Comments for PeaceTalks http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org Open dialogue on mediation for peace Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:14:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 Comment on Aceh: The maintenance and dividends of peace by G is for Gendered: taking the mystery out of gendering peace agreements « PeaceTalks http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/2010/08/aceh-the-maintenance-and-dividends-of-peace/comment-page-1/#comment-806 G is for Gendered: taking the mystery out of gendering peace agreements « PeaceTalks Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:14:28 +0000 http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/?p=35#comment-806 [...] Conflict Management and Peace and the Alliance for Social Dialogue. See also Marhaban’s blog on http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/2010/08/aceh-the-maintenance-and-dividends-of-peace/, and ICTJ’s brief at http://www.ictj.org/static/Factsheets/ICTJ_ID_AcehMoU_fs2010.pdf. Accessed 7 [...] [...] Conflict Management and Peace and the Alliance for Social Dialogue. See also Marhaban’s blog on http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/2010/08/aceh-the-maintenance-and-dividends-of-peace/, and ICTJ’s brief at http://www.ictj.org/static/Factsheets/ICTJ_ID_AcehMoU_fs2010.pdf. Accessed 7 [...]

]]> Comment on Women and peacemaking in Afghanistan: Room for optimism? by Nazir Ahmad Nazary http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/2011/01/women-and-peacemaking-in-afghanistan-room-for-optimism/comment-page-1/#comment-290 Nazir Ahmad Nazary Sat, 15 Jan 2011 05:16:01 +0000 http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/?p=76#comment-290 Many Afghan women have played very important and influential roles in the history of Afghanistan, however their actions and contributions are not well documented in Afghan history books. Many women have died defending the country against foreign invaders, and risking their lives to educate the next generation of women. There are even women whose actions can be considered treacherous, however, they did shape the country's history. Like most other countries' histories, Afghan history is filled mostly with the stories of men and their actions. Below is an attempt at providing a thorough accounting of Afghan women's history; it is however still a work in progress. Many Afghan women have played very important and influential roles in the history of Afghanistan, however their actions and contributions are not well documented in Afghan history books. Many women have died defending the country against foreign invaders, and risking their lives to educate the next generation of women. There are even women whose actions can be considered treacherous, however, they did shape the country’s history. Like most other countries’ histories, Afghan history is filled mostly with the stories of men and their actions. Below is an attempt at providing a thorough accounting of Afghan women’s history; it is however still a work in progress.

]]> Comment on Women in Nepal by Tim Symonds http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/2010/08/women-in-nepal/comment-page-1/#comment-35 Tim Symonds Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:46:24 +0000 http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/?p=44#comment-35 Sent by Lesley Abdela’s UK office Please also circulate/post UNSCR1325 - Why we bang our heads against brick walls trying to get it implemented Those of us with a specialism in gender/post-conflict reconstruction know well how even 10 years down the line one of the greatest UN Security Council resolutions is the one resolution Member States ‘most honour in the breach’. An article by Susan Willett in International Peacekeeping (see detail below) shows just why Member States find it so easy not to bother with UNSCR1325, the first ever Security Council resolution on women/war/peace – • UNSCR1325 is not a Treaty • There has been no lead agency within the UN tasked with implementing 1325 • There are no mechanisms whatsoever for ratification, compliance or verification • There has been a general lack of operational coherence and absolutely no sanctions or penalties for failure to implement UNSCR1325 commitments • All attempts to mainstream gender within the UN have failed to go to the heart of the institutional inequities and power relations that structure gender relations within the organisation Successive UN Secretaries-General, including Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-Moon, have made the right noises on UNSCR1325 but like Greek Choruses in classical Athens they have never exercised a grip on Member States – and every Secretary-General has appointed SRSGs at a rate in excess of 9 men to each woman, completely undermining the very resolution the UN is charged with implementing. Security Council Resolution 1325: Assessing the Impact on Women, Peace and Security Author Susan Willett. Online publication date: 23 April 2010 Excerpts from Introduction – Security Council resolution 1325 is not a treaty; consequently there are no mechanisms for ratification, compliance or verification. As such the resolution lacks the muscle that can compel states to comply with its provisions. Consequently, implementation of 1325 has been erratic. A code of conduct for peacekeeping forces has been introduced, gender advisers have been appointed to counsel UN peacekeeping operations, there has been an increase in the reporting of abuses against women in war, and a number of developed countries have evolved National Action Plans for achieving the goals of 1325. Other than these minor measures, there has been a general lack of operational coherence for implementing the UN’s 1325 commitments. Partly, this can be attributed to the fact that there has been no lead agency within the UN tasked with implementing 1325. The task of gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping has been split between several agencies, including the Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Commission on the Status of Women, the Special Adviser for Gender Issues, the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, the Peace Building Commission (PBC), the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP’s) Bureau of Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction (BCPR). These departments are filled with talented and motivated staff, but their past efforts have been undermined by a system that has ascribed responsibility for implementing 1325 to all, but has held no one accountable. This has made for an unwieldy, fragmented and bureaucratic response. ------- Gender/post-conflict specialist Lesley Abdela has had extensive experience on the ground in post-conflict zones, including Kosovo, Aceh, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Afghanistan and Nepal. lesley.abdela@shevolution.com More on her work at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesley_abdela Sent by Lesley Abdela’s UK office

