From woroniuk at magma.ca Mon Oct 6 09:13:58 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Congo: A Hell on Earth for Women Message-ID: <001001c38c0b$b3a88300$f5affea9@beth> Topic: Congo: A Hell on Earth for Women. War, ethnic conflict, and the greed of neighboring countries have turned the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo into an utterly lawless place. And as if massacres and systematic plundering by armed bands weren't bad enough, the horror of rape is everywhere, too. Author: World Press Review (2003-10-02 at 22:45) Congo: A Hell on Earth for Women Ren? Lefort, Le Nouvel Observateur (liberal weekly), Paris, France, Sept. 11-Sept. 18, 2003. War, ethnic conflict, and the greed of neighboring countries have turned the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo into an utterly lawless place. And as if massacres and systematic plundering by armed bands weren't bad enough, the horror of rape is everywhere, too. "She came in last evening. Five armed men had raped her the night before, a few kilometers from here," explains Mathilde Muhindo, director of a social assistance agency of the Roman Catholic diocese of Bukavu, on the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of Congo. "This morning, she was still crying. I cried with her," says Muhindo, in whose eyes traces of tears are visible. Through a window outside her office, you see the profile of a woman, her shoulders slumped, her face buried in her hands, sitting crumpled on the edge of a bed. Looking away from the building, the eye meets an infinitely tranquil countryside. In the distance, the hills of Rwanda emerge from the mist, which lends a deep gray hue to the mirror-smooth waters of Lake Kivu below. "It was during 2000 that we began to see women coming in with the worst lesions I've ever seen," remembers Dr. Denis Mukwege, director of Panzi hospital, a few kilometers from the center of Bukavu, which is the capital of South Kivu province. "They would tell fanciful, fabricated stories to explain away their injuries." It all began in 1994. Rwanda's Patriotic Front, dominated by ethnic Tutsis, seized power in that country and halted the genocidal attacks against the Tutsi community planned and perpetrated by the Hutus, in which an estimated 800,000 people died. Perpetrators of the genocide fled to neighboring Congo, herding along with them 1.5 million Hutu refugees whom they then forcibly enrolled in a struggle against the new Rwandan regime. To stamp out the insurgency, the Kigali regime launched its first war within Congo's borders in 1996, during which 200,000 of these refugees?men, women, the elderly, and children?were slaughtered as "genocide criminals" because they fled the advance of the Rwandan army. With the collapse of Congo's economy and the disappearance of any semblance of law and order, violence in eastern Congo became commonplace. It's a culture characterized by acute spasms of violence, fueled by ethnic hatred that is fed in turn by confrontations between radicals from both of the Rwandan sides?all of which has spilled over into Congo. This violence includes rape, carried out intentionally as a genocidal act. Martine's 'black book' She's a tireless activist for democracy and development. Martine?not her real name?remembers the exact date when she started keeping what she calls her "black book." It was her birthday, a little more than a year ago. One hundred thirty-six names are written down in the notebook, names that only Martine knows, names of women raped outside their villages, far from inquiring eyes or any possible help. They tell her their stories, and she promises them absolute secrecy. Martine has scratched out 58 names?the women she persuaded to seek treatment or assistance, often in secret. For the 78 others, the dilemma continues. "Advice isn't enough," Martine sighs. "These women need treatment, too. But I have to respect their wishes..." More openly, she engages in mediation, trying to persuade the husbands of rape victims not to send their wives away. "And that's why I need a motorcycle," Martine blurts out with a small, embarrassed laugh, as if to apologize for asking for help. Later, security considerations were overcome by greed, the primary cause of the so-called "second war," which began in 1998. A number of "elite networks," as defined by a hard-hitting U.N. report, comprising military commanders, political leaders, and unscrupulous entrepreneurs in Kigali, Kampala, and beyond, backed up by international mafias, plundered the resources of eastern Congo (coltan ore, diamonds, gold, hardwoods) and turned the region's economy to their personal profit. To accomplish their aims, they had to resort continuously to force, but without betraying their true objectives. In the "second war," Rwanda and Uganda masked their predatory intentions by clandestinely maintaining regular or irregular troops, and above all by fostering armed bands, organized along ethnic lines, forming and reforming according to the current needs of their masters. The battles among these bands have rarely led to major victories or defeats; the whole idea is to maintain insecurity and justify the militarization that enables the massive plundering. Amid all this, the local people have paid a terrible price. According to the U.N. report, which was published nearly a year ago, the number of "excess deaths" in Congo directly attributable to the Rwandan and Ugandan occupation can be estimated at between 3 million and 3.5 million. This conflict has been the deadliest since World War II. In some areas of Congo, investigations by M?decins Sans Fronti?res (Doctors Without Borders) have shown that one in four children dies before the age of 5, and that one tenth of the population dies annually. "These areas have the highest mortality rates in the world." Finally, acts of sexual violence accompanying the carnage have been without precedent in their frequency, their systematic nature, their brutality, and the perversity of the way they're planned and staged. According to a U.N. department, "on average, some 40 women were raped every day between October 2002 and February 2003 in and around the town of Uvira," a town with a population of between 200,000 and 300,000. A network of eight local nongovernmental organizations, supported by the International Rescue Committee, each month takes in nearly 1,000 women, girls, and boys who have been raped in North and South Kivu, the latter province being these organizations' focal point. Mathilde Muhindo's center alone admitted 145 such people in June. Overwhelmed by such numbers, some of the centers will now admit women only in groups of no more than 10. Various Catholic parochial bodies, which play a key role in providing first aid to the victims, now take turns in furnishing assistance; this is the most they can do. And all this is just the tip of the iceberg. Not every victim comes to the aid centers; the women who do are the ones who know that help is available, and who are strong enough to walk there?sometimes a journey of several days. Because the rapes are usually accompanied by a systematic pillage of their homes, these women sometimes have to borrow clothing from a neighbor. What's more, before they set out, they have to scrape up enough money to bribe the soldiers at each roadblock, and for the medical care they think they're going to have to pay for: Few of them know that the aid centers charge practically nothing, an exception in a country where the public health system is supposed to pay for itself. First and foremost, the victims who do seek help are those who have dared break the taboo, the stigma that attaches to any woman who's been raped. Typically, an attack begins a few hours after nightfall. After encircling a village, armed men divide into groups that alternately plunder and rape. Around 2 or 3 a.m., they grab men from the village to help carry the booty back to their base. The most ragtag of the armed bands, the jungle-dwellers, the Mayi Mayi (originally local self-defense militiamen) and armed Hutus?genocide criminals or survivors of the massacres in the "first war"?will also kidnap women and girls from the target village. These women serve as domestic and sexual slaves for weeks or months, and they are sometimes traded from one armed band to another. Since the beginning of 2002, the sexual assaults have followed patterns so common that they are becoming commonplace. Several men gang-rape a woman, repeatedly. The husband is tied up in the hut, the children are brought in; the whole family is obliged to witness the humiliation of the wife and mother. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031006/5b9d42a1/attachment.html From woroniuk at magma.ca Mon Oct 6 09:15:45 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] A confusing rape case - (Kenya -- The Economist) Message-ID: <001901c38c0b$f36f6a80$f5affea9@beth> Topic: A confusing rape case Rape is always hard to prove. Especially when lots of money is at stake Author: The Economist (2003-10-02 at 16:47) Rape in Kenya Who did what to whom? Oct 2nd 2003 | DOL DOL From The Economist print edition Rape is always hard to prove. Especially when lots of money is at stake IT WAS a heart-rending scene. A hundred Masai women trekked to the British High Commission in Nairobi on August 14th, coddling 40 pale-faced children against their ebony skin and scarlet robes. They said they had been raped by British soldiers. Another 800 women, mostly from the Masai tribe or their Samburu cousins, are making similar claims. For the past 30 years, there has been an "epidemic of rape" by British troops on exercise in central Kenya, said Martyn Day, a British lawyer organising a civil action against Britain's Ministry of Defence. Rose, a 26-year-old prostitute from the Indian Ocean resort of Malindi, says that the first she knew of the rally was when friends told her they had seen her two children among the marchers on the evening news. Far from being the offspring of a rape, she says, both were born after professional liaisons with Italian tourists. Rose's mother, who lives near Nanyuki, the British army's base in central Kenya, was accompanying them. Last week, a British diplomat revealed that a six-month British investigation had found that the police reports supporting the women's claims had been forged. Local hospital registers also seem questionable, with the entries that detail the rapes typically scrawled at the very bottom of the page. Confronted with Rose's claim, Mr Day admitted that he did not know all the children at the rally, but said all had been vouched for by their chiefs, making any deception nearly impossible. He stressed the physical evidence of some 60 mixed-race children, and the women's testimonies. He has heard 80 women's accounts so far, mostly through an interpreter. Typically, the women claim to have been gang-raped by at least three British soldiers while herding goats or collecting water. Some say they were lured by their assailants with biscuits. Elizabeth Naeku, a 58-year-old alcoholic in Dol Dol, a nearby town, said she and a friend were raped at home by around six British soldiers. When she delivered a half-caste son, she said, her husband abandoned her. Mr Day unearthed the rape allegations in 2000, while preparing a suit on behalf of hundreds of Masai herders blown up by ordnance left lying on firing ranges used by the British. Initially, around ten women claimed they had been raped. Then, Britain settled the munitions case for ?4.5m ($7m), with some victims receiving hundreds of times the Kenyan average annual income. More alleged rape victims subsequently came forward. Mr Day says he is sure that most are sincere, and predicts that over 400 of their cases will be proved, implicating 2,000 British soldiers. The British investigation is continuing. Mr Day is hoping to seek corroboration for his clients' claims from local elders and chiefs. He did something similar during his previous case against the British Defence Ministry, but some bogus claimants may still have slipped through the net. One Masai claims to have won compensation for injuries caused, not by British bombs, but by a hyena. Meanwhile, the 600 British soldiers resident in Nanyuki are confined to barracks, crippling the economy of a town that once depended on their carousing for its livelihood. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: not available Type: application/octet-stream Size: 49 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031006/3e660223/attachment-0002.obj From kara at peacewomen.org Wed Oct 8 10:43:16 2003 From: kara at peacewomen.org (Kara Piccirilli) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Open Meeting in the Security Council on UNSC Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security Message-ID: Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/pdf Size: 160799 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031008/af4d430d/attachment.pdf From woroniuk at magma.ca Wed Oct 8 15:58:41 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Sisterhood is Global Institute event in Montreal -- Women's Role in the Palestinian Struggle, 17 Oct Message-ID: <000001c38dd7$334a53a0$f5affea9@beth> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 7473 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031008/84b97f2a/attachment.jpe From woroniuk at magma.ca Wed Oct 8 20:34:53 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Rwanda: Focus on genocide widows dying of HIV/AIDS Message-ID: <002201c38dfd$28335180$f5affea9@beth> Rwanda: Focus on genocide widows dying of HIV/AIDS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Source: UN OCHA Integrated Regional Information Network Date: 10/08/2003 [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] KIGALI, 8 October (IRIN) - Mediatrice Ilibagiza, 38, is a widow and mother of three who, like thousands other Rwandan women, lost her husband during Rwanda's 1994 genocide. She was also among the hundreds of women who were raped by Hutu militiamen known as the Interahamwe and soldiers of the old army, the Forces armees rwandaises, leaving her infected with HIV/AIDS. Tutsi women were the main targets of the militia assault that used AIDS as a genocidal weapon, according to Hiraly Mukamazimpaka, the national coordinator of Avega Aghozo. Avega Aghozo is the umbrella organisation that groups genocide survivor bodies representing up to 25,000 widows. These groups and human rights bodies say that the raping was orchestrated by the leaders of the genocide, in which hundreds of thousands of Tutsi and politically moderate Hutus were killed. "After killing our husbands, they turned to us. They knew very well that they were infected with the virus and wanted us to experience the same agony," Ilibagiza said. She has now been living with HIV for nine years. Her skin is scared and eyes sunken by the disease. The genocide did not only kill, it left in its wake lasting psychological scars on thousands of survivors. So, to many widows of the genocide, theirs is an existence filled with the agony of having lost their husbands and of waiting to die from HIV/AIDS. A study by Avega Agahozo conducted in three of Rwanda's 12 provinces shows that 66 percent out of the 1,200 widows sampled tested HIV positive. The same statistics - limited because the study could not cover all the provinces due to the lack of money - revealed that the experience of 100 days of killing and raping left 80 percent of the widows traumatised. "The misery I went through during the genocide is something I will never forget. It cost me half of my family and now my own life," Ilibagiza said as she wiped away her tears. Meanwhile, she cares for her three biological children and five others adopted from relatives who died during the genocide. Today 558 of Avega Agahozo's members are living with HIV/AIDS, but the organisation's officials said the numbers could be higher since most widows have been shunning HIV tests. "It's not until their conditions worsen that they turn up for testing," Rose Musana, the Avega Agahozo official in charge of the project helping these widows, said. She said the stigma attached to being raped by the Interahamwe had caused many victims to remain silent about their ordeal. "Some of them sacrificed their bodies for the machete and many others were forcefully raped," she said. Antiretroviral Drugs The widows are largely overlooked in a country trying to rebuild nine years after the genocide. Only a handful of these women, mostly in the capital Kigali, receive medical care and counseling. Only 20 of the 585 infected Avenga Agahozo members have access to anti-retroviral drugs, courtesy of a British and a Dutch NGO. As many continue to die of HIV/AIDS related diseases each day, Avega Agahozo continues to seek support to provide anti-retroviral drugs to the living. It has sought the support of donor agencies and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda's Department of Witness Protection and Welfare. "We have done the lobbying but we seem to be fetching virtually nothing," Musana said. This means Avega Agahoze can only provide limited support. The tiny dispensary the organisation runs only provides testing, counseling and basic medications to treat opportunistic diseases associated with HIV/AIDS. Ilibagiza is one of the lucky 20 patients who receive anti-retroviral drugs. She started taking her medication a year ago and now feels better. "I used to fall sick very frequently before I started taking these drugs," Ilibagiza said in her small ramshackle home in a Kigali suburb. "I used to spend most of my time in hospital but this stopped when I received them. I only wish my colleagues could also have access to these drugs." Ilibagiza's association has built semi-permanent structures to house close to 180 widows but her main problem remains how to get the nutritious foods that doctors have recommended in her battle to extend her life. Emotionally, the HIV infected widows are hurt by the realisation that those who caused their agony - now undergoing trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, -are receiving free HIV/AIDS medication while their victims are denied. "If we have been denied proper justice why should we receive double injustice by being denied medication? The international community should do something," Ilibagiza said still crying. Yet, the most painful feeling most of these widows must endure is the knowledge that their children will soon be orphans. Avega Agahozo helps orphans by paying school fees and finding them lodgings. But with their numbers increasing daily, the burden is becoming too great for this small association to bear. Today the centre caters for at least 1,000 children, half of whose mothers are HIV/AIDS infected. [ENDS] [This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: Irin@ocha.unon.org or Web: http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial sites requires written IRIN permission.] Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For more information on this emergency, see http://www.reliefweb.int -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031008/a03323e4/attachment.html From aadrian-paul at international-alert.org Thu Oct 9 10:07:05 2003 From: aadrian-paul at international-alert.org (Ancil Adrian-Paul) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] =?iso-8859-1?Q?RE:_=5BWomen-peace-and-security=5D_Conf=E9rence_2004?= Message-ID: <98C30FD0FF5B1F4DA11A76AAFF910A1337FC0F@ldnexch01.intalert.local> Dear Rosalind I would most definitely like to participate in this conference. I ahve been reviewing the details in English and will get back to you soon. Cheers A -----Original Message----- From: Dr. Rosalind Boyd [mailto:rosalind.boyd@mcgill.ca] Sent: Friday, September 26, 2003 23:18 To: Women-peace-and-security@list.web.net Cc: suzanne.boutin@mcgill.ca Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Conf?rence 2004 CONF?RENCE GENRE ET S?CURIT? HUMAINE organis?e par le Centre d'?tudes sur les r?gions en d?veloppement, Universit? McGill, Montr?al, Qu?bec, Canada les 5, 6 et 7 f?vrier 2004 Cette conf?rence organis?e par le Centre d'?tudes sur les r?gions en d?veloppement (CERD) de l'Universit? McGill entend aborder la s?curit? humaine sous l'angle des droits et besoins des populations de soci?t?s confront?es ? la violence politique. Engag? depuis trois ans dans un programme de recherche-action, le CERD poursuit, en collaboration avec le Centre des femmes de Montr?al et d'autres constituantes universitaires, des recherches sur la s?curit? humaine dans les contextes de guerre et de reconstruction. Les chercheurs et les intervenants communautaires impliqu?s dans le programme conduit par le CERD se penchent sur la situation de ces femmes r?fugi?es et immigrantes ? Montr?al, ainsi que, de fa?on plus globale, sur les r?ponses apport?es par les organisations de femmes, notamment dans la r?gion de l'Afrique des Grands Lacs. Dans leur ensemble, les conflits internes engendrent un flux continu de personnes d?plac?es, de r?fugi?s et d'immigrants, parmi lesquels plusieurs sont des femmes venant au Canada en qu?te de s?curit? personnelle. Dans les situations de conflits arm?s, la violence observ?e ? l'?chelle des communaut?s et ses cons?quences (crimes de violence contre les femmes, flux de r?fugi?s) indiquent que la dimension genre constitue un ?l?ment central de la lutte contre l'ins?curit?. Aussi, consid?rer les enjeux de la s?curit? humaine en tenant compte de la probl?matique genre permet d'examiner l'impact des rapports d'in?galit? qui existent entre les sexes sur les sources de l'ins?curit? au sein d'une soci?t? en conflit ou au sortir d'un conflit. Dans cet ordre d'id?e, le but de la conf?rence est d'examiner les enjeux de s?curit? humaine en Afrique, au Canada et dans d'autres parties du monde o? la recherche de la paix semble, bien souvent, compromise ou hors de port?e. Dans ce cadre, le CERD souhaite r?unir des conf?renciers et des conf?renci?res tant des milieux acad?mique que communautaire dont les recherches et/ou recherches-actions sont susceptibles, sur la base des conclusions pr?sent?es, de fournir des ?l?ments utiles ? la formulation de cadres d'intervention s'adressant aux probl?mes de s?curit? dans les situations conflictuelles et post-conflictuelles. Pour rendre compte de ces pr?occupations, les sujets abord?s lors de la conf?rence devront s'inscrire dans une approche genre et s?curit? humaine et concerner un des th?mes suivants : * les alliances et/ou strat?gies locales et internationales pour la r?conciliation et la pr?vention des conflits * la participation de la soci?t? civile aux initiatives de paix * le r?le des organisations de femmes * la politique d'aide canadienne et/ou les interventions des ONG canadiennes * l'impunit? et les aspects l?gaux de la violence fond?e sur le sexe * la citoyennet? * les initiatives parrain?es par l'ONU (R?solution 1325, Repr?sentants sp?ciaux) * l'id?ologie militariste * la militarisation (armes l?g?res, ventes d'armes, enfants soldats) * les op?rations de soutien de la paix * la d?mobilisation et la r?insertion des combattants * les personnes d?plac?es, r?fugi?s, et demandeurs d'asile * les traumatismes psychosociaux * la sant? g?n?sique (VIH / sida). Les personnes int?ress?es ? participer ? titre de conf?rencier(?re) sont invit?es ? soumettre leur titre et le r?sum? (80 mots) de leur proposition de communication (en fran?ais ou en anglais) au plus tard le 3 novembre 2003 ? l'attention du CERD ? l'adresse suivante : pub.cdas@mcgill.ca Les textes finaux d'environ 8,000 mots (ou 30 pages) devront parvenir au CERD avant le 15 janvier 2004. A cet ?gard, le CERD envisage la publication d'un ouvrage suite ? cette conf?rence. Rosalind Boyd, Ph.D. Directrice, Centre d'?tudes sur les r?gions en d?veloppement Universit? McGill, 3715, rue Peel Montr?al (Qu?bec) H3A 1X1 CANADA T?l?phone : (514) 398-1608 www.mcgill.ca/cdas This email is confidential and is for the attention of the addressee only and International Alert accepts no responsibility for information, errors or omissions contained in it. If you received this email in error, please inform us by reply and delete all copies from your system. No legally binding commitments are, or will, be created by this email and where it is our intention to create such legally binding commitments, we will do so through hard copy correspondence or documents. All email received and sent by us may be monitored to protect the interests of International Alert. