Post-conflict and Transitional Participation

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According to the Ploughshares, in 2005, armed conflicts raged in 27 countries. In five of them, casualties exceeded 100,000 people, and the indirect costs in human capital, infrastructure and effect on future development are beyond estimation. The transition period begins when wars end through negotiated settlements or other means. With international and regional assistance, parties seek ways to deter the cycle of conflict by establishing a stable government to protect and provide for its citizens.

Formally and informally, women around the world are contributing to post-conflict reconstruction in the areas of security, justice and reconciliation, governance and socio-economic development. In 2000, the United Nations (UN) Security Council passed resolution 1325, a landmark decision mandating the participation of women in peace processes. Since the adoption of the resolution, awareness of the importance of including women in peace and reconstruction processes has grown enormously. Yet, implementation of the resolution’s mandate remains sporadic and ad hoc, and the gaps in practice are vast. Nonetheless, women’s participation in post-conflict reconstruction processes continues to increase.

In Sri Lanka, pressure by women’s organizations led to the establishment — within the structure of the formal negotiations — of a ten-member Subcommittee on Gender Issues in 2002. In Northern Ireland, women representatives were trusted as mediators during conflict negotiations, with such trust stemming from the women’s platform of respect for human rights, inclusion and equality. In Haiti, the women’s ministry and women’s organizations participated in a consultative process, resulting in the UN mission incorporating women’s priorities into its mandate and establishing the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Programme. In Rwanda, women formed the first cross-party parliamentary caucus composed of both Hutus and Tutsis, addressing issues of concern to women from all political parties. In Sierra Leone, a women’s task force was established to foster women’s participation in the design of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the special unit investigating war crimes. According to the World Bank, in Afghanistan, efforts by the international community and local women’s organizations have led to girls accounting for 40 percent of all children attending school in 2003, compared to only 9 percent before the war.

While significant and encouraging, such examples and best practices do not equate with the systematic inclusion of women in peace processes. It remains critical to amplify the role and contribution of women during political transitions to capitalize on this window of opportunity.

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From the Library

Gender Equality and Good Governance : Improving Services for Women

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Thu, 2010-03-11 13:57
2010-03-11 00:00
2010-03-11 18:01
Etc/GMT
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City & Province/State: 
New York
Country: 
USA
Venue: 
Knightsbridge Room, Tudor Hotel New York, 304 East 42nd Street, New York City, New York 10017
Description: 

To see details of the event please see the attached flyer.


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A Parliamentarians’ Handbook on the Small Arms Issue

In a landmark step, parliamentarians from countries in Central, East and the Horn of Africa, gathering at a conference organised by UNDP and AWEPA on 26-28 November 2003, reached an agreement on a Plan of Action for parliamentarians, aimed at reducing the illicit distribution of small arms and light weapons. In this Mombasa Plan of Action, parliamentarians agreed to urge their governments to adjust national legislation to create more efficient control on small arms. This booklet is earmarked to be a practical handbook. It seeks to serve parliamentarians during their efforts to make further progress on the issue of small arms and light weapons. The booklet contains information on what has been achieved in Mombasa, introduces parliamentarians who are new to the issue to what it entails, and elaborates on what the problem of small arms means for African countries in Central, East- and the Horn of Africa. It also seeks to assess what these countries might contribute to solve the problem, in particular with regard to legislation.

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Enhancing Women’s Political Participation: A Policy Note for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

This Policy Note presents a set of pragmatic recommendations that will enable policy makers to enhance women’s political participation in the region. These measures are the product of six national roundtable discussions organized in 2008 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Turkey and Ukraine as well as a regional conference in Turkey in December 2008. This Policy Note also presents the current status of, and opportunities for women’s participation in leadership and decision-making processes in the region. Based on the evidence and regional data collected and analysed, this Policy Note is for parliamentarians, government officials, legislators, political party members, civil society organizations working on enhancing women’s political participation and media with the recommended policy and action options in the following three areas:

1) Legal and institutional frameworks to promote women’s political participation;

2) Mechanisms and strategies to promote women’s political participation; and

3) Partnerships for women’s political participation: civil society organizations and the media.

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International IDEA: More women in politics for complete democracy

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Mon, 2010-03-01 09:22
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International IDEA secretary general Vidar Helgesen said his organisation is committed to addressing this challenge where women are not adequately represented in spheres of power. IDEA is in Botswana to discuss the audit report on Botswana's general elections held last year.