Please also circulate/post

UNSCR1325 – Why we bang our heads against brick walls trying to get it implemented

Those of us with a specialism in gender/post-conflict reconstruction know well how even 10 years down the line one of the greatest UN Security Council resolutions is the one resolution Member States ‘most honour in the breach’. An article by Susan Willett in International Peacekeeping (see detail below) shows just why Member States find it so easy not to bother with UNSCR1325, the first ever Security Council resolution on women/war/peace –

• UNSCR1325 is not a Treaty

• There has been no lead agency within the UN tasked with implementing 1325

• There are no mechanisms whatsoever for ratification, compliance or verification

• There has been a general lack of operational coherence and absolutely no sanctions or penalties for failure to implement UNSCR1325 commitments

• All attempts to mainstream gender within the UN have failed to go to the heart of the institutional inequities and power relations that structure gender relations within the organisation

Successive UN Secretaries-General, including Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-Moon, have made the right noises on UNSCR1325 but like Greek Choruses in classical Athens they have never exercised a grip on Member States – and every Secretary-General has appointed SRSGs at a rate in excess of 9 men to each woman, completely undermining the very resolution the UN is charged with implementing.

Security Council Resolution 1325: Assessing the Impact on Women, Peace and Security
Author Susan Willett. Online publication date: 23 April 2010

Excerpts from Introduction –

Security Council resolution 1325 is not a treaty; consequently there are no mechanisms for ratification, compliance or verification. As such the resolution lacks the muscle that can compel states to comply with its provisions. Consequently, implementation of 1325 has been erratic.

A code of conduct for peacekeeping forces has been introduced, gender advisers have been appointed to counsel UN peacekeeping operations, there has been an increase in the reporting of abuses against women in war, and a number of developed countries have evolved National Action Plans for achieving the goals of 1325. Other than these minor measures, there has been a general lack of operational coherence for implementing the UN’s 1325 commitments. Partly, this can be attributed to the fact that there has been no lead agency within the UN tasked with implementing 1325.

The task of gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping has been split between several agencies, including the Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Commission on the Status of Women, the Special Adviser for Gender Issues, the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, the Peace Building Commission (PBC), the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP’s) Bureau of Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction (BCPR). These departments are filled with talented and motivated staff, but their past efforts have been undermined by a system that has ascribed responsibility for implementing 1325 to all, but has held no one accountable. This has made for an unwieldy, fragmented and bureaucratic response.