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031009/b1123c66/attachment.html From pace1 at sympatico.ca Fri Oct 10 20:13:02 2003 From: pace1 at sympatico.ca (pace) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] EXPORTING TERROR: PLAN COLOMBIA AND THE DIRTY WAR ON SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Message-ID: <01b501c38f8c$6fc8a640$6601a8c0@mlb> EXPORTING TERROR: PLAN COLOMBIA AND THE DIRTY WAR ON SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Join MCPJ for the video screening of The Hidden Story: Confronting Colombia's Dirty War A film which analyses the roots of state terror and Canada's connection to the worsening human rights situation in Colombia, featuring the powerful testimony of men and women who risk their lives each day to build peace with social justice in Colombia. Followed by a panel of discussion featuring activists: Sandra Cordero TRADE UNION ACTIVIST WITH SINTRATELEFONOS (Bogota Telephone Workers' Union) Iliam Burbano COMMUNITY ACTIVIST AND MEMBER OF THE COLOMBIAN ACTION SOLIDARITY ALLIANCE SATURDAY OCTOBER 18, 2003 @ 3:00PM UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO AT MISSISSAUGA UTM STUDENT CENTRE, THE PRESENTATION ROOM 3359 MISSISSAUGA ROAD TORONTO, CANADA (Mississauga Road and Dundas St. West) Free event and everyone welcome. Refreshments will be served. Organized by THE MISSISSAUGA COALITION FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE ( mcaswi@yahoo.ca) Sponsored by COLOMBIA ACTION SOLIDARITY ALLIANCE ( cca_toronto@hotmail.com ) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031010/1a85e4e9/attachment.html From pace1 at sympatico.ca Sat Oct 11 13:10:26 2003 From: pace1 at sympatico.ca (pace) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] The MST and the Agrarian Question in Contemporary Brazil Message-ID: <023001c3901a$9068e9d0$6601a8c0@mlb> Greetings from En Camino... We are pleased to announce two very important upcoming events (Toronto, Canada). (1) On October 20, one of the leaders of Brazil's Movimento Sem Terra (Landless Peasants Movement), Joao Pedro Stedile, will be in Toronto, speaking at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. In Porto Alegre in 2003, Noam Chomsky called the MST "the most important and exciting popular movement in the world," adding that "With constructive local actions such as those of the MST, and international organization of the kind illustrated by the Via Campesina and the WSF, with sympathy and solidarity and mutual aid, there is real hope for a decent future." (http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=40&ItemID=2938) An opportunity to hear Joao Pedro Stedile in Toronto is rare, and not to be missed! To see some of his writings and interviews, see ZNet's Brazil Watch: http://www.zmag.org/brazilwatch/brazilwatch.htm Here is the event notice. If you are media, please take note of the contact information as there will be opportunities for a press conference or interviewing. The MST and the Agrarian Question in Contemporary Brazil a public lecture by JO?O PEDRO STEDILE of the MST (Landless Workers' Movement) of Brazil Monday, October 20, 2003 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm O.I.S.E. Auditorium 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto Detailed info: http://www.yorku.ca/cerlac/EVENTS.html#STEDILE Download the flyer in PDF: http://www.yorku.ca/cerlac/MST_Flyer.pdf The Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC, York University), The Transformative Learning Centre (OISE / University of Toronto), and The Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy (Ryerson University) proudly present Jo?o Pedro Stedile is considered one of the principal founders of the MST and presently is its main political spokesperson and one of 25 members of its National Directorate. He is also a leader and activist of the international Via Campesina movement and has been an organizer of the World Social Forum in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He has published extensively on issues relating to agrarian reform, rural development, social justice, and globalization. We are extremely pleased to host Mr. Stedile's appearance in Toronto as part of this rare public tour. He will discuss the challenges of rural development in Brazil, with a focus on the work of his organization & its current context: both national (the government of Luiz In?cio "Lula" da Silva & the Worker's Party - PT), & international (the broader context of corporate globalization). This event is part of a tour organized by The Canadian Association for the Study of International Development - CASID, and Development and Peace. Contact: cerlac@yorku.ca, 416-736-2100 ext. 88705 More info and many useful background readings: http://www.yorku.ca/cerlac/EVENTS.html#STEDILE Download the flyer for this event in PDF: http://www.yorku.ca/cerlac/MST_Flyer.pdf * * * (2) The day before Stedile's talk, George Galloway will be speaking in Toronto. Galloway, an MP in the UK is one of the few politicians who spoke out against the Iraq war. For his trouble, he was slandered in various publications, which then retracted the lies about him. Come and hear him speak on the 19th. "What Tony Blair doesn't want you to know" Date: Sunday, October 19, 2003 at 2:00 PM. Location: Music Hall 147 Danforth Avenue, Toronto [East of Broadview Subway Station] Ticket: $10.00 Event sponsored by: MUSLIM CANADIAN CONGRESS For more information: Call Tarek Fatah at 416-953-1798 E-Mail Jehad Al-Iweiwi at jehad@comnet.ca * * * We hope to see you at both events! En Camino -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031011/e937e8d8/attachment.html From sdini at yorku.ca Sat Oct 11 21:38:31 2003 From: sdini at yorku.ca (Shukria Dini) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] (no subject) Message-ID: <1065922711.3f88b0972989f@mymail.yorku.ca> Canadian Institute of International Affairs - "Rebuilding Societies >in Crisis" lecture series in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax and >Vancouver, October 2003 > > >GARETH EVANS - Toronto > >President of the International Crisis Group, former Australian >Foreign Minister, and Co-Chair of the Canadian >government-established International Commission on Intervention and >State Sovereignty which produced the report The Responsibility to >Protect who will speak about: > >Rebuilding Societies in Crisis: Before and After War > >Wednesday 8 October 2003 > >Royal Ontario Museum Auditorium > >100 Queen ' s Park > >Toronto > >5:30 pm with a reception to follow at 7:00 pm > >The lecture is free. Kindly call (416) 487-6830 or email >toronto@ciia.org and let us know you will be attending. > > >MOHAMED SAHNOUN - Montreal > >Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Co-Chair of >the Canadian government-established International Commission on >Intervention and State Sovereignty who will speak about: > >Coping with conflicts in Africa: the role of regional organizations >and of civil society > >Tuesday 7 October 2003 > >Mont-Royal Centre Auditorium > >2200 Rue Mansfield, Montreal > >5:30 pm with a reception to follow at 7:00 pm > >The lecture is free. Kindly call 1 (800) 668-2442 or email >montreal@ciia.org and let us know you are coming! > > >SALLY ARMSTRONG - Halifax > >Human rights activist, documentary filmmaker, and award-winning >author Sally Armstrong has covered stories about women and girls in >zones of conflict all over the world. >From Bosnia and Somalia to >Rwanda and Afghanistan, her eye witness reports have earned her >numerous awards including the Amnesty International Media Award. > >Ms. Armstrong will speak about: > >Afghanistan: The Way Forward > >Thursday 16 October 2003 > >Alumni Hall > >King ' s College, Halifax > >5:30 pm with a reception to follow at 7:00 pm > >The lecture is free. Kindly call 1 (800) 668-2442 or email >halifax@ciia.org and let us know you are coming! > > >DAVID MALONE - Vancouver > >President of the New York-based International Peace Academy, career >Canadian foreign service officer, and former Canadian Ambassador to >the United Nations who will speak about > >The US, the UN, and Iraq: Implications for Canada? > >Monday 20 October 2003 > >Segal Centre, SFU Harbour Centre > >515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver > >5:30 pm with a reception to follow at 7:00 pm > >The lecture is free. Kindly call 1 (800) 668-2442 or email >vancouver@ciia.org and let us know you are coming! > >Visit www.ciia.org for more information -- Shukria Dini, PhD. Candidate, Women's Studies, York University http://www.students.yorku.ca/~sdini/ From woroniuk at magma.ca Mon Oct 13 20:50:45 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Vacancy - Gender Affairs Officer, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, UN Message-ID: <009001c391ed$339e60c0$f5affea9@beth> note: please apply via the mechanisms outlined below. ---------------------- Gender Affairs Officer / The United Nations / New York, NY, USA / Closing date: December 08, 2003. VACANCY DETAILS: Title: Gender Affairs Officer, P-4 DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 8 December 2003 ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT: Department of Peacekeeping Operations DUTY STATION: New York VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 03-SOC-DPKO-002965-R-NEW YORK Remuneration: Depending on professional background, experience and family situation, a competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. More Info at: http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/salaries_allowances/index.html. RESPONSIBILITIES: The incumbent reports to the Chief of the Peacekeeping Best Practices Unit of DPKO. The Gender Affairs Officer with support from the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, would be responsible for the following: -Provide guidance and support to DPKO Headquarters and field personnel on gender mainstreaming in all peacekeeping activities, by ensuring that best practices are integrated into all policies, activities and programmes of peace operations, including concepts of operations, mission plans, peacekeeping mandates and associated resources and reports to intergovernmnetal bodies, such as the Security Council, the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, contain information on gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping; -Develop an overall action plan for gender mainstreaming, in collaboration with all areas of the Department at Headquarters and in the field. The incumbent supports monitoring and evaluation of gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping, including the implementation of relevant mandates such as the Beijing Platform for Action, the outcome document of the twenty-third special session on the General Assembly (Beijing+5) and Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) Act as contact point for backstopping and support on gender issues for peacekeeping missions and assist in building capacity for gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping; -Oversee research and analysis of gender issues in peacekeeping operations, maintain and update tools and other resources in support of gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping, and document and share best practices and lessons learned on gender issues and peacekeeping, as well as support the development of monitoring and evaluation processes to ensure measurement of progress in mainstreaming gender in peacekeeping activities; Initiate and coordinate outreach activities, both internal and external. COMPETENCIES: -Professionalism: Knowledge and understanding of gender mainstreaming concepts and approaches in a peace and security context, practical experience in mainstreaming gender in peacekeeping activities. -Good research, analytical and problem-solving skills, including ability to identify and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. -Ability to work with minimal supervision and define priorities. -Commitment to continuous learning: Willingness to keep abreast of new developments and innovative approaches to gender mainstreaming in peace and security. -Ability to maintain a network with external research and academic institutes working on issues relating to gender and peacekepeing so as to benefit from their work. -Communication: Good communication skills (written and spoken), including the ability to prepare succinct reports, guidelines, SOPs and other tools to articulate ideas in a clear and concise manner. -Teamwork: Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations, both within the UN system and externally. Ability to work in a multicultural and multi-ethnic environment with respect for diversity. QUALIFICATIONS: -EDUCATION: Advanced University degree in social science, political affairs, international relations or related fields. In-depth knowledge of gender issues in peacekeeping is required. -WORK EXPERIENCE: Eight to ten years of relevant work experience at either national or international levels directly related to issues dealing with women, peace and security and the institutionalization of gender mainstreaming, including design and development of policies and strategies. -Experience with a peacekeeping or other field mission is required. Strong communication skills and analytical abilities are a must. -LANGUAGES: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of a second official UN language is an advantage. -OTHER SKILLS: First-hand knowledge of institutionalizing gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping operations or other similar organizational environments. -Experience in developing gender mainstreaming methodology and tools and evaluating their effectiveness. -Good understanding of the UN system and key players in gender issues. Understanding of gender dimensions of peace processes and the role of peacekeeping operations. -Ability to analyse experiences in gender mainstreaming and peacekeeping for the development of good practices and lessons learned. The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8). English and French are the two working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. TO APPLY: VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 03-SOC-DPKO-002965-R-NEW YORK DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 8 December 2003 PLEASE NOTE THAT APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. There are two ways you can apply to vacancies available at the United Nations Human Resources Site. 1. Online - If you consider applying for the United Nations online now or in the future you have to register with us. 2. Offline - fax or mail paper application. ONLINE: 1. To start the application process, applicants are required to register by opening a "My UN" account (https://jobs.un.org). Go to Login, and Register as a User. Fill in the form and choose a User Name and Password. 2. After opening the account, applicants may apply for vacancies using the Personal History Profile (PHP) provided. Once the PHP has been completed for a particular vacancy, it can be saved and used for future applications. The PHP may be up-dated, when necessary, for future applications. 3. In completing the PHP, please note that all fields marked with an asterisk must be completed. 4. UN staff members must submit scanned copies of their two latest Performance Appraisal System (PAS) reports at the time of application to the appropriate Human Resources Office (HRO)/Personnel Office (PO) to the email address below, clearly indicating the vacancy announcement number. In case you have no access to the digitizing equipment, please submit hard copies of the two latest PAS reposts to the relevant HRO/PO via fax. OFFLINE: 1. If applicants cannot submit an application online, they may send paper applications to the address, email or fax number indicated below before the deadline. Staffing Support Section Office of Human Resources Management, S-2475 United Nations New York 10017, USA Fax: 1-212-963 3134, 1-212-963 9560 E-mail: staffing@un.org Applications must be submitted using the United Nations Personal History form (P-11) available at: https://jobs.un.org/release1/Info/P11(3-00)-E.doc. The applications should indicate the vacancy announcement number on the application and on the envelope, email or fax. 2. Applicants may wish to retain copies of their completed P-11 form for use for future applications. 3. Due to the volume of applications received, receipt of offline paper applications cannot be acknowledged individually. 4. UN staff members must attach copies of their last two Performance Appraisal System evaluations to their applications. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031013/9911833a/attachment.html From ffaisel at sapcanada.org Thu Oct 16 14:41:00 2003 From: ffaisel at sapcanada.org (Faruq Faisel) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Presentation on Gender and Conflict Transformation: Focus South Asia Message-ID: <029f01c39415$0b52ddb0$c400a8c0@faruq> Canadian Committee on Women, Peace and Security And South Asia Partnership Canada Cordially invite you to a presentation Gender and Conflict Transformation: Focus South Asia By Dr. Anjoo S. Upadhyaya Professor of Political Science Banaras Hindu University,India Former Director of Research for the United Nations University Initiative on Conflict Resolution and Ethnicity University of Ulster, Northern Ireland Date: Monday October 20 2003 Time: 12.00 to 2.00 PM Place: Victoria Room 505 140 Wellington Street (at Wellington and O'Connor Street) Ottawa Today South Asia remains one of the most volatile regions of the world. Various internal security problems in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh vitiate the regional security environment. Most of the internal security crises that plague South Asian states are both cross-border and inter-related. At the same time various bilateral and multilateral attempts at peacemaking in South Asia have coexisted with the conflict process itself, but their success is limited in most cases. Dr. Anjoo S. Upadhyaya will share her experience and observations from her works on conflict management from gender perspective in South Asia. Dr. Anjoo Sharan Upadhyaya has written extensively on issues of Self-Determination, Ethnicity, Women and Development and Conflict Transformation. Dr. Upadhyaya holds a ph.D. in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University where she has taught for nearly 25 years. She is a Professor of Political Science. She has been a visiting Fellow/Scholar at various institutions of higher learning: Woodrow Wilson Center of International Scholars, Washington D.C, Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington D.C., London School of Economics and Political Science and Upssala University, Sweden. She has also worked with grassroots organizations in the former Soviet Union, Northern Ireland and in India. Her research topics include Election Reforms in India, Self - Determination in World Politics, Issues in Third World Conflict Resolution, Political Dimensions of Development: The Role of State, Quest for Self-determination in the Indian Subcontinent: The Recent Phase, Ethno-regional Assertion in India: Case Study of Jharkhand, Conflict Reduction in Ethnically Divided Societies: An Examination of Techniques in Lindgren, Recent Trends in Communal Violence: A Case Study of Varanasi. Pre Registration Required Please R.S.V.P Faruq Faisel Canadian Program Manager South Asia Partnership Canada 1 Nicholas Street, Suite 200 Ottawa Ontario K1N 7B7 Canada E-mail: ffaisel@sapcanada.org Phone: (613) 241 1333, Extension 226 Fax: (613) 241 1129 URL: www.sapcanada.