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5.1. Issue Analysis
5. WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY
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5.1. Issue Analysis
The year 2020 was a global milestone in terms of the women, peace and security agenda as it marked the 20th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, adopted in 2000. Nine more resolutions have been passed since then to address the role and interests of women in conflict, peace-building and security: 1820 (2009), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2010), 1960 (2011), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013), 2242 (2015), 2467 (2019) and 2493 (2019).1634 Of concern is the participation of women in decision-making around conflict prevention, conflict management and post-conflict recovery. Events around these phases have a significant impact on women’s rights in the sphere of socioeconomic development, transitional justice, security sector administration and governance. During the Decade, in 2015, the UNSC adopted Resolution 2250, recognising the positive contribution of (women) youth in efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security.
Conflicts in Africa have taken on an intrastate or interstate character, involving non-state actors and state entities. In 2011, 24% of the world’s conflicts were in sub-Saharan Africa and 11 of the world’s top countries at risk of conflict were located in Africa.1635 Despite the AU’s sustained efforts, by November 2017 there were 15 conflict situations on the continent.1636 Notably, in all 15, sex trafficking and child sex trafficking were common.1637 The Global Peace Index 2020 ranks six African countries among its bottom 11 least peaceful – Sudan, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Libya, Somalia and South Sudan (in this order).1638
Studies show that, when women are involved in peace processes, the results are 35% more likely to last 15 years1639 and that, when women’s organisations are involved in making peace agreements, they are 64% less likely to fail.1640 Despite this, most peace negotiations and mediations largely exclude women’s participation, experiences and perspectives. This is reflective of broader societal patterns of male-dominated decision-making. Even combatants’ negotiating teams tend to have few or no female combatants.1641 Furthermore, some negotiations and mediations are conducted privately, shutting out women. Traditional patriarchal institutions
often do not integrate women as legitimate mediators, mostly because this is culturally designated as a role for men. Overall, African women are rarely appointed to key positions in defence forces in the executive, or to head parliamentary committees handling defence oversight or in court martials. Instead, women tend to form the minority of such law, order and defence forces. The culture of such institutions can be hyper-masculine or patriarchal, leading to the aggravation of sexual violence by personnel during times of armed conflict or peace, or gender-neutral responses to victims of VAW, which can reinforce the victimisation of women.
Armed conflict has been a significant problem in women’s enjoyment of their rights, especially for those women who are forcibly displaced. In situations of armed conflict, pre-existing gender inequalities can exponentially disadvantage women, affecting them disproportionately during the conflict and in the recovery phase. Women who are vulnerable to various social factors, even if they are not affected through forced displacement, run the risk of suffering multi-layered and multidimensional forms of suffering. Women are affected as victims and survivors, combatants and returnees. Meanwhile, peace is not the absence of conflict. Inter-communal clashes, acts of terrorism, electoral violence or societal disturbances result in sporadically violent conflicts. They are significant and can be an indicator of pending larger conflicts. Markers of pending conflict can also include a rapid rise in the pervasiveness of sexual violence1642 and serve as an early warning indicator.
Regarding peace, security and VAW, the Maputo Protocol guarantees women the right to peace (Article 10) and protects women in armed conflict (Article 11). Article 10 states that women also have the right to participate in the promotion and maintenance of peace and calls on States Parties to take all appropriate measures to ensure the increased participation of women in, among others, structures and processes for conflict prevention, management and resolution at local, national, regional, continental and international levels. Under Article 11, States Parties shall protect civilians, including women, in accordance with obligations under international humanitarian law. States Parties shall also protect asylum-seeking women, refugees, returnees and IDPs against all forms of violence, rape and other forms of sexual exploitation. They shall also ensure that, “such acts are considered war crimes, genocide and/or crimes against humanity and that their perpetrators are brought to justice.”1643
AWD Goal 6 aims to work with the AU Peace and Security Department, the Peace and Security Council and the Panel of the Wise in relation to UNSCRs 1325, 1820, 1888 and 1889 with a particular focus on VAW, peace-building and reconstruction.
During the Decade, the AU placed due emphasis on peace-building on the continent in recognition of the negative impact of conflict on men and women. The AU has integrated the women, peace and security agenda within its Continental and Regional Policy and Structural Architecture on Peace and Security. In 2014, the AU established the Office of the Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security to address the plight of women in conflict prevention, management and resolution, and to advocate an end to impunity around SGBV.1644 The continent’s leadership has made the links between conflict resolution, development and human rights. The 2019 theme of the AU’s 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments was “Refugees, Returnees and IDPs: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa” and the 2020 theme is “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development.”
Peacekeeping is part of the AU’s mandate and key in the cessation of conflicts and protecting civilian women from impunity by armed actors. By 2018, seven of 14 UN peacekeeping missions were in Africa (Central African Republic, DR Congo, Mali, South Sudan, Sudan, and Western Sahara),1645 some of which were in cooperation with the AU. The AU draws on Members States’ national forces for personnel for its peacekeeping forces and operations, the biggest being the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). In 2014, there were reports of SGBV against civilians by individuals in the AMISOM operations, leading the AUC to investigate and recommend policy and practice changes.1646 To ensure gender-responsive peacekeeping, the AU adopted on 29 November 2019 two key policies to guide its peacekeeping operations. These are the Policy on Conduct and Discipline for Peace Support Operations and a Policy for Prevention and Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse for Peace Support Operations. Countries that send peacekeeping forces to the AU missions are bound to observe these codes of conduct.
The AU also founded the Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation (FemWise) as a subsidiary of the AU Panel of the Wise.1647 The Peace and Security Commission planned to recruit and train 100 women mediators drawn from the continent by 2018, to support mediation efforts in Burundi, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Mali and South Sudan. The efforts of the African Union Commission (AUC) were in recognition of the low capacity of skilled women in mediation, especially high-level mediation. Various other peace networks for women exist at country and regional level.1648
