WOMEN’S ROLE IN SUSTAINING PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
United Nations panelists discuss lack of recognition of human right to peace and the inclusion of women in this goal, writes
UNITED Nations officials and activists gathered to discuss the essential relationship between sustainable peace and gender equality during a two week-long UN meeting, beginning March 13.
At a side event of the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women, panelists shed light on the important role that women play in peace and development.
“Without peace, no development is possible. And without development, no peace is achievable. But without women, neither peace nor development is possible,” said former under secretarygeneral and high representative of the Bangladeshi ambassador to the UN Anwarul Chowdhury.
Despite this, panelists noted that societies have long ignored women’s contributions.
According to an Oxfam report, women carry out up to 10 times more unpaid care work than men. This work is worth approximately US$10 trillion (RM44.2 trillion) per year, which is more than the gross domestic products of India, Japan and Brazil combined.
Research has shown that almost 60 million unpaid workers are filling in the gaps caused by inadequate health services, the majority of whom are women who have had to give up employment or education to carry out this role.
Chowdhury said there would be 150 million fewer hungry people in the world if women had the same access to resources as men.
Panelists were particularly concerned about the lack of formal recognition of the human right to peace and the inclusion of women in this goal.
Canadian activist Douglas Roche explained that the “human right to peace” arose to address new “interconnected” challenges that the current human rights framework, which is based on a relationship between the state and the individual, is unable to do, including increased militarism by both state and non-state entities.
During the panel, UN independent expert in the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order Alfred-Maurice de Zayas said the human right to peace also allowed for the realisation of the right to self-determination, which is a “crucial conflict prevention strategy”.
After decades of struggling to gain consensus, the general assembly adopted a Declaration on the Right to Peace in December. Though it was a significant accomplishment achieved largely due to a civil society initiative, many have expressed their disappointment in the document.
“The new declaration is falling far short of the expectation of civil society, many governments,” Chowdhury said.
Among concerns about the declaration is its lack of reference to women, who are only mentioned once in the six-page document.
President of Hague Appeal for Peace and long time peace activist Cora Weiss criticised the document’s language, which calls for women’s “maximum participation”.
“It’s a slippery word,” she told participants, stressing the importance of the “equal” inclusion of women to achieve peace.
Weiss was a national leader of the Women Strike for Peace, which organised the largest national women’s protest of the 20th Century and contributed to the end of nuclear testing in the 1960s. She also helped lead the anti-Vietnam war movement, including organising one of the largest anti-war demonstrations in 1969.
“There is no limit to the relationship between women and peace,” Weiss said.
Chowdhury, who led the initiative on Resolution 1325 calling for the increase in women’s representation in conflict management and resolution, echoed similar sentiments, saying: “Women at the peace table is a very important element at the UN and at the Security Council to take into account. Unless they value the 50 per cent of humanity positively contributing to securing peace and security, it will move nowhere.”
Despite the unanimous UN adoption of Resolution 1325, little has been done to enforce and implement it. No woman has ever been the chief or lead mediator in a UN-led peace negotiation.
Panelists also criticised the absence of language around disarmament in the declaration.
“How are you going to make peace in a world that is awash with weapons?” Weiss asked.
According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, approximately 15,000 nuclear weapons still exist and are owned by just nine countries. The Arms Control Association estimates a higher inventory of 15,500, 90 per cent of which belong to Russia and the United States. Almost 2,000 of these warheads are on high alert and ready to launch within minutes, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found.
More general military spending also continues to limit resources provided to development activities, including education.
In 2014, global military spending was approximately US$1.8 trillion, while US$26 billion was allocated to provide education for all by the end of 2015.
Zayas highlighted the need to redirect resources used for war to achieving Sustainable Development Goals and address other pressing socioeconomic and environmental challenges.
Chowdhury also told participants that a resolution on peace could not and should not be adopted by vote.
“Peace is the ultimate goal of the UN,” he said.
The declaration was approved with 131 votes for, 34 against and with 19 abstentions, reflecting a lack of consensus on the subject.
Though he expressed fear that progress towards gender equality may be rolled back due to a reversal in trends, Chowdhury said the struggle would continue until the human right to peace was recognised and implemented.
The Commission on the Status of Women is the largest intergovernmental forum on women’s rights, bringing together civil society, academia and governments. This year’s theme is women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work. Inter Press Service