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031016/66ab5dcf/attachment.html From MCGRAJ at SEN.PARL.GC.CA Thu Oct 16 15:33:09 2003 From: MCGRAJ at SEN.PARL.GC.CA (McGrath, Jodie: SEN) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Article-Economist Message-ID: SHORN OF DIGNITY AND EQUALITY OCTOBER 16TH 2003 Iranian women are proud of the lawyer (above, at the centre) who has won the Nobel prize. But her reformist approach has not done much to improve their lot SHIRIN EBADI, this year's winner of the Nobel peace prize, is the sort of woman--assertive, severe and frighteningly well-versed in Islamic and western law--that Iran's conservative establishment cannot stand. A judge under the monarchy, she did not follow colleagues to overseas refuge after the revolution, but stayed on as an advocate, fighting cases of political murder, repression and domestic violence. A defender of Islam, she wrote learnedly about women's and children's rights under Islamic law. She lost most of her high-profile cases, but survived. Overnight, she has become a celebrity. Ms Ebadi, who has always argued that Iran must solve its own problems, returned home this week from a visit to Paris to find hardline newspapers charging her, yet again, with supposed links with foreign powers. One paper surmised that devious America had influenced the Nobel committee's decision. Her celebrity will probably protect her from a repeat of the short prison term she served in 2000, but not from the restrictions and dangers that dog all Iranian women who struggle for their rights. It has been a bad summer for assertive women. A female journalist was slain in custody (true to form, Ms Ebadi has let it be known that she will represent the dead woman's Canadian-Iranian family). A young mother was sentenced to death for killing her would-be rapist; her mode of dress had, the judge believed, "prepared the ground for her rape". Four women were given suspended prison sentences for disseminating contentious ideas about women in Islam. Iran's appointed upper house, the Council of Guardians, vetoed the country's adherence to the UN's 1981 convention against sex discrimination. Worse still, the mass of Iranian women reacted to all this with indifference. Women were at the forefront of the 1979 revolution that toppled the monarchy, although they had not done so badly out of the shah. Under his rule, women got the vote, polygamy was, in effect, outlawed and the divorce laws were egalitarian. If anything, the state was too permissive for most tastes; the elite gyrated in bikinis to Shirley Bassey, and swam in pools full of milk. The revolution promised women dignity, as well as equality. A quarter of a century on, they have neither. Rather than the flexible jurisprudence to which Shia Islam lends itself, and which Ms Ebadi champions, Iran's Islamic Republic has promoted what Farideh Gheirat, a leading women's lawyer, calls a "bone-dry version". Lawmakers and judges reinstated polygamy, made it virtually impossible for women to divorce without their husband's consent, and condemned adulteresses to be stoned to death. The intrusion that offends foreigners the most, the compulsory head covering, is a minor irritant. Iranians' patriarchal mind-set, says Ms Gheirat, is as constricting as the fustian legalism. Many official buildings do not admit women without a black chador, even though Islam has nothing against bright colours, and a coat and headscarf can be concealing. Only in the teeth of vociferous opposition did women win the right to ride a bicycle in public. HEALTHY, WELL-EDUCATED AND ABANDONED But Iranian women have the Islamic Republic to thank for two things: health and education. After a baby boom in the 1980s, family planning reduced the national fertility rate to two. Women live to 72, two years longer than men. In 1975, women's illiteracy in rural areas was 90%, and more than 45% in towns. Now, the nationwide literacy rate for girls aged between 15 and 24 has risen to 97%. Last year, for the first time, female students in state universities outnumbered male ones. There is disagreement over the responsibilities that society should assign to these healthy, well-qualified girls. The state-approved role model is Fatima Zahra, the Prophet Muhammad's daughter, but different people concentrate on different facets of her life. Progressives recall her active politics, in the vanguard of Islam's efforts to fight injustice. Traditionalists highlight other qualities: her piety, chastity, devotion to God, even her housework. "We don't have one model for all women," says Fakhrolsadat Mohtashamipour, the head of women's affairs at the Interior Ministry, but the law regards men as the rightful breadwinner. Friday prayer leaders counsel women to concentrate on raising children. Senior clerics assert that a woman needs her husband's permission even to go shopping. With inflation running at more than 15%, few families can survive on one income. But the economy is not generating enough jobs to absorb educated women. The most recent available figures, from 1999, showed that 10% of women were part of the workforce, 3% less than the proportion in 1972. Although unemployment is high across the board, it is much higher among women than men. Senior positions in the civil service are overwhelmingly a man's preserve. And since it is not uncommon for male bureaucrats to use spurious sexual slurs as a means of keeping uppity female colleagues in their place, some women prefer not to work in government offices that are male dominated. Indeed, a lot of young women are not offended by the idea that Iran is churning out overqualified housewives. "The majority", says Mahdiyeh Ghafelbashi, who helps run the Association for Tomorrow's Women, an NGO in the city of Ghazvin, two hours from Tehran, "subscribe to their grandmothers' view that men should bring home the loot and protect them." As elsewhere in provincial Iran--as distinct from Tehran--awareness of women's issues among Ghazvin's 350,000 residents is virtually nil. At a recent exhibition to publicise the city's new NGOs, Ms Ghafelbashi's activities were met by incomprehension by local women. "Unless there was money in it," she recalls, "they couldn't understand the point." Even so, she insists, "a historical process" is in train. There are ten universities in Ghazvin province, which has about 1m inhabitants, and they provide an environment for boys and girls to mingle that exists nowhere else. Gone are the days when a curtain divided male and female students. Now, young Ghazvinis grade universities according to the tolerance they show in allowing the sexes to mix. Conservative-minded university chancellors used to cite Fatima Zahra's pious aphorism: "The best thing for a woman is not to see, and not to be seen by, an unrelated man." But they are now fighting a losing battle to prevent boys and girls socialising on campus. Progressives at the city's three private universities have reined in the snoops that used to monitor student morals. They concede that allowing a boy and a girl to share a lunchtime sandwich may not be so terrible after all. Small freedoms have a knock-on effect. Ms Ghafelbashi says that quite a few girls in the province are now marrying boys of their own choice, rather than their parents'. A decade ago, she says, that was virtually unheard of. Some parents feel threatened. In a recent tragic case, a father in Shiraz, a southern province, forbade his daughter from taking up the MA place she had won. The girl immolated herself. POLITICAL FOOTBALL The journey to emancipation would be less daunting if there were a consensus among politicians on the need. But there is no such consensus. Along with much else, the issue of women's rights has become a football, punted between the relatively progressive reformists, led by President Muhammad Khatami (who himself belittled Ms Ebadi's achievement in winning the peace prize), and his traditionalist, conservative opponents. Punted rather gently: the reformists are not great goal-scorers. Prayer leaders on good terms with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, fulminated from their pulpits against the UN's anti-discrimination convention, which was, in the words of a senior ayatollah, "a pretext by westerners to impose their culture on Muslims." But even if the Council of Guardians had endorsed parliament's decision to sign the convention, the result would have still been a sham. The parliamentarians had ruled that Iran would opt out of all obligations that conflicted with Iranian law. Iran's custom-made convention would have been shorn of commitments to equality of employment: women are not eligible for the supreme leadership, certain ministries, or to become judges (Ms Ebadi's appointment was swiftly withdrawn after the revolution). Articles on marriage and inheritance would have been binned: the law puts women at a severe disadvantage in both. Even the blandest commitment to equality would have been fatally undermined by the setting, according to Iranian law, of a man's blood money at twice the level of a woman's. Shadi Sadr, a courageous and talented female newspaper columnist, distinguishes between two groups fighting for women's rights. First, there are those who believe that piecemeal legal reform, underpinned by an enlightened approach to Shia jurisprudence, can solve women's problems. She puts Ms Ebadi, who insists on the essential compatibility of Islam and human rights, into this category. Second, there is the more radical group that "takes issue less with laws than with the whole legal superstructure". It is hard for the second group to speak out: expressing their beliefs might get them thrown into jail. But the first group--which includes reformist parliamentarians and Mr Khatami himself--has achieved little. Parliament's progress, in its three-way slugging match with the Council of Guardians and the marginally more progressive arbitration body, the Expediency Council, has been modest. After wrangling, the marriageable age for girls was raised from nine to 13. The MEHRIYEH, a pre-fixed sum that women receive on demand from their husbands, has been linked to inflation. Girls can now get grants to help them study abroad; before, there were fears that the experience would corrupt them. The Expediency Council tends to echo the Council of Guardians. It did so when it spiked parliament's plan to award a temporary stipend to widows, disadvantaged by inheritance laws, from their late husbands' estates. It agreed with the Council of Guardians that husbands should retain their all but unassailable right to custody over their children. Ms Mohtashamipour's office in the Interior Ministry, staffed by women, and with a dress code that tolerates jolly colours, is one of the less overpowering government departments. She talks seductively of "empowerment". In this year's budget, the government gave her department a big dollop of extra cash, and obliged provincial governors to devote 0.25% of their budgets to "women's affairs". The free marriage-guidance and vocational classes being offered by Ms Mohtashamipour and her colleagues in the provinces seem only modestly enlightened. But the advantage of their blandness is that they might survive if the conservatives took over the government again. Moreover, cautious as they are, they constitute an encroachment by the state into areas of feminine life that were off limits. At the same time, the reformists are trying to help NGOs whose goals may be much more radical. According to Mahboobeh Abbasgholizadeh, who trains NGO activists, Iran has gained some 150 women's NGOs in the past few years. It will take time, she accepts, for the organisations to become effective advocates. With a few exceptions, they are little more than talking shops for young women: "a way for these girls to express their own identity, to announce: 'I'm here'.'' They have a precarious toehold. The law is ambiguous on who should register NGOs, the legality of their accepting foreign money, and their tax status. They are deeply vulnerable to the conservatives' fear of civil society. The newly-elected Tehran municipality, which is dominated by conservatives, recently expelled Ms Abbasgholizadeh and several NGOs from the building that the previous, reform-minded, municipality had lent them. Six years after Mr Khatami came to power with an overwhelming majority of women's votes, some women, even in parliament, suspect that the reformists are more interested in women's votes than in women's rights. The president, they point out, did not see fit to appoint a woman to his cabinet (before the revolution, there were two female ministers). His most forceful intervention on behalf of women, when he insisted that the judiciary introduce a moratorium on stoning adulteresses to death, was obviously motivated by a desire to improve Iran's image abroad. A CRACKED SOCIETY The scene for women is gloomy, the pace of change sluggish. Even professed reformists are reluctant to challenge patriarchal attitudes. Beyond this, it is perfectly possible that the reformists will lose their dominance of parliament at next year's elections, when the expected disqualification of reformist candidates, and a low voter turnout, may favour conservatives. Against this dispiriting backdrop are the more immediate, and more shocking, incidents of female degradation. It is a tribute to Mr Khatami, and to his genuine, if feebly advocated, commitment to transparency, that such subjects as prostitution, domestic violence and drug addiction are being discussed at all. Before 1997, they were taboo. Nonetheless, so long as the transparency is not accompanied by plans to tackle the ills, the impression will grow of a cracked society. Shoukou Navabi-Nejad, a north Tehran family psychologist, sees the cracks in her middle-class patients. Familiar western complaints--domestic violence, infidelity and fear of AIDS--are multiplied. The erosion of family values has had a western consequence: a third of all marriages end in divorce, whereas 15 years ago, Ms Navabi-Nejad recalls, divorce was a rarity.Yet very few judges are sympathetic to female divorce petitioners. In order to secure their husbands' consent to divorce, women are often forced to barter away their MEHRIYEH: assets that should, in theory, help them start up on their own. Many of the problems noted by Ms Navabi-Nejad are exacerbated by a sexual frustration that is writ large across society. No one knows how many prostitutes work in Tehran, though their visibility on street corners suggests that there are tens of thousands. There is agreement on three things: most prostitutes are runaways from poor and broken homes, they are getting more numerous and their age is falling. A journalist from a magazine called ZANAN (women) recently conducted a remarkable interview with a 17-year-old prostitute. Arrested in Tehran's southern bus terminal, the girl was condemned to 80 lashes and to a fine that was commuted, when she pleaded penury, to a three-month prison term. Upon her release, her brother tried to kill her for staining the family honour. In a year or two, she will be past her prime, and alone. The few NGO activists who work with prostitutes attest to the government's inability to deal with the problem. Women's prisons are full to bursting. Tehran's previous mayor stopped providing money for the capital's sole rehabilitation centre for female runaways. The new mayor, a conservative, has no plans to restart it. Even if the government was co-ordinating attempts to wean girls off prostitution, says Khosro Mansuriyan, who runs two NGOs in Tehran, they would fail. Why should young prostitutes quit a well-paid profession, he asks, when poverty awaits and they are already outcasts? The causes of decay are as much economic as they are social and legal. Ghar Park, in south Tehran, provides a snapshot of this decay. Designed to raise the spirits of poor Tehranis, it has been colonised by drug addicts. One female addict estimates she has spent 18 of the past 24 years in jail. Being inside is bad, she says; the heroin is more expensive. LOOKING FOR A ROLE MODEL It is a far cry from Fatima Zahra. In these confusing times, the prophet's daughter faces stiff competition for women's loyalty, especially among the 19% of the population that is female and aged between 10 and 25. ZANAN recently ran a flattering profile of Hillary Clinton. Some girls like Madonna, in part because her music is banned. Iran's most talked-about young movie directors, two siblings by the name of Makhmalbof, are women. Comely actresses abound. Iranian women, even many who are indifferent to her causes, are intensely proud of Ms Ebadi's achievement. But do not expect her to become a role model. Despite a dash of radicalism--she goes bare-headed outside Iran--she remains wedded to the cautious reformism that is espoused by Mr Khatami and his supporters. And that, many believe, has failed. A small but growing number of women are coming to reject the legal superstructure to which Ms Ebadi is committed. Take the increasing interest being shown in the poetry of Forogh Farokhzad. In the 1960s, Ms Farokhzad was a beautiful hell-raiser who had an affair with Iran's hippest film director. Shortly before her legend-sealing death in a car crash in 1966, she observed that social change had endowed concepts like religion, morals and love with new meanings. Forty years on, expressing such revisionism can get you jailed, but the judges are powerless to stop lots of young women from agreeing. See this article with graphics and related items at http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=2137652 Go to http://www.economist.com for more global news, views and analysis from the Economist Group. - ABOUT ECONOMIST.COM - Economist.com is the premier online source of global news, views and analysis. Visit http://www.economist.com for worldly insight as well as market information and exclusive resource libraries. Register at Economist.com to get free e-mail newsletters and special offers. - QUICK LINKS INTO ECONOMIST.COM - * Global Agenda: http://www.economist.com * Opinion: http://www.economist.com/opinion * World: http://www.economist.com/world * Business: http://www.economist.com/business * Finance & Economics: http://www.economist.com/finance * Science & Technology: http://www.economist.com/science * People: http://www.economist.com/people * Books & Arts: http://www.economist.com/books * Markets & Data: http://www.economist.com/markets * Diversions: http://www.economist.com/diversions * Surveys: http://www.economist.com/surveys * Cities Guide: http://www.economist.com/cities * Country Briefings: http://www.economist.com/countries * Careers: http://www.economist.com/globalexecutive * Business Marketplace: http://b2b.economist.com/ * Partner Shops: http://www.economist.com/partners * Shop: http://www.economist.com/shop * E-Mail & Mobile Editions: http://www.economist.com/email * Help: http://www.economist.com/help * Subscribe now: http://www.economist.com/members/aboutreg.cfm?campaign=EMFQ - ABOUT THIS E-MAIL - This e-mail was sent to you by the person at the e-mail address listed above through a link found on Economist.com. We will not send you any future messages as a result of your being the recipient of this e-mail. - ABOUT THE ECONOMIST NEWSPAPER - The Economist Newspaper is an independent weekly international news and business publication offering clear reporting, commentary and analysis on world politics, business, finance, science & technology, culture, society and the arts. If you enjoy this article here are two ways you can get more: Subscribe to The Economist print edition and you'll also get online access to all premium articles and the entire content of the paid archive. Click here to subscribe: http://www.economist.com/subscriptions/email.cfm Or subscribe to Economist.com and get free access to all premium articles and the entire content of our paid archive of over 20,000 Economist articles going back to 1997. Click the below link to take out a monthly subscription to Economist.com for just US$19.95. http://www.economist.com/members/purchase.cfm?subscription=monthly&campaign=EMF Or, save over 75% on the monthly subscription rate and sign-up for a year at US$69. http://www.economist.com/members/aboutreg.cfm?campaign=EMF - COPYRIGHT - This e-mail message and Economist articles linked from it are copyright (c) 2003 The Economist Newspaper Group Limited. All rights reserved. http://www.economist.com/help/copy_general.cfm Economist.com privacy policy: http://www.economist.com/about/privacy.cfm From MCGRAJ at SEN.PARL.GC.CA Thu Oct 16 15:36:47 2003 From: MCGRAJ at SEN.PARL.GC.CA (McGrath, Jodie: SEN) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Une fete! If you'll be in Ottawa on October 20th, please save the date Message-ID: -----Original Message----- From: Susan Tanner [mailto:susant@apex.gc.ca] Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2003 4:11 PM Please come to a "pink tea" reception for Marilou McPhedran at the Minto Place 5-7 Monday the 20th. Sorry to be so tardy with the invitation but I have been out of town.... ... Pink teas, as you may know, were used as a organizing tool by the suffragettes to avoid the harassment of the anti-suffrage forces. If those men showed up they just served tea and kept the speeches for another time. Some enterprising Ontario hostesses would put Sherry in the tea...... -Hats and gloves are NOT required. From janis.alton at sympatico.ca Sun Oct 19 13:05:17 2003 From: janis.alton at sympatico.ca (Janis Alton) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Fw: PROGRESSIVE UN RESOL. FROM THE U.S.!? Message-ID: <004c01c39663$2c6a5280$6052fea9@roger.com> ----- Original Message ----- From: Eryl Court To: Janis Alton ; VOW National Cc: myself Sent: Monday, October 13, 2003 9:55 PM Subject: PROGRESSIVE UN RESOL. FROM THE U.S.!? DEAR JANIS AND ALL AT V.O.W. Surprised to receive the following GOOD info. (re U.S. and UN ) today via UNAC Can. Something we can applaud from Uncle Sam? I HOPE SO! Best. e. ------------------------------- U.S. Submits U.N. Resolution On Women's Political Role By Steve Hirsch, U.N. Wire WASHINGTON - The United States, fresh from yesterday's U.N. Security Council victory on Iraq, is planning to table a resolution in the General Assembly today aimed at increasing the political participation of women around the world, Bush administration officials say. U.S. Representative to the Commission on the Status of Women Ellen Sauerbrey told U.N. Wire this morning that even though the measure will be tabled today, final negotiations on the language will continue into next week. A senior administration official told U.N. Wire yesterday that the proposal focuses on the role of civil society and the private sector in working with governments to eliminate laws and regulations that discriminate against women in the political process and encourage political parties to seek and train women candidates, as well as to promote initiatives to train women how to vote, govern and advocate effectively. The watchword, this official said, is "civic responsibility" and trying to equip women so that they can compete in politics and so that governments do not discriminate against them. "Disturbing Attempts" To Quiet Women "We have seen disturbing attempts in some countries - for example by the former governments of Afghanistan and Iraq - to quiet the voice of women," Sauerbrey said Wednesday in a statement on the proposal. Sauerbrey, a former minority leader of the House of Delegates in the U.S. state of Maryland, said that with her 30 years of involvement in politics, "I have seen firsthand that women are successful campaigners, organizers and mobilizers, but that they too rarely contest for public office." "This is one reason," she said, "why so few women serve in elective office at all levels of government." Sauerbrey said that women, particularly in poorer countries and emerging democracies, often do not know how to run campaigns or overcome barriers to their participation and that governments and civil society must give them the tools to learn. She said the resolution includes basic principles on women's participation and integration into the political process, stating that women have the right to vote in all elections, run for and hold office, associate with like-minded individuals, publicly express their views and debate public policy. "The resolution's action-oriented, concrete suggestions provide a blueprint for programmatic changes to increase women's participation, which we hope will be used throughout the international community," she said. Sauerbrey said this morning that most of the debate has been over relatively technical language issues, rather than the policy recommendations in the proposal. unac-discuss is an open listserv moderated and administered by UNA-Canada. Serving as a discussion forum on UN related issues as seen from a Canadian perspective, it is primarily targeted towards a Canadian audience - both individuals and organizations. To subscribe, unsubscribe or post to the listserv, send an appropriate message to unac-discuss@unac.