Helgesen met opposition politicians and ruling party politicians with a view to strengthening cooperation between Botswana and IDEA and discuss the African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.

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To read the complete news story Mmegi Online.


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Women’s Participation in Politics

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Sun, 2010-02-28 21:03
2010-03-01
Etc/GMT+7
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City & Province/State: 
Colombo
Country: 
Sri Lanka
Venue: 
South Asian Women in Media (SAWM) Sri Lanka Chapter
Description: 

The event seeks to broaden public discussion on the important subject of increasing women’s representation in politics and decision making. With the Parliamentary election coming up in a few weeks, South Asian Women in Media (SAWM), Sri Lanka Chapter, believes the issue of women’s participation in politics is both timely and relevant, especially in view of the very low percentage of women in political institutions in Sri Lanka and their resultant inability to influence decision making.

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Nepal: The Political Role of Nepalese Women

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Sat, 2010-01-30 13:11
Summary: 

Nepalese women are playing a greater role in politics and economics these days, but their participation in politics is far from the 50 percent that would represent equal and fair representation. More than 95 percent of Nepalese women have been affected by the violence.

Women's organizations nowadays encourage women to participate in political affairs, but they are still held back by the parochial culture, particularly in the villages. It is a positive sign that women are being recruited for the army and other posts, but still women's participation in politics remains nominal. This applies to both urban and rural areas.

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To read the complete story please visit WorldPress.org.


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Afghanistan: Reintegrating the Taliban: where does it leave Afghan women?

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Thu, 2010-01-28 11:08
Summary: 

At Thursday’s London conference on Afghanistan, more than 50 countries will to try flesh out the details for a plan to gradually hand security to Afghans, which involved strengthening and expanding Afghan security forces, improving the way donor aid to Afghanistan is spent and reintegrating Taliban fighters. But where do women fit into these plans, especially if the Taliban are to be involved?

On Wednesday, groups representing Afghan women warned the international community against pursuing a peace deal with the Taliban. “I have great fears, and I am greatly confused … 2001 was a very clear signal that there is no more room for conservative elements to rule in Afghanistan,” Homa Sabri of the United Nation’s agency for women, UNIFEM, told Reuters in London.

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To read the complete story please visit Reuters.com.


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Afghanistan: Afghan Women Warn Against Possible Deal With Taliban

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Wed, 2010-01-27 15:01
Summary: 

Groups representing Afghan women warned the international community on Wednesday against pursuing a peace deal with the Taliban, fearing a return to the austere Islamist rule that saw women banned from education and work.

Women from a United Nations agency, the Institute for Inclusive Security and other rights' groups told reporters in London that the progress made since 2001 should not be jeopardised by courting conservative elements.

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To read the complete story please visit NY Times.


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Sri Lanka: Many Sri Lankan Women Cast Votes to Select New President

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Tue, 2010-01-26 15:14
Summary: 

The significance of the voting on Tuesday was that the active participation of women in voting. Females were seen waiting in long queues to cast their votes.

Polling agents said there was a remarkable increase in women coming to cast their votes.

Ramyalatha Perera of Nugegoda, about 20 km away from Colombo, said she wanted to see a brighter future for her children.

"I cast my vote early in the morning. I think we, women want peace. We can not suffer any more and we want our children to live in a peaceful country,"she said.

Ramyalatha had taken her 80-year-old mother, who suffer from arthritis, on a wheelchair with the help of her husband to cast her vote.

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To read the complete story please visit CriEnglish.Com.


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Iraq: Iraqi parliament approves new election law

Submitted by iKNOW Politics on Mon, 2009-12-07 12:25
Summary: 

The Iraqi lawmakers unanimously agreed on Sunday on new version of the electoral law that would govern the country's parliamentary polls early next year.

The parliament held an extra-ordinary session late on Sunday night after a long day of haggling among the political blocs about the amendments needed to the electoral law in an attempt to avoid a second veto to the law by the Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi.

According to the approved version, the number of seats in the coming parliament will be 325 instead of the 275 in the current parliament. 310 of which will be allotted for the country's 18 provinces and the remaining 15 seats will go as eight seats reserved for the Iraqi minorities and seven for the blocs who garnered national support.

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To read the complete news story please visit China View.


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