special in terms of its process,” Ms. Matsukawa shared, “It is not only about working on these issues, but how we work on them. We are working with civil society, and creating accountability towards civil society, which is very important.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held ten consultations within the central government, and five regional consultations with more than 30 civil society organizations (CSOs) in various regions of the country. The CSOs first met together to form a consensus, and then negotiated with the government agencies to shape the NAP’s focus and the indicators against which progress would be measured. Ms. Matsukawa noted that the interaction between CSOs and the government will extend beyond the NAP’s publication: “We will face difficulties with the CSOs, together—we will review our NAP over time, and may change focus or indicators to respond to feedback—but in that phase too there [will be] partnership between civil societies and [government] agencies.”

The NAP Academy has helped Japan assess potential areas for improvement before it renders the final version of its NAP. One Japanese CSO representative shared her concern that Japanese Parliament has not yet been involved in the NAP process, which might mean lessened political will for the implementation of the plan. Another uncovered issue concerned the number of proposed indicators in Japan’s NAP. Maki Mitsuoka of Japan’s Gender Mainstreaming Division reflected on what she had heard from peer country delegations who already had NAPs in place: “We have too many indicators…we will have too much data to collect.” Ms. Matsukawa also expressed her concern, noting, “We want improvement, and we want to be practical. Time and resources spent on information gathering can take away from implementation efforts.” The Japanese delegation indicated that it planned to bring this newly gained knowledge back home and reassess.

Implementation is crucial—without tangible actions, a NAP is a collection of words on paper. “We want to make sure it’s not just a [NAP] launch, but an implementation,” said Jacqueline O’Neill of the Institute for Inclusive Security as she addressed the NAP Academy delegates. The same idea holds true for the overarching implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325—without countries identifying and executing clear action plans, the resolution will have nominal impact. When asked how to best support other countries in joining in this process, Ms. Matsukawa stated,

“The reason why womenomics is taken seriously in Japan is that it makes sense—it increases GDP. Similarly, including women in security efforts makes sense. If countries are educated on the benefits of adopting a NAP and inclusion of women in decision-making and peace and disaster management—that’s the motivation that will encourage them to act.”

Special thank you to Rui Matsukawa, Maki Mitsuoka, and Junichi Sumi for making this interview possible.

Are We Listening to Syria’s Women and Girls?

Posted on September 29, 2014 by giwps

Originally posted in the Daily Beast here.

Despite legislation meant to help women and girls in conflict zones, much more must be done to ensure rapid action on the ground—especially in Syria.

For the millions of women and girls displaced by conflicts across the globe, it has been a summer of extreme hardship. As a seemingly unbroken series of crises have unfolded from South Sudan to Mount Sinjar, from Gaza to Syria, women and girls comprise the majority of those displaced. They endure further torment as rates of rape, domestic violence and early marriage skyrocket in times of crisis. As Syrian women and girls confirm in a new report, without a change in approach by the international community, women around the world will have little relief from the ongoing violation of their human rights.

In the past 14 years, the UN Security Council has passed no less than seven resolutions on the role of women in peacebuilding, including 1325, a landmark resolution that asserted that women are uniquely burdened by armed conflict and are critical to resolving it. In 2005, UN agencies and their partners outlined – and agreed upon – key actions (better known to humanitarians as the IASC guidelines), which, if implemented during a humanitarian response, would better protect women and girls from violence.

Most recently, the U.K. and U.S. governments launched an international Call to Action to address violence against women and girls in conflicts and natural disasters. Despite these laudable efforts, as we near 2015 with the highest levels of refugees since World War II, we are witnessing the same cycle of sexual exploitation, rape, early marriage and domestic violence as years past. In South Sudan, women are urinating in plastic bags at home to avoid being raped in camps, and just weeks ago, Yazidi girls were being sold into marriage with known enemies more than twice their age in the communities on Mount Sinjar.

Different countries and different conflicts, yet the same horrendous stories of violence emerge. Our past promises have clearly failed to protect women and girls living in conflict zones. We do not need another resolution or guideline to support women and girls and put an end to this violence – we need to implement the resolutions and standards that already exist.

As world leaders gather at the United Nations in New York this week, they should hear what Syrian women and girls have to say in a new report published by the International Rescue Committee. Are We Listening? Acting on Our Commitments to Women and Girls Affected by the Syrian Conflict starkly demonstrates that the growing gap between words and meaningful on-the-ground action by the humanitarian community is resulting in devastating consequences for Syrian women and girls. In this report, women detail the nature and regularity of the gender-based violence they endure in conflict zones, bringing to life the tragic impacts of the current turmoil and the deficiencies in the international response. They speak of their exhaustion and humiliation from unrelenting negotiations for physical and sexual safety when securing food, water, shelter or clothing. Their struggles include sexual harassment when collecting aid, and domestic violence at home.

How is it that women and girls make up the highest number of refugees and displaced populations, and yet, they are the least visible? Women are routinely excluded from key decisions, which range from family safety to the design of humanitarian aid delivery and post-conflict nation rebuilding; the concerns of women continue to be marginalized. Zameaah, a refugee woman whom the IRC interviewed said, “I want my voice to be heard, so that everyone can feel with us.” These women are the best sources of wisdom on their current challenges and needs. Their voices must be heard.

The voices of Syrian women and girls bring new light to the need for the humanitarian community to double down on its efforts to uphold existing global standards for women’s protection in conflict settings. Women and girls, from Syria to South Sudan, want to eliminate the fear that shapes their day-to-day reality, and they require help to do so. We must live up to our obligations and listen to and protect those most vulnerable to violence. In its report, the IRC lays out eight actionable recommendations, which, if acted upon, will make Syrian women and girls not only safer from exploitation and abuse, but also safer and more empowered to be active in their own lives, homes, and communities.

The first of these recommendations includes an evaluation led by the United Nations to assess the current application of standards to protect women and girls with time-bound actions to immediately address the issues they have identified. Second, we must re-frame domestic violence as an imminent threat to the safety of women and girls and as a barrier to accessing aid, and support programs to respond to and prevent it. Third, we must recognize that adolescent girls face unique barriers and risks, and the humanitarian community must focus on creating opportunities for girls and providing services that respond to their unique experiences of violence, including early and forced marriage.

The women of Syria have spoken. It is imperative that the international community set new, higher standards in accountability to women and girls by its actions in the Syrian region and beyond. With the rallying cries of these women propelling us forward, the time to move from rhetoric to reality is now. We must allow their words to guide our efforts to better protect women and girls across conflict settings around the world.

The question is, are we listening?

David Miliband is President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee. He previously served as British Foreign Secretary. Melanne Verveer is the Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She previously served as U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues.

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