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ unac-discuss est un Listserv non restreint, mod?r? et administr? par l'Association canadienne pour les Nations Unies. Ce Listserv servira de groupe de discussion sur les questions se rapportant aux Nations Unies, selon une perspective canadienne. C'est pourquoi il s'adresse principalement -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031019/e55d824c/attachment.html From pace1 at sympatico.ca Sun Oct 19 14:11:57 2003 From: pace1 at sympatico.ca (pace) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] =?iso-8859-1?Q?Murder_of_Popular_Women's_Organisation_member_and_human_ri?= =?iso-8859-1?Q?ghts_defender_in_Barrancabermeja?= Message-ID: <085501c3966c$956ae1b0$6601a8c0@mlb> WOMENS' VOICES - URGENT ACTION Murder of Popular Women's Organisation member and human rights defender in Barrancabermeja The Colombian NGO, the "Jose Alvear Restrepo" Lawyers Collective, denounces and repudiates the assassination of ESPERANZA AMARIS MIRANDA, human rights defender and member of the Organizacion Femenina Popular [ Popular Women's Organisation] in Barrancabermeja, and we request that all social, trade union, women's and human rights organisations denounce the event to the relevant authorities and hold them to their responsibility to protect the lives of civilians in Barrancabermeja and the Magdalena del Medio. Events 1.. At about 7.30pm on Thursday 16 October, three armed paramilitaries arrived in a public services vehicle at the home of ESPERANZA AMARIS MIRANDA in the Versalles area of the city. They threatened her, and forced her into the car, despite the efforts of her daughter who threw herself onto the car and was dragged along the road for about 200 metres before falling off, her shoulder seriously injured. 2.. Five minutes later, ESPERANZA AMARIS MIRANDA was assassinated by the paramilitaries outside the Camilo Torres Restrepo College, and her body was dumped in the road. 3.. When the OFP found out about her disappearance, they tried to contact the police, but no one answered the phone. Previously the police had agreed to an immediate response in the case of human rights violations. Background ESPERANZA AMARIS MIRANDA, 40 years old, had been a member of the OFP grass roots committee at the "Women's House" in the First of May neighbourhood since the year 2000. She was the mother of a 21 year old daughter and a 15 year old son, and worked selling lottery tickets and games of chance. Esperanza had previously reported threats from the paramilitaries to the Regional Prosecutor. The paramilitaries have been attempting to silence the voice of women who denounce aloud events that the paramilitaries want to remain in silence. According to the Regional Ombudsman, this year alone, Barrancabermeja has witnessed 94 murders, 56 disappearances and more than 600 forced displacements as a result of the social control enforced by paramilitaries. This murder merely confirms what the OFP, trade unions and other social organisations have been denouncing: that in Barrancabermeja, the paramilitaries move about freely, act as and when they like, take people from their houses and take them away to kill them. Actions For the above mentioned events, and so that this crime does not remain in impunity like so many others have, and so that ESPERANZA AMARIS MIRANDA and her resistance, her strength and her difficult work may remain forever in our memories, we call on the Colombian state to: 1.. Investigate this crime, and sanction the civil, police and military authorities for their failure to act. 2.. Regain social and political control from the paramilitaries in Barrancabermeja 3.. Investigate not only the crime against Esperanza Amaris, but all the murders that take place every day in Barrancabermeja. That they guarantee the lives and physical integrity of Esperanza's family, and everyone involved in the defence of human rights throughout the whole country. ORGANIZACI?N FEMENINA POPULAR Barrancabermeja Magdalena Medio Colombia 16 October 2003 Colombia Solidarity Campaign adds: Please send letter of protest to: Presidente de la Republica de Colombia: Dr. Alvaro Uribe Vilez Palacio de Narino Carrera 8 No.7-26 Santafe de Bogota, COLOMBIA Fax: 00 57 1 286 74 34/286, 68 42/284 21 86 E-mail: auribe@presidencia.gov.co; dh@presidencia.gov.co [Alternative: to send e-mail to Uribe login to http://www.presidencia.gov.co and click on ESCRIBALE AL PRESIDENTE at the bottom of the page] Vicepresidente de la Republica de Colombia Francisco Santos Consejeria Presidential de Derechos Humanos Calle 7, No 654, Piso 3 Santafe de Bogota, COLOMBIA Fax: 00 57 1 337 1351 E-mail: fsantos@presidencia.gov.co Presidential Human Rights Programme Programa Derechos Humanos Presidencia de la Republica ppdh@presidencia.gov.co Fiscal General de la Nacion/Public Prosecutor Dr Luis Camilo Osorio E-mail:contacto@fiscalia.gov.co; denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co Procurador General de la Nacion/Attorney General Dr Edgardo Josi Maya Villazon Carrera 5 N0 15-80 F Fax: 3429723 E-mail:anticorrupcion@presidencia.gov.co Defensor del Pueblo / Public Defender Dr Luis Eduardo Cifuentes E-mail:secretaria_privada@hotmail.com; defensoria@defensoria.org.co And, in the UK, to Colombian Embassy (UK): mail@colombianembassy.co.uk Bill Rammell MP Under Secretary of State Foreign Office james.morrison@fco.gov.uk VOCES DE MUJERES ACCI?N URGENTE No es f?cil escribir en momentos en los que del coraz?n y la raz?n no brotan sino l?grimas, pero la obligaci?n moral que tenemos quienes creemos que la vida tiene que seguir, que la vida alg?n d?a ser? un principio regulador de la convivencia social, nos hace rehacer nuestras fuerzas con esp?ritu de lucha por los derechos humanos y contra el totalitarismo. Denunciamos el asesinato de la compa?era ESPERANZA AMAR?S MIRANDA, de 40 a?os de edad, miembra desde el 2002 del equipo base de la Casa de la Mujer del nor oriente de la Organizaci?n Femenina Popular, situada en el barrio Primero de Mayo, barranque?a dedicada a la venta de juegos de azar -chance-, madre de un hijo de 15 a?os y una hija de 21 a?os, habitante del barrio Versalles. En memoria de nuestra compa?era ESPERANZA AMAR?S MIRANDA, a los asesinos de su ser, de su persona, les ofrecemos su obra, su trabajo para sacar adelante a su familia, su sonrisa, su resistencia. Les decimos una vez m?s que las mujeres no parimos ni forjamos hijos e hijas para la guerra. Y a las autoridades locales, civiles y militares les reafirmamos nuestra denuncia: "hay paramilitares usurpando el poder de ustedes", se mueven como quieren y donde quieren, llegan a las casas, sacan sus habitantes, se los llevan para asesinarlos. Hoy estamos viviendo en carne propia lo que tanto denunciamos y ustedes siempre han negado en teor?a, pero lo confirman los hechos. Hechos Hoy jueves 16 de octubre tres paramilitares armados llegaron a bordo de un veh?culo de servicio p?blico hacia las 7:30 p. m., a la puerta de la casa de la compa?era ESPERANZA AMARIS MIRANDA, en el barrio Versalles, la intimidaron y se la llevaron a la fuerza en el auto, a pesar de los ruegos de su hija que se lanzo hac?a el veh?culo, siendo arrastrada durante 200 metros hasta perder el contacto y quedar arrojada sobre el piso, herida en un hombro. cinco minutos despu?s de la desaparici?n de la compa?era ESPERANZA AMARIS MIRANDA fue asesinada por los paramilitares frente al Colegio Camilo Torres Restrepo y su cad?ver arrojado en la v?a p?blica. La Organizaci?n Femenina Popular tambi?n denuncia que tan pronto tuvo conocimiento de la desaparici?n de ESPERANZA AMARIS llam? a la fuerza p?blica, pero no fue posible la comunicaci?n pues nadie contestaba a pesar de que en una reuni?n del Comit? Operativo Intersectorial se acord? un mecanismo de comunicaci?n para tener una reacci?n inmediata frente a violaciones de Derechos Humanos. Las autoridades solo llegaron a levantar el cuerpo. Como antecedente, la se?ora ESPERANZA AMARIS hab?a denunciado ante la Fiscal?a amenazas de estos grupos paramilitares. Reiteramos una vez m?s nuestras denuncias, como forma de mantener en voz alta lo que los actores armados nos quieren callar. En el 2003 seg?n datos de la Defensor?a Regional del Pueblo, han sido asesinadas 94 personas, han desaparecido a otras 56 y se han desplazado por lo menos 600 ciudadanos y ciudadanas, como consecuencia del control social del paramilitarismo que se ejerce en medio de amenazas, castigos y muertes. EXIGIMOS SE INVESTIGUE Y SE SANCIONE a las autoridades civiles, de polic?a y militares por omisi?n frente a estos hechos. EXIGIMOS LA RECUPERACI?N DEL CONTROL SOCIAL Y POL?TICO en la ciudad. No queremos como respuesta que "no se puede hacer nada porque no hay denuncias o flagrancia" como lo han expresado permanentemente las autoridades, porque cuando se denuncia tampoco pasa nada. EXIGIMOS LA BUSQUEDA de los responsables del crimen de la compa?era ESPERANZA AMARIS MIRANDA, de los otros asesinatos que se est?n cometiendo en estos momentos en Barrancabermeja as? como de las desapariciones forzadas. SOLICITAMOS A LA COMUNIDAD INTERNACIONAL presi?n sobre el gobierno nacional para que garantice la vida y los derechos, y se recupere el control social y pol?tico por parte de las autoridades legalmente constituidas en Barrancabermeja y la regi?n. SOLICITAMOS A LAS ORGANIZACIONES SOCIALES, SINDICALES, DE MUJERES Y DE DERECHOS HUMANOS pronunciarse ante las autoridades competentes para que respondan por la vida de los y las civiles en Barrancabermeja y la regi?n del Magdalena Medio. ORGANIZACI?N FEMENINA POPULAR Barrancabermeja Magdalena Medio Colombia 16 de octubre de 2003 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031019/6ed9faf8/attachment.html From woroniuk at magma.ca Mon Oct 20 16:22:38 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Warlord Sexual Abuse (Afghanistan) Message-ID: <00b801c39747$e7dd0640$f5affea9@beth> from: The Current, CBC Radio: http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2003/200310/20031020.html go to to listen to the interview. ------------ Warlord Sexual Abuse Even though the Taleban may be gone from Afghanistan, corruption and abuse still exist among the country's powerful warlords. Human Rights Watch released a report 101 pages in length called 'Killing You is a Very Easy Thing for Us". Some of things they found we have heard about before, including the ongoing abuse and rape of women and girls. But, according to their findings, boys and young men also face sexual violence. Throughout the country, from Jalalabad to Kandahar, high-placed commanders in regional armies regularly abduct boys?and keep them as sexual slaves. And the practice, it turns out, is not new?.its been going on for over a decade. When we were in Kabul, Afghanistan last month, we spoke with Nader Nadery. He's a commissioner with the country's Human Rights Commission. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031020/39b260ee/attachment.html From woroniuk at magma.ca Tue Oct 21 09:33:07 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Expert Group Meeting on peace agreements as a means for promoting gender equality... Message-ID: <006a01c397d8$12c16460$f5affea9@beth> The Women Watch Website has information posted on a planned United Nations expert group meeting for input into next spring's meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women. See http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/peace2003/ "Peace agreements as a means for promoting gender equality and ensuring participation of women ? A framework of model provisions" Expert Group Meeting Organized by: DAW, OSAGI, DPA 10-13 November 2003 Ottawa, Canada -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031021/e1c8c835/attachment.html From haddingtonfarm at hotmail.com Wed Oct 22 11:24:33 2003 From: haddingtonfarm at hotmail.com (Kate White) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] UNIFEM COMMEMORATES THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF SC RESOLUTION 1325 Message-ID: FYI. Best wishes with sessions today, at which my UNIFEM Canada colleagues will join you. Kate Kathryn White, President Black & White Inc. Risk, Strategy, Policy, Communication. Risque, Politique, Stratégie, Communication. Haddington Farm 1007 prom. Prince of Wales Drive Ottawa, Ontario CANADA K2C 3K1 +1 (613) 224 8228 (T) +1 (613) 225 0054 (F) email: reply or blackandwhite@rogers.com President, UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Canada _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: Subject: UNIFEM Press Release: MEDIA ADVISORY: UNIFEM COMMEMORATES THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF SC RESOLUTION 1325 Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 10:19:24 -0500 Size: 7313 Url: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031022/622ee6b9/attachment.mht From pace1 at sympatico.ca Wed Oct 22 21:43:38 2003 From: pace1 at sympatico.ca (pace) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Forcibly Displaced Indigenous and Afro-Colombian Communities in Colombia Message-ID: <009001c39907$14cd1030$6501a8c0@mlb> Colombia Action Solidarity Alliance (Toronto, Canada) INVITES YOU ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forcibly Displaced Indigenous and Afro-Colombian Communities in Colombia Building Solidarity & Justice and Peace Speakers: DANILO RUEDA: Coordinaror, Justice and Peace, Colombian Human Rights NGO THANDO HYMAN Afro-Colombian Working Group, Colombia Action Solidarity Alliance-CASA Thursday, Oct. 30th @ 7-9 pm Friend's House (60 Lowther Ave, 2 blocks north of St. George subway at Bedford/Bloor) Admission:Free Hosted by: Colombia Action Solidarity Alliance-CASA Amnesty International PBI (Peace Bridages International) 88.1 FM CKLN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information, contact: cca_toronto@hotmail.com or scott@web.ca 416-364-9737 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031022/b8a6ec70/attachment.html From woroniuk at magma.ca Sun Oct 26 09:28:25 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:05 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Carleton University Florence Bird Lecture-October 29-Ottawa by Nelofer Pazira (Image and Reality : Women in Afghanistan) Message-ID: <008301c39bcd$6ac1e9c0$f5affea9@beth> The Pauline Jewett Institute of Women's Studies Carleton University - Carleton's Capital University Invites you to attend the: FLORENCE BIRD LECTURE "...burqas over our heads and change on our minds..." Speaker: NELOFER PAZIRA Journalist and film-maker (Kandahar and Return to Kandahar) "Image and Reality: Women in Afghanistan" Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 Time: 5:00 p.m. Place: 302 Azrieli Theatre Carleton University Reception to follow, Admission is free. Visitor parking is 'pay and display.' Lecture sponsored by Pauline Jewett Institute of Women's Studies Cosponsoring units: School of Journalism and Communication, Department of English, School for Studies in Art and Culture, Institute for Cultural Studies in Literature, Art and Culture, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, Equity Services, Institute of Political Economy, Joint Chair of Women's Studies, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. For more information about "Return to Kandahar" please access: http://jfilm.org/rtk/dirnotes/journeyback.htm The Florence Bird Lecture is one of the major lecture series at Carleton University, named in honour of Senator Florence Bird who served as the Chair of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women (1967-1970). Each year, the Lecture features a prominent woman and highlights her important work in her respective field. The topics of the Bird Lecture have varied significantly over the years, but always focus on areas of particular concern to women's struggles for an equitable and just society. Previous speakers have included the Hon. Monique Bgin, Madeleine Parent, Dr. Glenda Simms, Judy Rebick, Maureen O'Neil, Maureen McTeer and, most recently, the Hon. Susan Whelan. Helene Boudreault, Administrator of the Joint Chair in Women's Studies TELEPHONE NO. FOR BOTH LOCATIONS: 613-520-6644 OFFICE AT: OFFICE AT: Carleton University University of Ottawa Pauline Jewett Institute Institute of of Women's Studies Women's Studies Dunton 1502 143 Seraphin-Marion 1125 Colonel By Drive P.O. Box 450, Sta. A Ottawa ON K1S 5B6 Ottawa ON K1N 6N5 FAX: 613-520-2622 FAX: 613-562-5994 TELEPHONE NO.: (613) 520-6644 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031026/5b7a7bd8/attachment.html From woroniuk at magma.ca Sun Oct 26 20:12:08 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Fw: Women, Ink. Booklink #34: Women and Conflict Message-ID: <001901c39c27$65bdc8e0$f5affea9@beth> =========================================================== WOMEN, INK. BOOKLINK #34 October 2003 By Yasna Uberoi Welcome to Women, Ink. Booklink, the monthly e-mail update on what's new in the Women, Ink. collection, selected web sites, events of interest, and more. Please note that your friends and colleagues who don't have e-mail can receive a print version (just send us names and addresses). We also welcome your ideas and suggestions. ********************************************************************** Women and Conflict The third anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 will be celebrated on October 31. This is the first resolution ever passed by the Security Council that specifically addresses the impact of war on women and women's contributions to conflict resolution and sustainable peace. On this occasion, we would like to announce the inclusion of two valuable anthologies on terrorism and conflict into our collection with contributions from women spanning the globe. Also included in this bulletin are additional resources, events of interest and websites related to the women and conflict. We hope that this information supplements your research and adds value to the book information provided Terror Counter-Terror: Women Speak Out Ammu Joseph and Kalpana Sharma (eds.) Women across the world have spoken out against terrorism, militarism and violence of all kinds as an unacceptable strategy for resolving differences and conflict. They have spoken from experiences that are both personal and political, and have analyzed the links between aggressive masculinity, fundamentalism, war, global capitalism, politicized religion and ethnic nationalism. This anthology, ranging over the last decade, is a powerful statement. Contributions include articles, think pieces, poems by include Susan Sontag, Anisa Darwish, Rohini Hensman, Barbara Kingsolver, Barbara Ehrenreich, Dubravka Ugresic, Sonia Jabbar. Vandana Shiva, Martha Nussbaum, Kamila Shamsie and Suheir Hammad among many others. 2003. 284 pages. ISBN: 84277-353-4. WE 648. US$22.50 Women on War: An International Anthology of Writings from Antiquity to the Present. Second Edition. Daniela Gioseffi (ed.) This volume gathers together writings by more than 150 women, including renowned poets, novelists, essayists, journalists, and activists, as well as ordinary women with first-hand experience of armed conflict as survivors, refugees, rape victims, nurses, and soldiers. Spanning the globe and traversing more than two centuries, the pieces in this compelling collection range from an ancient verse by Sappho about a wife who awaits the return of her warrior husband to an essay by Arundhati Roy about the impact of September 11. Includes an introduction by Daniela Gioseffi and a select bibliography. 