——-

Gender/post-conflict specialist Lesley Abdela has had extensive experience on the ground in post-conflict zones, including Kosovo, Aceh, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Afghanistan and Nepal. lesley.abdela@shevolution.com More on her work at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesley_abdela

]]> Comment on Aceh: The maintenance and dividends of peace by Uday Bhanu Sen http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/2010/08/aceh-the-maintenance-and-dividends-of-peace/comment-page-1/#comment-34 Uday Bhanu Sen Wed, 01 Sep 2010 03:13:42 +0000 http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/?p=35#comment-34 I agree on the importance of women representation in any dailogues for sustanable peace as women are one of the most important section affected either way. My very brief exposure to Indonesia and particularly, Banda Aceh society (post agreement and Tsunami rehabilitation) showed considerable representation of women in socioeconomic field. Though my tenure was extremely brief to witness and fathom their roles in political decision making process, yet I came across quite a number of them engaged in public offices and business. The country being staunch Islamic (i was there for the month of RammJan of 2006), the traditional deprivation has probably emerges from religious understanding. If we look at Islam, it emerged from harsh conditions of desert society and thus, required strong hands to protect. It traditionally deprived women in political decision making but I am sure, never ignored their cause as affected section in peace or poltical turbulances. We need to ensure an evolution and availability of a culturally acceptable assessment mechanism as a permanent agenda in peac initiatives rather than insist their physical presence in such peace talks. There is a gross difference between Eastern and Western cultures and even women of East, groomed within this, may look down on physical partaking in such process even in 2010. I am sure HD Centre is aware of this and shall appreciate its efforts more if it can evolve any such mechanism that can come true for the entire region in the long run and offer greater understanding and safety for women. I agree on the importance of women representation in any dailogues for sustanable peace as women are one of the most important section affected either way. My very brief exposure to Indonesia and particularly, Banda Aceh society (post agreement and Tsunami rehabilitation) showed considerable representation of women in socioeconomic field. Though my tenure was extremely brief to witness and fathom their roles in political decision making process, yet I came across quite a number of them engaged in public offices and business. The country being staunch Islamic (i was there for the month of RammJan of 2006), the traditional deprivation has probably emerges from religious understanding. If we look at Islam, it emerged from harsh conditions of desert society and thus, required strong hands to protect. It traditionally deprived women in political decision making but I am sure, never ignored their cause as affected section in peace or poltical turbulances. We need to ensure an evolution and availability of a culturally acceptable assessment mechanism as a permanent agenda in peac initiatives rather than insist their physical presence in such peace talks. There is a gross difference between Eastern and Western cultures and even women of East, groomed within this, may look down on physical partaking in such process even in 2010. I am sure HD Centre is aware of this and shall appreciate its efforts more if it can evolve any such mechanism that can come true for the entire region in the long run and offer greater understanding and safety for women.

]]> Comment on Mediation ten years on by samuel Orovwuje http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/2010/03/mediation-ten-years-on/comment-page-1/#comment-7 samuel Orovwuje Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:50:54 +0000 http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/?p=18#comment-7 Great publication and the HD centre is blazing the trail in mediation and violent conflicts across the world. Ten years is a significant milestone in Mediation practice. I commend your efforts to restoring peace through dialogue and look forward to more exciting years ahead in serving Humanity. Samuel Akpobome Orovwuje Lagos Nigeria Great publication and the HD centre is blazing the trail in mediation and violent conflicts across the world. Ten years is a significant milestone in Mediation practice.

I commend your efforts to restoring peace through dialogue and look forward to more exciting years ahead in serving Humanity.

Samuel Akpobome Orovwuje

Lagos
Nigeria

]]> Comment on Empowering Women by admin http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/2010/01/empowering-women/comment-page-1/#comment-2 admin Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:46:01 +0000 http://peacetalks.hdcentre.org/?p=3#comment-2 Great post…the the 10th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 is a very important milestone. Great post…the the 10th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 is a very important milestone.

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