Cross posted from Refugees International’s blog.
This year there were two important developments for women at the United Nations. The first was the creation of a unified gender entity, and the second was the passage of Security Council Resolution 1888 on women and armed conflict. While neither of these developments has led to concrete improvements in the lives of refugee and displaced women as of yet, we’re hopeful that in the near future the issues affecting them will be front and center of the UN’s agenda.
This past September, The UN General Assembly approved the creation of a new and unified gender entity after three years of intense discussions. The four main agencies dealing with gender — the Division for the Advancement of Women, the UN Development Fund for Women, the Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women — were merged into a single agency to be headed by an Under Secretary General, the third highest ranking position within the UN system. In the past, women’s issues within the UN system have been marginalized, receiving little funding, and programs have been fairly incoherent. Very little cutting edge policy on women’s issues has emerged from the UN. We’re hopeful that this new entity will invigorate the UN’s response to problems affecting women and will work to protect women’s rights, as well as to increase women’s participation in decision making processes. As RI works to improve conditions for refugees and displaced women, we are hopeful that this new organization will be a solid partner.
Security Council Resolution 1888 is a response to the systematic targeting of women in conflict situations. Awareness about sexual violence in conflict situations has dramatically increased in the past several years, particularly as the accounts of atrocities committed against women in Darfur and DR Congo have made their way into mainstream media. Despite growing awareness and outrage, as well as funding for programs for survivors, the violence continued, and the UN found itself unable to respond. Resolution 1888 calls for the appointment of a Special Representative for the Secretary General (SRSG) who will serve as the focal point on sexual violence and will coordinate the wide array of UN responses. The SRSG will also link with the gender entity. We hope that the new SRSG will be appointed by the end of the year.
In addition, the resolution calls for the deployment of rapid response teams to assist national governments to try and prosecute offenders. The resolution also calls for women protection advisors to be a part on UN peacekeeping missions in order to report on sexual violence. Ultimately, the Security Council can impose sanctions or travel bans on individuals who commit acts of sexual violence. Using the mechanisms outlined in Resolution 1888, RI can continue to push governments to protect refugee and IDP women from violence and bring perpetrators to account.
Michelle Brown is a UN Representative with Refugees International.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