2003. 375 pages. ISBN: 1-55861-409-5. WE 649. US$15.96 Some Other Titles on Conflict in the Women, Ink. Collection: Women, War and Peace: Progress of the World's Women 2002, Vol. 1: The Independent Experts' Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Women's Role in Peace-building. UNIFEM. Elisabeth Rehn and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf The Experts traveled to many of the world's conflicts, starting in East Timor and Cambodia, moving on to the Balkans, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Colombia, Africa's Great Lakes region and Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guineas, talking to women in all of these areas, they realized that militarization itself breeds new levels of violence and that impunity for these crimes has become endemic. They saw a continuum of violence against women before, during and after armed conflicts. They saw how, during armed conflicts, the horrors women face increase dramatically--in number, frequency and severity. 2002. ISBN: 0-912917-66-0. 163 pages. WE 619. US$22.95 Women, Peace and Security Study Submitted by the Secretary-General Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000). The study draws on the collective experience of the UN system: it analyzes the impact of armed conflict on women and girls; it describes the relevant international legal framework; and it reviews the gender perspectives in peace processes, peace operations, humanitarian operations, reconstruction and rehabilitation, and in disarmament, demobilization and the reintegration processes. 2002. 179 pages. ISBN: 9-211302-22-6. WE 620. US$25.00 For a complete listing, go to http://www.womenink.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=books Additional Resources, Events and Websites ? Cutting Edge Pack on Gender and Armed Conflict: This new pack from BRIDGE contains an overview report, a supporting resources collection and an In Brief bulletin. The overview report explores the impact of armed conflict on gender relations, analyzing the distinct ways that both women and men are affected. It demonstrates that interventions must respond to the diverse needs of women and men who may simultaneously play the roles of activists and parents, soldiers and victims. The enforcement of international laws and commitments, particularly United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1325, is emphasized. The supporting resources collection features summaries of key materials, case studies and tools. It also features web resources and networking contacts along with a list of the relevant international laws and commitments that protect the rights of women. The In Brief bulletin consists of a summary of the overview report and two case studies. The printed pack is available free to southern-based organizations. Contact BRIDGE at bridge@ids.ac.uk. The pack can also be downloaded free from http://www.ids.ac.uk/bridge/reports_gend_CEP.html. This pack is also available in French and Spanish. BRIDGE supports gender mainstreaming efforts of policymakers and practitioners by bridging the gaps between theory, policy and practice with accessible and diverse gender information. This is undertaken through accessible and appropriate knowledge creation, sharing, and management, in long-term collaboration involving mutual capacity-building with Southern and Northern partners. (www.ids.ac.uk/bridge) ? UN Events Calendar to Celebrate the 3rd Anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325: October 29: 10 am-1pm, Open Meeting on Women, Peace and Security at the Security Council; October30: 3pm-4pm, An Inter-agency Taskforce on Women, Peace and Security: Iraq, Liberia and DRC. Organized by the Working Group on Women, Peace and Security and The Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI); October 30: launch of Unifem portal on gender and conflict and a screening of Peace x Peace, Women on the Frontlines; October 31: 1:15pm-2:45pm, Inter-agency Taskforce on Women, Peace and Security, Panel Discussion: Impact of 1325 - Reality or Fiction. For more information on all events, please contact osagi@un.org ? Women's Visions for Non Violence and Peace Training Programme. October 29-31, Bucharest, Romania. Organized by the Women's Association of Romania, this training programme has been developed in collaboration with the International Fellowship of Reconciliation IFOR-from the Netherlands. This program is designed to endow participants with the necessary knowledge, reason and will for non-violent conflict resolution aiming at prevention and diminishing of violence in communities, by diffusing these practices on a wider social area. For more information, email afr@afr.ro ? Regional Training Programme on the Equal Status and Human Rights of Women, November 3-21, 2003, Lund/ Stockholm, Sweden. Hosted by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute. This training programme will focus on human rights and gender issues, international standards of equality and policies aimed at enhancing gender equality and covers human rights protection of women in all pertinent areas. For more information, http://www.rwi.lu.se ? Peace agreements as a means for promoting gender equality and ensuring participation of women - A framework of model provisions. November 10-13, 2003, Ottawa, Canada. This is an Expert Group Meeting in preparation for the 48th UN Commission on the Status of Women taking place in March 2004. Hosted by DAW, OSAGI, DPA http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/peace2003/ ? Section on Women and World Peace in "Signs": Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Volume 28 Summer 2003 edition (University of Chicago). Includes articles reports and essays on women's rights, masculinity and war, NGOs and SCR 1325, and gender and peacekeeping among others. ORDERING INFORMATION All orders need to be prepaid by credit card (MasterCard/Visa), cheque (US dollars drawn on a US bank) or direct deposit into Women, Ink.'s bank account (Chase Bank, New York #152012761). We don't advise e-mailing your credit card number for security reasons; instead, fax it to us at 212-661-2704 or order on-line at http://www.womenink.org. Special shipping and handling rate for above titles only (please mention Booklink in your order): North America - US$5.00 for the first book, US$2.00 for each additional book; elsewhere - US$6.00 first, $3 each add'l (surface). Contact us for rates for airmail or courier service. Women, Ink., 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA Yasna Uberoi, Programme Coordinator; Mary Wong, Sales Manager Tel: 212-687-8633 ext. 204, Fax: 212-661-2704, E-mail: wink@womenink.org Web site: http://www.womenink.org ** Women, Ink. empowers women worldwide with knowledge to transform communities** --^---------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031026/14dbb5da/attachment.html From woroniuk at magma.ca Sun Oct 26 20:17:29 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] IRAN:Interview with Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi (IRIN report) Message-ID: <002101c39c28$16ea8900$f5affea9@beth> Tehran,10/21/2003 (IRIN) - Shirin Ebadi arrived back in Iran a week ago to a rapturous welcome after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, and immediately called for the release of all political prisoners. The country's first female judge, she has campaigned for women's and children's rights for over 20 years and has been responsible for reform in family laws. In an interview with IRIN in Tehran, Ebadi said the prize belonged to all those working for peaceful change and that there is no contradiction between Islam and human rights. QUESTION: Having won this award, what impact is this going to have on your work now? ANSWER: Winning the Nobel Prize hasn't changed my way of life or my commitment to my work. I'm going to carry on working as before. But it has given me renewed energy and enthusiasm. [In] honouring me, the prize also proves that I'm going in the right direction and that I've made the right choices. It has made me even more determined to continue my work. Anyway, this prize doesn't belong to me: it belongs to everyone who works towards human rights. In my opinion, winning this prize won't affect Iranian society in the short term, but I'm sure it'll have an effect in the long term. That's because it'll give encouragement to the people who believe in progressive change in Iran, and the international recognition that comes with the prize will also attract more supporters. When more and more people want something, it becomes easier to achieve that goal. What the public want will become reality. Although you can't put a time limit on social and political change, the prize will create progressive change, and the best way towards reform is via the parliamentary route. Q: You have worked for years on the issue of women's and children's rights. What has been your most significant achievement? A: All the cases that I have worked on and all the work I have done are of equal importance. It's as though you're asking a mother to choose a favourite among her children - it's impossible, as she loves all her children equally. The answer is the same for my work. Q: How compatible are human rights with Islam? A: Human rights are compatible with Islam. I've spent 20 years researching this and studying the theory of this. The problem is that if some Islamic countries don't implement human rights law, it's because of their misinterpretation of Islam; you see, you can be a good Muslim and follow the human rights charter. It's all about the right interpretation. For instance, before the [1979] revolution I was a judge. When the revolution happened, they said that women could not be judges because Islam forbids it, and so they dismissed me from my post, and the rest of the female judges. Because of this, we all spent a lot of time investigating whether this was really true. We read, researched, and wrote articles about it. Finally, after 15 years, I'm happy to say that they have accepted that women can be judges. At the moment, we have two female judges in the Appeal Courts. So you see, when they said women couldn't be judges, they said it was because Islam had said so. But now they say Islam allows female judges, so my point is that with time, interpretations differ. Q: Upon your arrival there has been speculation you might run for office. Have you ever considered that? A: I have never considered entering any sort of political career, running for parliament, or entering presidential elections. Never. A human rights activist must always work among the people, and must campaign and defend people who cannot defend themselves, because it is governments and rulers that abuse human rights. How is it possible to be a government member and be effectively critical of the system you're in? They are totally at odds with each other, so a human rights activist must never enter the world of politics or the government. Q: The government's reaction to you has been puzzling - what is your take on this? A: It's very natural that people have their own individual opinion on issues. Any social or political subject divides people's opinions. I accept this, that people have opposing points of view, and I respect everybody's opinions. I do have to say that the government representative, Mr Ramazanpur, and the vice-president, Mr [Mohammad Ali] Abtahi, came to the airport to welcome me home and congratulate me on my win. I'm very grateful for the kindness they showed towards me. Q: How do you see the role of women in Iran evolving in the near future? A: Compared to 20 years ago, women's rights have improved tremendously. In fact, we're witnessing a gradual shift and improvement in women's rights in Iran. But this doesn't mean that we don't face difficulties: laws still need improving and changing in the field of both women's and children's rights. Q: To achieve human rights in Iran, what needs to change? A: In order for human rights to improve in Iran, there are three main points that we have to work on. The first is educational change. We need to educate Iranians about human rights, so they are more familiar with it. For change to happen, it's necessary that the majority should want that change, so it's necessary to teach people from an early age - starting from primary school right up to high school and beyond. Education is the key to success. Secondly, we have to be constantly evaluating our laws and improving on them and changing them. All our laws must be compatible with international human rights law. The Iranian government has accepted the International Convention on Human Rights, including political, social and economic change and has promised to implement it. Therefore our laws must be compatible with these international laws. Thirdly, we need the tools and mechanisms necessary for implementing these laws. In some fields we have a good infrastructure for dealing with the law, but we don't have the tools and mechanisms to deliver. For example, the law says that if a woman is beaten up by her husband, she can get a divorce from the courts, but, while there is no welfare system for divorcees, and as long as we don't have secure homes for battered wives, what's the use of having permission to divorce your husband in the first place? Who's going to take responsibility for a woman who doesn't work and has no income, once she leaves her husband's house? So the right mechanisms should be in place in order for these laws to be effective. Q: What is the most important issue that needs addressing? A: First and foremost, women's rights. And within this, the top priority is a change in family law. The age of criminal responsibly in Iran is very low: for a girl it is nine and for a boy it's 15. This means that if a nine-year-old girl commits the same crime as me - an adult - she'll receive the same punishment that I would, so it's comparing the actions of a nine-year old to the actions of a adult. Q: Are the government going to help you to implement these changes? A: A change in law really depends on the support of the people. If enough people want change, it will happen. I am very hopeful for the future. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031026/d8326336/attachment.html From morrow2 at magma.ca Thu Oct 23 21:03:05 2003 From: morrow2 at magma.ca (Charles Morrow) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Fw: UNIFEM Canada Award/Prix UNIFEM2004 Message-ID: <003d01c399ca$b53ca580$85a31a40@morrow2> > > Honour the life and work of an outstanding Canadian who has advanced the > > cause of women. Nominate your candidate or post this Nominations Call to > > your friends and colleagues. > > > > > > THE CANADIAN COMMITTEE FOR > > UNIFEM > > > > The United Nations Development Fund for Women > >> > > > Call for Nominations > > > > UNIFEM Canada Award 2004 > > > > Do you know of a Canadian woman or man who has made an outstanding > > contribution to the advancement of women? Each year, the Canadian > > Committee for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) > > honours a Canadian who has contributed significantly to one or more of the > > following goals, through their career, volunteer activities or other > > endeavors. > > * Promotion of women?s empowerment and gender equality > > * Elimination of violence against all women and girls > > * Protection and promotion of women?s human rights > > * Strengthening of women?s economic capacity > > * Transformation of government by promoting participation of women in > > decision-making processes > > * Contributing to a greater awareness of women?s issues globally > > > > The Award is conferred at a gala dinner in Ottawa in connection with > > International Women?s Day, March 8. To make a nomination, send us your > > nominee?s name and contact information; your name or the name of your > > group and contact information; and a brief summary of why you think the > > candidate merits the Award. Deadline for nominations is December 1, 2003. > > > > UNIFEM Canada works within the United Nations Development Fund for Women > > to improve the lives of women and their families in developing countries, > > through economic, social and political advancement and achievement. > > > > Submit nominations to: > > Sue McGarvie, Chair, Nominations > > UNIFEM Canada Award 2004 > > UN Association of Canada > > 130 Slater Street, Suite 900 > > Ottawa, ON K1P 6E2 > > Email: unifem@unac.org ; suem@rogers.com > > ; by fax (613) 563-2455 > > Further Information: Tel. Office: (613) 232-5751 (Ext. 235); Sue McGarvie > > (613) 725-2789 > > UNIFEM CANADA > > Le Comit? canadien > > pour le > > Fonds de d?veloppement des Nations Unies pour la Femme > > > > Appel de nominations > > UNIFEM Canada > > Prix 2004 > > > > Vous connaissez une Canadienne ou un Canadien qui a contribu? de fa?on > > importante au progr?s des femmes? Chaque ann?e, le Comit? canadien pour le > > Fonds de d?veloppement des Nations Unies pour la Femme (UNIFEM) honore une > > personne qui a beaucoup contribu? ? l?un ou plusieurs des objectifs > > suivants par ses activit?s professionnelles, b?n?voles ou autres : > > > > * promouvoir l?autonomisation des femmes et l??galit? des sexes > > * ?liminer la violence faite aux femmes et aux jeunes filles > > * prot?ger et promouvoir les droits de la personne de toutes les > > femmes > > * renforcer les capacit?s ?conomiques des femmes > > * transformer le gouvernement par la promotion de la participation des > > femmes ? la prise de d?cision > > * contribuer ? une plus grande sensibilit? aux dossiers de la femme, ? > > l??chelle mondiale. > > > > Le prix est d?cern? lors d?un d?ner gala qui a lieu ? Ottawa ? l? occasion > > de la Journ?e internationale de la femme, le 8 mars. Pour soumettre une > > candidature, veuillez fournir le nom de la personne propos?e et ses > > coordonn?es; votre nom et celui de votre groupe et les coordonn?es; et une > > courte description des raisons pour lesquelles vous croyez que cette > > personne m?rite le prix. Date limite pour poser une candidature : le 1er > > d?cembre 2003. > > > > UNIFEM travaille sous l??gide du Fonds de d?veloppement des Nations Unies > > pour la Femme, afin d?am?liorer la vie des femmes dans les pays en > > d?veloppement, et de leurs familles, gr?ce des r?alisations ?conomiques, > > sociales et politiques. > > > > Faites parvenir vos candidatures ? : > > > > Sue McGarvie > > UNIFEM Canada Prix 2004 > > L?Association canadienne pour les Nations Unies > > 130, rue Slater, pi?ce 900 > > Ottawa (ONTARIO) K1P 6E2 > > Courriel :unifem@unac.org; suem@rogers.com ; > > t?l?copieur : (613) 563-2455 > > Pour de plus amples informations : T?l?phone : (613) 232-5751 (poste 235); > > Sue McGarvie (613) 725-2789 > > > > > > > > > > > From haddingtonfarm at rogers.com Thu Oct 23 13:16:23 2003 From: haddingtonfarm at rogers.com (Black & White Inc.) