Article and graphics by Indira D’Souza, IANGEL Summer 2021 Intern
In 2000, the United Nations, in partnership with its Member States and civil society organizations, adopted UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (S/RES/1325) . This important resolution set priorities for building peace, human rights and gender justice around the world. IANGEL, as a member of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security, has signed a recent letter to the United Nations in support of women human rights defenders and the amplification of their voices on the international human rights stage. It is imperative that these women are protected as they build peace and facilitate gender justice in different regions around the world.
As the current crisis unfolds in Afghanistan, many women peacebuilders, human rights defenders, and journalists face grave risk from the Taliban, which has a record of repressing women’s rights. Women leaders and activists, especially those who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community, have been targeted and prevented from exercising their right to participate in all spheres of public and political life. In other conflict zones around the world, women face similar circumstances. Activists in Myanmar, Colombia, Yemen, South Sudan, and Palestine face harassment, torture, and arrest for carrying out their work. Yet, these women continue to advocate for their rights, defend their land and resources, and resist military and colonial occupation.
Threats to human rights defenders are unacceptable because they deter advocates from participation and leadership within their communities. As recently as 2019, the United Nations Security Council called upon its Member States to protect women in civil society and create a safe environment for them to continue their work. However, protection of women peacebuilders remains one of the major gaps in the Security Council’s implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. Many women who are invited to address the United Nations Security Council face backlash after attending their briefings. These peacebuilders are already risking their lives and should not be retaliated against for engaging with the United Nations or the international community. The United Nations must lead by example to ensure women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in peace and security by providing practical support to civil society members and condemning violence against them.
To advance the implementation of Resolution 1325 and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, IANGEL supports the following recommendations for the Member States of the United Nations:
1. Stop intimidation of all human rights defenders, including civil society leaders, peacebuilders, and women human rights defenders. Ensure accountability for perpetrators of intimidation or violence against human rights defenders.
2. Prevent threats and violence against advocates for gender equality, and elevate their role in promoting peace and human rights.
3. Call on Secretary-General António Guterres to mobilize United Nations resources and provide rapid, flexible, and targeted resources for diverse women civil society members who are at risk or have faced reprisals. Conduct risk assessments and respond to these reprisals with clear protocols.
4. Urge Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris to elevate the issue of attacks against women human rights defenders, peacebuilders, and civil society leaders by issuing public statements and briefing the Security Council and other stakeholders. Ensure that her office coordinates with other relevant United Nations entities to avert harm, provide support, and follow up on individual cases.
5. Fully resource and empower peace operations to provide gender-responsive support to human rights defenders that are at risk, including individuals who are at risk because of their engagement with the United Nations system.
6. Ensure women civil society representatives continue to regularly brief the Security Council, that they are supported by their peers within non-governmental organizations, and that their recommendations are acted upon by the Security Council members.
There can be no just and durable peace without women human rights defenders and peacebuilders. IANGEL urges the United Nations to protect women working to advance women, peace, and security around the world. Please view the Open Letter to Permanent Representatives to the United Nations to learn more about supporting women civil society leaders and representatives.
Additional reading and resources
https://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/wps/
https://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/resource/open-letter-un-wps-whrds-october-2021/
https://www.iangel.org/afghanistan/
https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/04/01/afghanistan-taliban-target-journalists-women-media
https://www.womenpeacesecurity.org/roadmap-2020-civil-society/