<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1264" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>More coverage of yesterday's discussion in the Security Council  See: <A href="http://www.unwire.org/News/328_426_9932.asp">http://www.unwire.org/News/328_426_9932.asp</A></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>-------------------</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Security Council Reviews Gender "Mainstreaming" In Peacekeeping Thursday, October 30, 2003 By Jim Wurst U.N. Wire </DIV> UNITED NATIONS — At a meeting of the Security Council yesterday marking the third anniversary of <A href="http://ods-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N00/720/18/PDF/N0072018.pdf?OpenElement">Resolution 1325</A> 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. <EMAILBREAK />Amy Smythe, gender adviser to the <A href="http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/monuc/index.html">U.N. Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo</A> (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 <A href="http://www.womenwarpeace.org/">Web portal</A> 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</BODY></HTML>