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] FW: Carleton University Florence Bird Lecture-October 29-Ottawa Message-ID: <000001c39989$65c3b5c0$6700a8c0@PURPLE> FYI. _______________________ Kathryn White, President Black & White Inc. Risk, Policy, Strategy, Communication Risque, Politique, Strat?gie, Communication. Haddington Farm prom. 1007 Prince of Wales Drive Ottawa, ON K2C 3K1 Canada (t) +1 613 224 8228 (f) +1 613 225 0054 blackandwhite@rogers.com _______________________________________________ President, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Canada The Pauline Jewett Institute of Women's Studies Carleton University - Carleton's Capital University Invites you to attend the: FLORENCE BIRD LECTURE "...burqas over our heads and change on our minds..." Speaker: NELOFER PAZIRA Journalist and film-maker (Kandahar and Return to Kandahar) "Image and Reality: Women in Afghanistan" Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 Time: 5:00 p.m. Place: 302 Azrieli Theatre Carleton University Reception to follow, Admission is free. Visitor parking is 'pay and display.' Lecture sponsored by Pauline Jewett Institute of Women's Studies Cosponsoring units: School of Journalism and Communication, Department of English, School for Studies in Art and Culture, Institute for Cultural Studies in Literature, Art and Culture, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, Equity Services, Institute of Political Economy, Joint Chair of Women's Studies, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. For more information about "Return to Kandahar" please access: http://jfilm.org/rtk/dirnotes/journeyback.htm The Florence Bird Lecture is one of the major lecture series at Carleton University, named in honour of Senator Florence Bird who served as the Chair of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women (1967-1970). Each year, the Lecture features a prominent woman and highlights her important work in her respective field. The topics of the Bird Lecture have varied significantly over the years, but always focus on areas of particular concern to women's struggles for an equitable and just society. Previous speakers have included the Hon. Monique Bgin, Madeleine Parent, Dr. Glenda Simms, Judy Rebick, Maureen O'Neil, Maureen McTeer and, most recently, the Hon. Susan Whelan. Helene Boudreault, Administrator of the Joint Chair in Women's Studies TELEPHONE NO. FOR BOTH LOCATIONS: 613-520-6644 OFFICE AT: OFFICE AT: Carleton University University of Ottawa Pauline Jewett Institute Institute of of Women's Studies Women's Studies Dunton 1502 143 Seraphin-Marion 1125 Colonel By Drive P.O. Box 450, Sta. A Ottawa ON K1S 5B6 Ottawa ON K1N 6N5 FAX: 613-520-2622 FAX: 613-562-5994 TELEPHONE NO.: (613) 520-6644 From gibbings at yorku.ca Mon Oct 27 14:16:41 2003 From: gibbings at yorku.ca (Sheri Gibbings) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] No role for women in Saudi council References: <003d01c399ca$b53ca580$85a31a40@morrow2> Message-ID: <003601c39cbe$daa3e800$6401a8c0@swiftcurrent> No role for women in Saudi council by Roshan Muhammed Salih Monday 27 October 2003 2:50 PM GMT Saudi Arabia is a male dominated society Saudi Arabia has quashed hopes that women could be elected to its shura (consultative) council. Saleh bin Humaid, the council's speaker, said talk of women members was premature after suggestions by an Austrian official that women could enter the 120-member council. Bin Humaid "told me that the issue of women joining (the council) was on the table but that the mechanisms that would ensure the success of this move are still under discussion," Andreas Khol told the daily al-Riyadh on Sunday. But al-Madina newspaper quoted bin Humaid on Monday as saying "this is groundless, and what was attributed to the (Austrian) guest was the result of a mistake in translation because the issue was not brought up in the first place". Dictatorial rule "The Saudis will try and cloak their repression in Islamic terms but in reality there is no defence for it under Islamic law" Muhammad al-Massari, Saudi dissident And al-Jazirah newspaper quoted him as adding that keeping women out of the council did not mean they could not have an input in matters of concern to them. In response to international condemnation of their dictatorial rule, the Saudis say they have their own vision of human rights which is in accordance with Islamic law. They say the king and the crown prince hold consultative meetings every week where each citizen can come and complain. However, Saudi dissident Muhammad al Massari said Riyadh has no justification for excluding women from the political process. Repression "The Saudis will try and cloak their repression in Islamic terms but in reality there is no defence for it under Islamic law. "The extreme Wahabis (an Islamic sect) that run Saudi Arabia have two obesssions - women and non-Muslims. With the gradual westernisation of the country they feel they must isolate themselves from corrupt influences. "But when their power is threatened they abandon their principles and, for example, let Americans plant bases on their territory." And Massari said men as well as women are disenfranchised in Saudi Arabia. "The Shura council is appointed by the king ... It is just an insignificant advisory group that makes no real decisions. Family business The only people that have power are the ruling elite and the 20 big families that are closely related to them ... In reality Saudi Arabia is one big family business" Muhammad al-Massari. Saudi dissident "The "The only people that have power are the ruling elite and the 20 big families that are closely related to them. "The others have no real power but are bought off by having access to huge wealth. In reality Saudi Arabia is one big family business." Saudi Arabia announced earlier this month that the first ever polls in the kingdom would take place within a year to elect half the members of new municipal councils. Reports have since said that polls would be held within three years to fill one-third of the Shura Council's seats, and that half the members of regional councils would be elected within two years. Pro-reform activists have twice petitioned Crown Prince Abd Allah bin Abdul Aziz since the beginning of the year to demand the liberalisation of Saudi Arabia's system. Aljazeera + Agencies By Roshan Muhammed Salih You can find this article at: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/30B283A9-BA54-4A86-8861-6D9C62F45B12.htm From woroniuk at magma.ca Mon Oct 27 15:16:52 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Rape So Common In D.R.C., It Is Considered Combat Injury (UN WIRE) Message-ID: <013501c39cc7$430175e0$f5affea9@beth> http://www.unwire.org/News/328_426_9787.asp Rape So Common In D.R.C., It Is Considered Combat Injury Monday, October 27, 2003 Gang rape has been so systematic and brutal in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that doctors in the country are now classifying vaginal destruction as a crime of combat, the Washington Post reported Saturday. Exceedingly violent rapes of girls, adult and even elderly women ? the young soldiers responsible for most of the misery have used guns and branches to violate women in some cases ? have resulted in numerous cases of vaginal fistula, in which tears in the tissue of the vagina, bladder and rectum leave women unable to control their bodily functions. A condition that typically afflicts very young brides who are too small to give birth, vaginal fistula often leaves women foul-smelling and rejected by their husbands and society. "There are thousands of violated ladies showing up. It's like nothing we have ever seen anywhere in the world," said Jo Lusi, who heads a D.R.C.-run hospital in the eastern city of Goma, where UNICEF is building a special ward for victims of vaginal fistula. "We are here repairing an organ that is so important to women and to our country and to our dignity." Doctors say hundreds of women have arrived in D.R.C. cities for operations to repair the damage, paid for by international donors. Most patients have to undergo three or four surgeries, each requiring 21 days of bed rest. For every victim of vaginal fistula who comes to a city hospital, however, doctors estimate that as many as 30 women could be going to village clinics with the condition, because the journey through the country's interior can be long and difficult. In D.R.C., where some aid groups estimate that one in every three women has been raped, women have launched protests against rape. In March, hundreds of women reportedly stripped naked in the center of Goma and told the male onlookers, "If you are going to rape us, rape us now, because this must stop today." Among other things, the women were demanding care for victims of fistula (Emily Wax, Washington Post, Oct. 25). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031027/facbb5c7/attachment.html From erin.baines at ubc.ca Mon Oct 27 15:38:15 2003 From: erin.baines at ubc.ca (Baines, Erin) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Rape So Common In D.R.C., It Is Considered Combat Injury (UN WIR E) Message-ID: <297C9E3B63B2D3119C8100508B5ED28F155D978F@exchange2.ubc.ca> Dear colleagues, On the eve of the 3rd Anniversary of 1325, what can we - a Canadian network - do to respond to stories like this one? If women in DRC can organize to protest this, how can we support them? I welcome your collective experiences and thoughts ebaines@interchange.ubc.ca Best, Erin Baines -----Original Message----- From: Beth Woroniuk [mailto:woroniuk@magma.ca] Sent: Monday, October 27, 2003 12:17 PM To: women-peace-and-security@list.web.net Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Rape So Common In D.R.C., It Is Considered Combat Injury (UN WIRE) http://www.unwire.org/News/328_426_9787.asp Rape So Common In D.R.C., It Is Considered Combat Injury Monday, October 27, 2003 Gang rape has been so systematic and brutal in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that doctors in the country are now classifying vaginal destruction as a crime of combat, the Washington Post reported Saturday. Exceedingly violent rapes of girls, adult and even elderly women ? the young soldiers responsible for most of the misery have used guns and branches to violate women in some cases ? have resulted in numerous cases of vaginal fistula, in which tears in the tissue of the vagina, bladder and rectum leave women unable to control their bodily functions. A condition that typically afflicts very young brides who are too small to give birth, vaginal fistula often leaves women foul-smelling and rejected by their husbands and society. "There are thousands of violated ladies showing up. It's like nothing we have ever seen anywhere in the world," said Jo Lusi, who heads a D.R.C.-run hospital in the eastern city of Goma, where UNICEF is building a special ward for victims of vaginal fistula. "We are here repairing an organ that is so important to women and to our country and to our dignity." Doctors say hundreds of women have arrived in D.R.C. cities for operations to repair the damage, paid for by international donors. Most patients have to undergo three or four surgeries, each requiring 21 days of bed rest. For every victim of vaginal fistula who comes to a city hospital, however, doctors estimate that as many as 30 women could be going to village clinics with the condition, because the journey through the country's interior can be long and difficult. In D.R.C., where some aid groups estimate that one in every three women has been raped, women have launched protests against rape. In March, hundreds of women reportedly stripped naked in the center of Goma and told the male onlookers, "If you are going to rape us, rape us now, because this must stop today." Among other things, the women were demanding care for victims of fistula (Emily Wax, Washington Post, Oct. 25). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031027/2e8dff30/attachment.html From woroniuk at magma.ca Tue Oct 28 09:18:42 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] UN: US Proposal for Women's Participation Hollow (InterPress News) Message-ID: <002201c39d5e$63cd6e40$f5affea9@beth> One response to news posted on this listserve last week... Beth --------------- IPS-English POLITICS-UN: US Proposal for Women's Participation Hollow - Groups. Women's rights groups are accusing the United States of paying lip service to the rights of women after it tabled an initiative on women's political participation at the United Nations General Assembly. Subject: IPS-English POLITICS-UN: US Proposal for Women's Participation Hollow - Groups ROMAIPS WD NA IP HD POLITICS-UN: US Proposal for Women's Participation Hollow - Groups By Ushani Agalawatta UNITED NATIONS, Oct 27 (IPS) - Women's rights groups are accusing the United States of paying lip service to the rights of women after it tabled an initiative on women's political participation at the United Nations General Assembly. The draft resolution calls on nations to ''promote and protect the rights of women on an equal basis with men'', and to combat all forms of discrimination that marginalize and prevent the full participation of women in society. But the groups quickly pointed out that the United States remains the only industrialised nation that has not ratified a global treaty on women's rights. ''The Bush administration is finally courting women worldwide with its proposed United Nations resolution urging all countries to promote women's equality and political participation, but for real change to occur, we have to move beyond rhetoric to reality,'' said June Zeitlin, executive director of the Women's Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO) in a press release issued last week. The U.S. resolution stands at odds with Washington's position on the 23-year-old U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Adopted in 1979 by the U.N. General Assembly, CEDAW defines discrimination against women and sets standards for international and national action to ensure the full participation of women in society. To date, CEDAW has been adopted by 174 countries. Afghanistan, under the leadership of U.S.-backed President Hamid Kharzi, recently became the 171st state to ratify the convention. CEDAW was approved last year by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee but was never voted on by the full Senate. Ratification requires 67 votes in favour out of 100 total Senate votes. ''Here is a golden opportunity,'' said Zeitlin. ''With a snap of his fingers, President Bush could muster 67 votes in the Republican-controlled Senate to ratify CEDAW immediately. This would put instant reality behind his rhetoric in support of women's rights and some credibility behind U.S. pressure on other countries to provide those rights.'' Washington's representative to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women acknowledges that CEDAW includes an article on women's political participation, but says the current resolution is another way to highlight the issue. "Obviously CEDAW had not solved the problem ... there are signatories of that convention who are the worst abusers of women's human rights," Ellen Sauerbrey told IPS. "The issue of women's political participation is much more severe in under-developed parts of the world. Women in some countries still can't even vote, but in no country have women really been able to achieve an equal voice in the political process," she added. "The reason for the resolution is the belief that this concept, very near and dear to us in America, is of concern in many parts of the world, and by introducing this resolution in the U.N. we are hopefully making a statement about how the international community feels about women's political participation." An Oct. 7 letter co-signed by WEDO and 18 other groups to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte addressed what it called the main shortcoming of the resolution. ''For real change to occur, nations should be held accountable in their equitable representation of women in all aspects of decision-making. CEDAW offers not only words, but an enforcement mechanism for implementing steps towards equality,'' said the letter. But ''the draft resolution will only be lip service because as it stands the draft has no implementation or follow-up mechanisms,'' WEDO's Gender and Governance Coordinator Doris Mpoumou said in an interview. After seven consultations the draft resolution now mentions CEDAW, she added, but the text only ''recalls'' the treaty, meaning it is still only binding for those nations that have ratified it. The U.N.'s Third Committee will consider the draft U.S. resolution by the end of this month. ''We are thrilled when the U.S. speaks out on women's issues but actions speak louder than words. We want them to ratify CEDAW,'' said Jennifer Jackman of the Washington-based Feminist Majority Foundation. Jackman told IPS, "the resolution simply creates the illusion of U.S. activity to empower women". General Assembly resolutions are not binding, and member states have no obligations to implement them. Yet according to Sauerbrey, "I really do believe that many countries at the end of the General Assembly go home with these resolutions and do take them seriously and do recognise that this is the global community making a statement that women's rights need to be respected." She said the draft resolution is independent of a U.S. justice department deliberation on ratifying CEDAW. New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says U.S. opposition to CEDAW is based on accusations that it is a ''toxic'' treaty that imposes "radical feminism". The rights group calls the criticism baseless. Its CEDAW campaign website argues the convention does not infringe on state sovereignty, takes no official stand on abortion and does not require legalisation of prostitution, although recommending it for certain countries. The U.S.' record on women's political participation is not strong. According to a country ranking of women's political representation done by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the United States ranks 60 among 125 evaluated countries. Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark are ranked 1-3 with more than 35 percent representation of women. ''By contrast, in the U.S., women make up only 14 percent of Congress and 22 percent of state legislatures, and women's rights have been rolling slowly backward since the 1980s," says WEDO. ***** +Women's Environment and Development Organisation (http://www.wedo.org/) +Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/cedaw/) +Inter-Parliamentary Union (http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm) +U.S. State Department (http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/usandun/03092208.htm) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031028/5d0026e5/attachment.html From woroniuk at magma.ca Tue Oct 28 15:24:13 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Testifying about sexualised violence in war -- report on a Kvinna till Kvinna seminar (October 16th) Message-ID: <002c01c39d91$7435af80$f5affea9@beth> http://www.iktk.se/english/news/2003/031028_seminar.htm Testifying about sexualised violence in war Women who have the courage to testify about sexualised violence in war and armed conflict are often forced to relive their traumas during the trial. In addition, they risk being ostracized by their society for speaking out about something that is taboo. At the Kvinna till Kvinna seminar on the 16th of October, discussions focused on how to protect, empower and compensate these witnesses in order to ensure that the juridical process guarantees them redress. Rape and sexualised violence against women has always been common in war, yet it was not until 1998 that sexualised violence in war began to be prosecuted as a crime against humanity, comparable to torture, in international criminal courts and tribunals. But in order to hold perpetrators accountable for these crimes, women must have the courage to testify about the acts of violence to which they have been exposed. What happens to women who testify about these horrible acts of sexualised violence? Are they treated with respect or is their vulnerability reinforced when they agree to be called as witnesses? On the 16th of October, Kvinna till Kvinna organised an international conference to shed light on these issues. International guests with experience from the war crime tribunals in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda talked about their experiences. There were also representatives from other war struck areas as well as Swedish agencies, NGOs and aid organisations. VICTIMS ON THREE LEVELS Alice Karekezi, who has worked directly with witnesses at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, illustrated the women?s victimization: ?A woman who gets raped in war becomes a victim on three levels. First, her human rights are violated through the actual crime. Then, she has to face the society she lives in, which often condemns a woman who has been raped. Finally, her body, the most intimate thing she has, has been invaded by the perpetrator. All these humiliations make it very hard for a woman to testify about the assault.? ?Just taking the plane to go and testify at a court far from home is a difficult experience for most women in this situation?, Alice Karekezi says to illustrates the victims? exposed situation and feelings of inferiority vis-?-vis the big legal apparatus. FURTHER HUMILIATION AT THE TRIAL Sevdije Ahmeti from Kosovo highlights other structures that obstruct a fair prosecution of this type of crimes. ?The people who commit these crimes are often protected by the government and it is difficult to get hold of evidence from the institutions of power. For obvious reasons, the women are afraid to testify. In addition, even if the women dare to testify it is hard to see the result, since few people are convicted. The woman may not know the name of the perpetrator or do not remember what he looked like. As a consequence, instead of a fair trial for the victim, she is even more humiliated.? WITNESS PROTECTION There is also a shortage whit regards to protection, support and redress for the witnesses. Apart from calling for more resources for such activities, the seminar called for a strengthening of asylum rights for women who need repatriation to a third country. Moreover, the methods for how witnesses are questioned and treated before, during and after the trial must be revised. Brid O?Toole is a legal investigator who has listened to testimonies from the wars in the former Yugoslavia. ?We were not prepared to handle this kind of witness. We could not face a person who put all her energy, sorrow and suffering into her testimony. The witnesses were humiliated and deprived of their dignity?, Brid O?Toole says. HUMAN VALUES ARE FORGOTTEN Actually, the problem lies not only in the sensitive character of this type of crimes. During the seminar, it was repeatedly stated that the human being seems to have been forgotten in the judicial processes. ?The process has been too technical?, William O?Neill explains. He was a UN emissary, following the genocide in Rwanda. ?The lawyers have had too much of an influence and human values have been neglected. Furthermore, no one considered how the testimonies could affect witnesses in the future. The international war crime tribunals have been foreign implants and the national situation has not been enough taken into account.? WOMEN?S POSITION MUST BE STRENGTHENED It was unanimously agreed at the seminar that the root of the problem is women?s subordination in society along with a perception that the victim is blamed for the crime of rape. The words of Alice Karekezi may sum up one of the conclusions brought up at the seminar. ?What is needed is a shift of paradigms. We have to strengthen women?s position in society and humanise the legal processes.? Mia Lehndal -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031028/c301ed5d/attachment.html From sdini at yorku.ca Tue Oct 28 15:46:04 2003 From: sdini at yorku.ca (Shukria Dini) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Alda Facio - November 4th lecture in Toronto Message-ID: <1067373964.3f9ed58c450a8@mymail.yorku.ca> Alda Facio - November 4th Lecture Information Alda Facio ?will present the 7th Annual Lecture for the Dame Nita Barrow Distinguished Visitorship in Women in Development and Community Transformation, entitled ?The Empire Strikes Back: Feminist Strategies for Peace? on Tuesday, November 4 2003, 7:00 pm, George Ignatieff Theatre, Trinity College, University of Toronto, 15 Devonshire Place, Toronto, Ontario. ? The lecture is free and open to the public. ? Learn about the adventures of the feminist movement in the future when earthlings of all colors, classes and genders ?were finally successful in toppling the Patriarchal Empire. ?Hear about the strategies and choreographies that were ?utilized by these courageous rebels in their search for peace within and around themselves. ?Share their joy as their visions of a new society came into being. The lecture is sponsored by The Centre for Women?s Studies in Education, Transformative Learning Centre, Adult Education, and Community Development Program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto; and by the Association for Women?s Rights in Development (AWID). This lecture is made possible with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada. Alda Facio SHORT BIOGRAPHY Alda is a jurist, writer and international expert on women's human rights, violence against women and feminist analysis of the law. ?She resides in Costa Rica. In September 1996, Alda was awarded the first Women's Human Rights Award from International Women, Law and Development in Washington D.C. ? As one of the founders of the Women's Caucus for Gender Justice in the International Criminal Court (ICC), she was its first Director from July 1997 to September 1999. Since 1990, she has been the Director of the Women, Gender and Justice Program at the United Nations Latin American Institute for Crime Prevention (ILANUD) based in Costa Rica. The Program focuses its work around the elimination of gender inequality and violence against women from a criminal and human rights perspective. It does legal, social and political analysis and research; and trains judges, parliamentarians, police, lawyers and women. Alda has written widely on these issues and was one of the first women in Latin America to denounce the androcentric bias in Human Rights law and practices. For 14 years she was a correspondent for FEMPRESS, a Latin American Feminist Magazine. -- Shukria Dini, PhD. Candidate, Women's Studies, York University http://www.students.yorku.ca/~sdini/ From woroniuk at magma.ca Tue Oct 28 20:32:40 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Disarmament Forum - Issue 4, 2003 -- Women, Men, Peace and Security (A UNIDIR publication) Message-ID: <001f01c39dbc$8adf2c40$f5affea9@beth> See: http://www.unidir.org/gender/ for full text references Issue 4, 2003 Women, Men, Peace and Security A gender perspective in disarmament and security affairs entails a conscious and open process of examining how women and men participate in and are affected by conflict differently. It requires ensuring that the perspectives, experiences and needs of both women and men are addressed and met through disarmament and peace-building activities and objectives. These are not abstract intellectual musings?they have real implications for the success and sustainability of peace and security. If the international community does not adopt a gender perspective as it designs and implements its activities, it is choosing to limit the effectiveness and success of its peace and security work. Security Council resolution 1325 of October 2000 has helped to focus attention on the often ignored or marginalized role of women in peace-building and security?yet there is a wide gap between diplomatic statements on the importance of gender perspectives and what happens on the ground. This issue of Disarmament Forum examines how gender relates to disarmament and security issues. Contributing authors explore gender aspects of early warning, the role of gender in DDR programmes, masculine behaviour and violence, and consider specific UN efforts concerning gender mainstreaming?including the Gender Action Plan of the Department for Disarmament Affairs. Table of contents Editor's Note, K. Vignard Special Comment, A. E.V. King Gender, peace and disarmament, N. Heyzer Women?s contribution to conflict prevention, early warning and disarmament, F. Hill The importance of a gender perspective to successful disarmament, demobilization and reintegration processes, V. Farr Disarming masculinities, H. Myrttinen The Gender Action Plan of the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs, A. Marcaillou References on Gender, Peace and Security, compiled by D. Cathcart -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031028/569cc8d7/attachment.html From ffaisel at sapcanada.org Wed Oct 29 13:03:41 2003 From: ffaisel at sapcanada.org (Faruq Faisel) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Fw: Women in Afghanistan - Meeting in Ottawa Message-ID: <024701c39e46$fcb6bec0$c400a8c0@faruq> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 4389 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031029/6ccdc3b4/attachment.jpe From woroniuk at magma.ca Wed Oct 29 13:23:14 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] More Women Needed to Join, Sensitize UN Missions, Security Council Told (UN News Release) Message-ID: <00c101c39e49$b7e2c840$f5affea9@beth> MORE WOMEN NEEDED TO JOIN, SENSITIZE UN MISSIONS, SECURITY COUNCIL TOLD New York, Oct 29 2003 12:00PM With women making up only 4 per cent of civilian police in United Nations peacekeeping missions, a senior UN official appealed to Member States today to assign more women police and military personnel to international forces. "We need to lead by example," Under-Secretary-General Jean-Marie Gu?henno of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) told the Security Council in an open meeting on women and peace and security. "DPKO often finds itself in the awkward position of advocating for more women in national police forces than it has in its own ranks." In October 2000, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 1325, which urged an enhanced role for women in preventing conflict, promoting peace and assisting in post-conflict reconstruction within UN operations. Mr. Gu?henno urged member governments to recommend men and women with experience in gender-based crimes "to help us address the high rates of violence against women that are common in post-conflict situations" and noted that HIV/AIDS policy officers were deployed in four field missions. DPKO has expanded its recruiting by targeting women's associations. As a result, "in the 15 peacekeeping missions, women currently represent one-third of all professional staff" and more would be recruited in the coming year, he said. Numbers were only part of the solution, however, Mr. Gu?henno said. DPKO also sought to put gender dimensions in the programmes it manages. "In the past, adult male combatants were the focus of our attention. They were the ones registered and given a package of benefits to help them return to civilian life," he said. "This meant that women who were either ex-combatants, or working in support roles - such as cooks, wives, or even girls abducted and forced to work as sexual slaves - were being left out of the picture. "Now our help is also directed towards these women and girls and is tailored to meet such special needs as trauma counselling for abducted girls who worked as sexual slaves." DPKO has multi-dimensional missions, with gender advisers or specialists, in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Timor-Leste and Afghanistan, Mr. Gu?henno said. In addition, gender adviser posts have been created for C?te d'Ivoire and Liberia. In Kosovo the gender adviser helped the transitional government draft a law on gender equality, leaving a positive impact on the lives of women and girls even after the mission left, he said. Grave allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation of refugees and internally displaced women by some humanitarian and peacekeeping forces strengthened DPKO's resolve to uphold a "zero-tolerance" stance on the problem, which not only violates human rights but undermines the very core of peacekeeping, Mr. Gu?henno said. Next year, each mission will appoint an officer to receive complaints of misconduct by peacekeeping personnel, he said. He also called on personnel-contributing governments, however, to brief their nationals on the high standards of integrity they would be expected to uphold while on mission. 2003-10-29 00:00:00.000 ________________ For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031029/c752e2b9/attachment.html From woroniuk at magma.ca Wed Oct 29 16:29:45 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] International NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security statements Message-ID: <000a01c39e63$c63f6460$f5affea9@beth> The Role of Women in the Transformation of Violent ConflictThe NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (and international network) has released two documents to accompany today's discussion in the Security Council to mark the anniversary of 1325: 1) The Role of Women in the Transformation of Violent Conflict Statement by the NGO Working Group on Women Peace and Security in support of the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325 - October 2003 "..the critical inputs of women in peace and security, poverty eradication, environmental protection and promoting democracy and effective governance must be recognized and actively promoted and facilitated" [Secretary General's report to the General Assembly on July 11th (A/58/135 para 58)] 1. The formal participation of women in peace negotiations and decision-making processes is key to the effectiveness of conflict prevention and the sustainable transformation of violent conflict. Since last October there have been both significant benchmarks for peacebuilding in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Liberia, matched with increased violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Afghanistan, including the pre-emptive attack on Iraq and the continued situation of instability in that country, sadly reflected in the recent bomb attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad. 1.1 Representative women have not been systematically included in the formal processes underpinning conflict transformation and resulting agreements have been gender blind. In the context of each of these difficult and complex conflict transformation situations, the members of the Security Council are required to endorse actions to support peacebuilding and conflict prevention, in line with Resolution1325 in which the formal participation of women is a priority. 1.2 We are encouraged by the numerous UNSC Resolutions, which make specific reference to 1325*; the budget allocation for a P4 gender position based at DPKO headquarters; the DDA Gender Action Plan and the OCHA initiative to also develop a Gender Action Plan; the swift advertisement for the P5 Senior Gender Adviser and proposed Gender Unit for the Mission in Liberia. We hope these positive 'better practice' initiatives will be systematized throughout the UN Secretariat, agencies and departments as an integral part of the commitment to gender-mainstreaming. 1.3 Emphasizing that, action plans need to be backed with appropriate financial and human resources at country level and UN headquarters level, coupled with effective monitoring and evaluation of implementation, which move sound proposals into practice. 1.4 Regretfully, in terms of gender balance in high-level decision-making positions within the UN system, the number of women SRSGs has still not increased beyond one in the mission in Georgia, despite the existence of OSAGI data-bases of appropriately qualified women candidates and gender experts. Equally we are concerned at the time lag for filling the permanent P4 position of Gender Advisor within DPKO headquarters and the D1 Gender Advisor position in Afghanistan, and the fact that the 30% quota target for women in the UN system set out for 2005 is not on track. 2. Bearing in mind available knowledge and resources, on the crucial role of women in peacebuilding and conflict prevention, as well as the need for explicit gender-awareness in all conflict analysis, we call upon members of the Security Council to: 2.1 Further promote gender-mainstreaming, awareness and action with committed and sustained funding through inter alia, initial quotas at UN and national/regional intervention levels; commencing with the swift appointment of a permanent P4 Gender Advisor within DPKO headquarters office, support for a parallel Gender Advisor within DPA and permanent funding for the Senior Social Affairs Officer - Women, Peace and Security within the Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues (OSAGI). 2.2 Ensure that gender posts are funded from the regular budget and not from trust or voluntary funds, as part of ensuring a sustained mainsteaming of gender in peace and security issues. 2.3 Mandate and establish a Sub-Committee on Women, Peace and Security to develop and monitor a measurable plan for the implementation of 1325, including: a) the integration of the relevant aspects of 1325 into all country-specific and thematic UNSC resolutions; b) the institutionalization of reporting mechanisms on gender concerns in SC reports; c) the systematic support and promotion of the inclusion of women as active agents and equal participants at all levels and phases of peace negotiations; d) make full use of the resources developed by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Women, Peace and Security including check lists developed for SC Missions. 2.4 Establish an independent monitoring and response group to advise on gender-sensitive conflict prevention, with sustainable financial resource backing to monitor country level contexts. This group should address issues of gender-based violence and build on initial work done by NGOs such as International Alert and the Swiss Peace Foundation on gender-sensitive early warning indicators, highlighting the linkages of micro and macro levels of violence and the need for monitoring and early response. 2.5 Encourage and support the peacebuilding initiatives of women in particular in Afghanistan, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq and Liberia in respect of SC Resolutions: S/RES/1493 (28 JUL) paras 8 & 9; S/RES/1483/2003 (22 MAY); S/RES/1478/2003 (6 MAY); S/RES/1468/2003 (20 MAR) para 2; S/RES/1445/2002 (4 DEC) paras 12 and 19; S/RES/1419/2002 (26 JUN) para 7; S/RES/1386/2001 (20 DEC); S/RES/1383/2001 and S/RES/1355/2001 (15 JUN). 3. The NGOWG further calls upon Member States to: 3.1 Integrate 1325 into domestic national and regional legislation with particular focus on the protection of women's human rights in terms of address of sexual and gender-based violence, and gender-awareness in early education as part of violence prevention. 3.2 Mainstream gender-awareness training throughout their military and civilian security forces; along the lines of examples provided by the Scandinavian countries, the Canadians and the Dutch. 3.3 Ensure that all national peacekeepers are trained in gender-awareness and human rights protection, and fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with regard to accountability on engagement in UN peace support operations, failing this that there are at minimum clear and publicized lines of accountability for peacekeepers not currently falling under the ICC. 4. These recommendations are made in the spirit of Resolution 1325 and the Security Council's desire to remain "actively seized" in the implementation of this resolution as an effective tool for the grounding of sustainable peace globally. The NGOWG would like to close by reiterating the statement made by the Secretary-General in his Study on Women, Peace and Security (2002): "Central to any transition process is the need to take account of the differential needs of women and men at all stages of rebuilding societies and the importance of concrete mechanisms to ensure that all people- women and men- enjoy freedoms and participate equally in rehabilitation and reconstruction." *The UN Office of the Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women (OSAGI) has compiled the "2002-2003 Security Council Resolutions with Analysis of Women, Peace and Security Issues" in a table format. For more information about this table, contact Jenny Perlman, Acting Coordinator of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, at: (212) 551-3140, or jennyp@womenscommission.org. 2) Questions for Consideration: UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, 29th October 2003 NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security and Amnesty International The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security and Amnesty International welcome the decision of the United States of America to hold a Security Council Open Debate on Gender and Peacekeeping, on 29 October 2003, to mark the third anniversary of the unanimous adoption of UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome the appointment of an interim Gender Adviser in the Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), New York. We hope the permanent position of Senior Gender Advisor, will be filled shortly. 1. Coordination of the Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325 Across the UN System QUESTION FOR CONSIDERATION: . Will the coordination role of the UN Secretary-General's Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues (OSAGI), with a dedicated staff member, be assured by the provision of adequate funding by member states? EXPLANATORY NOTE: . OSAGI covers gender mainstreaming across the whole UN system on all issues and comprises six professional staff; . Yet OSAGI has only one staff member who coordinates the work and advocacy on the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325, across all of the different UN departments and agencies, including DPKO; . This staff member has only been in place for nine months and is funded by voluntary contributions of the Finnish government for a period of one year. After this time the position has an uncertain future; . It should be noted that, in contrast, the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict has a staff of fourteen full-time staff who are dedicated to the implementation of the various UNSC resolutions on this subject. 2. Mechanisms of Accountability for Peacekeepers QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION: . Why are UN directives for peacekeeper accountability not available for public scrutiny? . What procedures do troop-contributing countries have to follow-up, via criminal procedures where appropriate, on cases where their soldiers are repatriated for committing a breach of code of conduct and/or a criminal act, whilst participating in a UN peacekeeping operation? EXPLANATORY NOTE: . DPKO directives regarding discipline, such as the Directives for Disciplinary Matters Involving Military Members of National Contingents (MD/24 July 2002) and the Directives for Disciplinary Matters Involving Civilian Police Officers and Military Observers (MD/24 July 2002) are currently internal UN documents. These should be made public. . Heads of UN peacekeeping operations do not have authority to discipline peacekeepers beyond repatriation back to their country of origin. Troop-contributing countries, in turn, continue to have a "very poor track record" of prosecuting soldiers, who have allegedly committed criminal offences whilst deployed on UN peacekeeping missions. (Secretary-General's Study on Women, Peace and Security, 2002). 3. Gender Units in UN Peacekeeping Missions See Operative Paragraph 5 of UNSC Resolution 1325. QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION: . How will the UNSC, DPKO and the Fifth Committee of the UN General Assembly (Fifth Committee) together ensure funding from the assessed peacekeeping budget for the staffing and programming of gender units? . How will the UNSC, DPKO and the Fifth Committee together ensure the establishment of a gender unit for UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) (currently pending budgetary approval) with sufficient staffing and appropriate programmatic funding? EXPLANATORY NOTE: . To-date, only five UN peacekeeping operations have had staff working directly on gender issues (UNTAET, UNMIK, MONUC, UNAMSIL, MINUCI); . Gender units continue to be understaffed and lacking in effective authority. For example, in C?te d'Ivoire (MINUCI) a UN Volunteer is the only staff member working on gender issues from within the Human Rights Unit; . Staffing gender units is not always accomplished in a timely manner. For example, in Afghanistan (UNAMA), other than for a few months when it was filled temporarily by a staff member from UN headquarters, the post of gender advisor remained vacant for almost two years from late 2001, only being filled this week; . There continues to be a disconnect between the setting of mandates of UN peacekeeping operations by the UNSC and the approval of funding by the Fifth Committee for the implementation of these mandates. This has resulted in fewer gender posts for peacekeeping operations being approved by the Fifth Committee than were envisaged by the UNSC; . Ensuring programmatic funding for gender units remains a substantial challenge. To date all gender units have lacked programmatic funding. To have a sustainable impact - including through capacity-building of local women's NGOs and women's rights training and outreach - gender units have so far had to spend a large proportion of their time fundraising. 4. Gender training of Peacekeeping Personnel See Operative Paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 of UNSC Resolution 1325. QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION: . What are DPKO's plans to institutionalize gender training into all peacekeeping missions? . What is your country doing - if your country is a troop-contributor - to ensure adequate gender training pre-deployment? EXPLANATORY NOTE: . A gender training module is compulsory for peacekeepers during their induction program. Yet the integration of this module into the induction programme is dependent on the political will of the head of operation; . DPKO has developed a Gender and Peacekeeping training package, which has, to-date, been integrated into only four missions. There needs to be a systematic mechanism for the integration of this resource into all peacekeeping missions. 5. Women's Participation in Military and Civilian Components of Peacekeeping Missions See Operative Paragraphs 4 and 6 of UNSC Resolution 1325. QUESTION FOR CONSIDERATION: . What measures has DPKO taken to ensure that more women participate in civilian and military components of peacekeeping missions? . What is your country doing - if your country is a troop contributor - to ensure greater participation of women in peacekeeping missions? EXPLANATORY NOTE: . According to DPKO, "women's presence [in peacekeeping missions] improves access and support for local women; it makes male peacekeepers more reflective and responsible; and it broadens the repertoire of skills and styles available within the mission, often with the effect of reducing conflict and confrontation" (Women, War, Peace: The Independent Experts' Assessment, 2000); . In 2000, women represented only 4% of police and 3% of military personnel in peacekeeping missions; . There are no time-bound targets set for the greater inclusion of women as peacekeeping personnel; . There is a need for troop-contributing states to develop pro-active strategies to encourage the participation of women in national armed forces and police forces and thus, through their troop-contributions to peacekeeping operations; . There is a need for DPKO to set up a mechanism for the sharing of best-practices between troop-contributing countries on strategies aimed at the recruitment of women. See: http://www.peacewomen.org/wpsindex.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031029/8b951ae3/attachment.html From woroniuk at magma.ca Wed Oct 29 21:20:18 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Women suffer disproportionately during and after war, Security Council Told Message-ID: <002301c39e8c$5cd0be60$f5affea9@beth> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 5939 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031029/c15586ff/attachment.gif From haddingtonfarm at hotmail.com Thu Oct 30 08:34:04 2003 From: haddingtonfarm at hotmail.com (Kate White) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] UNIFEM WEB PORTAL ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY Message-ID: FYI, Kate Kathryn White, President Black & White Inc. Haddington Farm 1007 Prince of Wales Drive Ottawa, Ontario CANADA K2C 3K1 +1 (613) 224 8228 (T) +1 (613) 225 0054 (F) email: reply or blackandwhite@rogers.com President, UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Canada _________________________________________________________________ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: Subject: UNIFEM Press Release: UNIFEM LAUNCHES WEB PORTAL ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 10:28:43 -0600 Size: 6782 Url: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031030/3d351840/attachment.mht From woroniuk at magma.ca Thu Oct 30 09:12:23 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Fw: International March for Women's Human Rights in Israel & Palestine Message-ID: <004401c39eef$d6ac6320$f5affea9@beth> cross-posted from PAR-L (a Canadian feminist listserve) -- apologies for cross-posting. ----- Original Message ----- From: PAR-L Moderators Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 6:32 AM Subject: International March for Women's Human Rights in Israel & Palestine From: Nicole Nepton Dear Friends, Please think seriously about joining our women's human rights march in Israel and Palestine this winter. What - you haven't yet heard about it? Here's a capsule summary: A group of enterprising women from Oslo (who have to their credit some impressive human rights marches in Central America, Russia, and elsewhere) have decided to bring their skills to bear on the Middle East conflict. Women's organizations in Israel and Palestine have mobilized to support and organize this project on the ground. After several postponements due to the fluid situation in this region, we now all agree to the following final dates: December 20, 2003 to January 11, 2004. During this 3-week period, we have planned an itinerary that will include daily: a march (walk) to advocate peace and human rights, discussions with individuals and organizations that are part of civil society, cultural and musical exchange (bring instruments and voices), and of course me basic sightseeing. And we will be walking through both Israel and Palestine, splitting the days about evenly between them. We are calling this The International Human Rights March in Palestine and Israel. Hundreds of women from all over the world have already begun to register and join. The more who come, the better, in terms of conveying our message. Please see the website www.humanrightsmarch.org for important basic information about the march. Don't miss the FAQs section on that site, which contains the heart of the matter. If you still have questions, write to the Organizing Committee in your own country - which you will also find on the website. Meanwhile, the Israeli Committee has prepared the following replies to questions that have been directed to us. Who are the Israelis sponsoring the March? The Coalition of Women for Peace, which represents 9 women's peace organizations in Israel. To learn more about us, see our website http://www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org/ Who are the Palestinians sponsoring the March? The General Union of Palestinian Women, a large organization, which you can learn about at http://www.gupw.net, together with the Jerusalem Center for Women (the Palestinian side of The Jerusalem Link), which you can learn about at http://www.jcw.org. What are the goals of the March from the Israeli perspective? On the Israeli side, we have set our goals as follows: To inform international women about the realities of the political conflict in this region, to introduce you to the (amazing) women's peace movements in Israel and Palestine and our feminist vision for peace, and to mobilize your international support for this vision. Can I come for only part of the March? Definitely. We would be delighted to welcome you whenever you come and for whatever length of time during the March period. The full March period begins on December 21 in Tel Aviv and ends on January 10 in Jerusalem. To come for the entire period, plan to fly into Tel Aviv on December 20th and depart on January 11th. If you want to come in the middle, however, let us know when you will be arriving, and we will either meet your plane or give you detailed instructions about how to meet up with the group. What is the itinerary? We start in Tel Aviv and spend the first 4 days in Israel, marching and sightseeing in Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Beersheba, and Bedouin areas in the south. From there, the group will proceed to Bethlehem, Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, and other sites in the West Bank for about 10 days. Then the group will return to Israel for Nazareth, Tiberias, the Galilee, Haifa, and end in Jerusalem on January 10. This itinerary is subject to change, depending on the circumstances, but we shall try to adhere to the set schedule. Will it be safe? We are doing everything possible to ensure the safety of the participants in all areas visited. Of course we cannot guarantee that the situation will be calm during this period, and therefore we may have to change plans as the need arises to ensure maximum safety, given the circumstances. Will we be able to enter Israel and the territories? We have every reason to believe that you will be able to enter Israel and the territories. This is the Christmas season, and many visitors and pilgrims come to this region to see religious sites. If this is true for you, you may want to mention this upon entry, if you are asked why you are visiting Israel. More information? Please see the international website: http://humanrightsmarch.org Especially important: Click into the website FAQs page at: http://humanrightsmarch.org/en/index.php?page=contents/faq.html You will find here important information for planning your trip. The website also contains contact information for Committees in many countries, who are organizing groups exactly where you live. In Israel, we are very excited about this March, and hope to meet and welcome as many of you as possible this December. The Organizing Committee in Israel: Omaima abu-Ras, Taibe Nicole Cohen-Addad, Tel-Aviv Rachel Amram, Jerusalem Yvonne Deutsch, Jerusalem Pnina Firestone, Jerusalem Yana Knopova, Haifa Gili Pliskin, Tel-Aviv Taghrid Shbeita, Tira Aliyah Strauss, Jaffa Gila Svirsky, Jerusalem Alix Weizmann, Tel-Aviv for the Coalition of Women for Peace www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org mail@coalitionofwomen4peace.org P.S. Please feel free to share this mailing with your friends! --------------- Nicole Nepton nnepton@cybersolidaires.org http://www.cybersolidaires.org Pour une information libre et ind?pendante : le portail des m?dias alternatifs du Qu?bec http://www.reseaumedia.info -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031030/32aa3c22/attachment.html From woroniuk at magma.ca Thu Oct 30 15:40:15 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Security Council Reviews Gender "Mainstreaming" In Peacekeeping Message-ID: <00e301c39f26$064896e0$f5affea9@beth> More coverage of yesterday's discussion in the Security Council See: http://www.unwire.org/News/328_426_9932.asp ------------------- Security Council Reviews Gender "Mainstreaming" In Peacekeeping Thursday, October 30, 2003 By Jim Wurst U.N. Wire UNITED NATIONS ? At a meeting of the Security Council yesterday marking the third anniversary of Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, U.N. Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno said his department has made "real progress" at "putting gender issues at the center of peacekeeping." Resolution 1325, adopted by the council Oct. 31, 2000, calls on the secretary general and states to enhance the role of women in conflict resolution, "incorporate a gender perspective into peacekeeping operations" and "put an end to impunity" for crimes against women. One of the major changes in the United Nations' behavior on gender has been in the handling of the demobilization of fighters, Guehenno told the council. In the past, Guehenno said, "Adult male ex-combatants were the focus of our attention," while the women accompanying the men ? whether wives, cooks or sex slaves ? "were being left out of the picture." Now provisions are being made for them as well. Amy Smythe, gender adviser to the U.N. Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), said her office has promoted the message that "behind every combatant there was usually a woman." Guehenno said that much of the progress his department has made on gender issues "is due to the presence of full-time gender advisers." "Gender mainstreaming," he said, needs to be seen "not as an afterthought, but as the key to any peacekeeping mission's success." He added that the peacekeeping department "often finds itself in the awkward position of advocating for more women in national police forces than it has in its own ranks." Smythe made the same point, saying "there is a serious need" for more female police and peacekeepers. "Victims, usually female, have repeatedly intimated that the sight of a male officer in uniform make them relive the experience of violation all over again," she said. However, in MONUC, the percent of police who are women has decreased this year, she said. "I would strongly urge police-contributing countries to take prompt action in this area." "[Police] behavior is not only used to judge MONUC in many instances but becomes the yardstick emulated by the population and government," said Smythe. Smythe said the work of her office shows the two faces of the issue: working with the Congolese "to bring the realities of the conflict as they especially affect women to the attention of decision makers in the peace process" and integrating "a gender perspective within MONUC itself." For MONUC, this is especially important for the civilian police assigned to the mission, since "sexual violence is one of the major tragedies of the conflict," she said. In the continuing war in the D.R.C., "tens, if not hundreds of thousands of girls and women are being raped as a result of the conflict," she added. Promoting gender awareness in the D.R.C. began with supporting women's participation in the Inter Congolese Dialogue, Smythe said. "The outcome of the [dialogue] reflects the voices of the women in the negotiations," she said. "We have also developed a network of partners ? which represents women from all factions and political parties," she added. "They have been articulating the political views of women on the evolution of the transition process and working to increase women's involvement and participation in the elections." Guehenno said it is easiest to incorporate a gender office in "complex" peacekeeping missions ? those that involve civilian administration, policing and nation-building as well as peacekeeping. There are gender advisers in Afghanistan, D.R.C., East Timor, Kosovo and Sierra Leone. Guehenno also said the United Nations is doing more to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS by peacekeepers and to "uphold a 'zero tolerance' stance aimed at preventing and effectively responding" to charges of sexual abuse by peacekeepers. "We acknowledge that there is a long road ahead of us, and that gender mainstreaming in post-conflict environments is not easy," he said. More than 30 countries addressed the Security Council meeting. Tomorrow, UNIFEM will host a panel discussion on the impact of Resolution 1325. Panelists will include Noeleen Heyzer, the director of UNIFEM, Smythe and U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte, this month's president of the Security Council. UNIFEM Launches Web Portal For Information On Conflict Countries And Gender Issues Today, the U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) will launch both a new Web portal and a documentary. The portal is meant to be "a centralized repository of information featuring gender profiles of countries in conflict, issue briefs on pertinent thematic areas and information on the United Nations' gender programming in conflict zones," according to a UNIFEM statement. The documentary, Peace by Peace: Women on the Frontlines, deals with women and peace-building in Afghanistan, Argentina, Bosnia, Burundi and the United States -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.web.net/archives/women-peace-and-security/attachments/20031030/a6a9f08b/attachment.html From woroniuk at magma.ca Fri Oct 31 15:45:34 2003 From: woroniuk at magma.ca (Beth Woroniuk) Date: Thu Nov 25 18:58:06 2004 Subject: [Women-peace-and-security] Two Years after the Invasion, are the Rights of Women Protected in Afghanistan? -- an interview with Adeena Niazi Message-ID: <10b501c39fef$ef222ba0$f5affea9@beth> Source: AWID's Resource Net Friday File, Issue 150 Friday, October 31, 2003 apologies for cross-postings --------------- Two Years after the Invasion, are the Rights of Women Protected in Afghanistan? An interview with Adeena Niazi, Executive Director of the Afghan Women's Organization in Canada. She was recently in Afghanistan to implement a capacity-building project for women's organizations in order to increase their participation in peace-building, reconstruction and development efforts in Afghanistan. By Shareen Gokal We welcome Letters to the Editor and encourage you to write to us with your thoughts, reactions, and questions sparked by Friday File articles. Please send letters to our Friday File Resource Net Moderator, Janice Duddy, at jduddy@awid.org. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two Years after the Invasion, are the Rights of Women Protected in Afghanistan? An interview with Adeena Niazi, Executive Director of the Afghan Women's Organization in Canada. Adeena was in Afghanistan this summer to implement a capacity-building project for Afghan women's organizations in order to increase their overall role and participation in current and future peace- building, reconstruction and development efforts in Afghanistan. By Shareen Gokal Do you think that life for women under the present coalition government is better that it was under the Taliban? Life has changed for a number of women, not because of the Northern Alliance or Coalition government but because of the pressure brought about by the international community. For example, a number of women enjoy more freedom - - they can work, they can travel overseas, they have some presence in the cabinet and in the Loya Jirga -- but this does not reflect the reality across the country. This is a small group of privileged women, especially those from the upper class living in the capital in Kabul. The rights of women in the country generally are no better. Outside Kabul, it is the same as before, if not worse. Even though the law now permits rights like education, forced marriages are common, women are scared of going out without being covered and the security and safety problem is worse than it was during the Taliban. The Taliban did violate all the rights of women but there was safety and security in spite of the violations. Now schools are being burnt and the poverty is extreme. In Kabul, the poor people have become even poorer because of the presence of international NGOs which have caused hyperinflation in the city. The cost of living has gone up tremendously. The situation is especially bad for women who lost their husbands and other male relatives during the war and now have no source of income or support. According to official statistics, only 12% of women have access to even basic health care. So overall, women's lives are not improved under the Taliban. What are the major challenges faced by local women's rights NGOs in Afghanistan as they try to advocate for change? The warlords are very strong in many places and it is therefore very difficult for the local NGOs to work independently. Attacks on NGOs have increased even in the areas that were considered some of the safest places in Afghanistan. Those who work for international NGOs are especially targeted. The government is against the presence of NGOs because they want the all the money coming in as assistance to be channeled through them and feel that NGOs are largely corrupt. Furthermore, local NGOs do have the capacity and skills needed to make changes. During the war, women were the ones that organized to offer social services such as education and health to fill the gaps created by the Taliban, but now as NGOs they are not being supported and are under resourced. Another challenge is that the NGO salaries are higher than government ones and this leads to further resentment. Do local women's groups in Afghanistan receive adequate support from international organizations and the international community in their efforts to advocate for women's rights? There is some funding and support for local initiatives, but most of the local NGOs still lack funding and support. The big international organizations working in Afghanistan are not working at the grassroots level, or closely with local NGOs. They have their own structure and use mainly international staff with little local involvement. This is not a sustainable way to operate. In the case of a crisis they will just pick up and go and the work that they are doing will not sustain itself. Is Hamid Karzai's government doing enough to protect the rights of women in Afghanistan? If not, what else needs to be done, in your opinion? The power of the government is limited, and it does not really have any power outside Kabul, mainly because of the presence of warlords and the "mini-states" that have been created. The US is still funding and supporting the local warlords and is responsible for sustaining their power. The central government itself is a coalition which Hamid Karzai himself admits is not really working for Afghanistan. There are elements of the government that have been and continue to be responsible for crimes against women and against humanity. They are not really capable of providing the safety needed. The Bill of Rights for Women was a good thing to be passed, but the main problem is its implementation. Even the traditional Islamic rights of women have not implemented - e.g. the right of marriage. What lessons that can be learnt from Afghanistan's experience for women's rights advocates in Iraq as they face similar challenges in post-war reconstruction? First of all, to bring to account the groups that are guilty of human rights violations and not let them form part of the government. Second, the terms and conditions of the Bonn agreement were not met. For example, according to the Bonn agreement there should have been a national army in place before the Loya Jirga took power, but that did not happen which led to an undemocratic process in the Loya Jirga. Four people were killed and there was incredible pressure, threats and intimidation by the warlords, even warlords that did not have elected seats in the Loya Jirga. The lessons therefore are to put appropriate structures of accountability and governance in place first. What in your opinion would lead to a change in the future for women in Afghanistan? What will bring a change is if the international community really looks at the situation of Afghanistan with all its complexity. First of all, disarmament and disempowerment of the warlords is key; they need to be divested of their men, money and arms. Furthermore, institutional strengthening needs to occur. A civil police force and a national army need to set up. The government needs to elect its members based on merit and exclude those responsible for crimes in the past. There needs to a process to bring to justice all those who are guilty of crimes. There needs to be a true implementation of the rights of women as expressed in the Bill of Rights. Infrastructural development needs to take place and there needs to be a way to deal with the drug trade which is now giving more money and power to the warlords. The presence of women in public offices now is only tokenism; more resources and support need to be given to the women's ministry and the government as a whole needs to be accountable when there are abuses committed against women. Certainly, the expansion of the international peacekeepers outside Kabul and the extension of their presence will be very positive until there is a national civil police force and army that is run independently of the warlords. These are the challenges to women's rights in Afghanistan. ---------------------------------------- THE AWID RESOURCE NET is brought to you by The Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID). 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