Integrating Gender into the Future of the International Dialogue and New Deal Implementation

Transcription

1 Integrating Gender into the Future of the International Dialogue and New Deal Implementation Document 09 INTERNATIONAL DIALOGUE STEERING GROUP MEETING 4 November 2015, Paris, France

2 Integrating Gender into the Future of the IDPS and New Deal Implementation: Key messages from UN-led reviews and CSPPS focal points This document is intended to provide background information and generate ideas on how to strengthen and accelerate the integration of gender issues into the implementation of the New Deal and the work of the IDPS. It summarises key messages and evidence from recent research and reviews on gender, statebuilding and peacebuilding and also provides insights from country focal points of the Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (CSPPS). In view of the current discussions around the future of the IDPS and the New Deal, the IDPS Steering Group meeting and Independent Review Workshop offer a timely opportunity to highlight entry points and challenges for this agenda during a lunch-time session being held on 5 November UN-led reviews emphasize the importance of women s participation in building peace and of gender inequality as a potential driver of conflict. The three major UN-led reviews conducted this year highlight that women s inclusion is not only their right but also a key ingredient for sustainable peace and development. i As the Advisory Group of Experts on the 2015 Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture emphasized, It is, at last, becoming widely recognized that women s participation is also crucial to the success of economic recovery, political legitimacy and social cohesion. As a result, without women s engagement from the earlier moments of attempting to end the violence to the latter stages of consolidating the peace, the dangers of relapse are greatly heightened. ii The 2015 Global Review of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security supports this conclusion with new research demonstrating the contributions that women s participation and gender analysis can make to all areas of the Peacebuilding and Statebuilding Goals (PSGs). The table below summarizes key facts and examples: Table 1. Linking new evidence on women, peace and security with the PSGs Legitimate politics Security Justice Economic foundations Statistical and case study analysis suggest that where women are actively involved in peace negotiations, agreements are significantly more likely to be reached and implemented. iii The participation of women can create a more trusted and legitimate security apparatus by bringing in a diversity of skills and competencies. iv Research in Sierra Leone and Liberia shows that women can also play a critical role in facilitating DDR by helping ex-combatants reintegrate. v Data shows that women s participation can create justice systems that are more responsive to the different needs of the population. vi In Timor-Leste for example, grassroots women leaders engagement with the village chief system has led to increased referrals of gender-based violence to the formal justice system and successful reductions in domestic violence. vii Targeting women s empowerment accelerates economic recovery. Crosscountry analysis found that conflict-affected communities that experienced the most rapid economic recovery and poverty reduction were those that had more women reporting higher level of empowerment. viii Several of the 1

3 Revenues and services fastest growing post-conflict economies owe their success in part to women s increased role in production, trade and entrepreneurship. ix Targeting women as beneficiaries of infrastructure development initiatives, cash transfers and subsidized goods and services enhances the overall effectiveness of these interventions, can reduce gendered poverty and facilitate social and economic cohesion. x 2. UN reviews call on New Deal supporters to further integrate gender considerations. In light of this evidence the three UN-led reviews call for stronger efforts to ensure gender analysis and women s full participation in peacebuilding and statebuilding. The Global Study specifically highlights that Gender equality and the participation of women are critical to the realization of the New Deal. Its emphasis on country leadership, local ownership and multi-stakeholder collaboration, and the opportunity it offers to drive forward a more inclusive agenda, make it imperative that women are included and their voices are heard. xi Reflecting on these reviews, the UN Secretary General also directly urges New Deal supporters to consistently integrate a gender perspective throughout all interventions. xii 3. Better integration of gender issues can help accelerate implementation of both the New Deal and UNSCR 1325 on women, peace and security Led by Cordaid, the Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (CSPPS) has been working on how gender perspectives could concretely be integrated into the New Deal process since Cordaid has published two policy papers highlighting these issues at the global level, and has supported country-level consultations and workshops in Somalia, Afghanistan, Burundi and DRC. xiii This work suggests that, despite growing recognition that gender equality and women s participation are vital for inclusive and legitimate peacebuilding and statebuilding processes and the emerging evidence highlighted above, gender issues have been largely excluded from New Deal implementation to date. Addressing this gap would not only strengthen the work of the IDPS and other stakeholders, but would also support and leverage the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and other related commitments that have lacked the necessary political will and financial resources over the past 15 years. The table below provides some examples of entry points for including gender in the different aspects of the New Deal emerging from this work. Table 2. Integrating gender issues into the PSGs, FOCUS and TRUST Highlight and raise awareness of the gender dimensions of the five PSGs and build evidence base around the links between gender equality and PSGs each of the goals Review the PSG indicators to include gender-specific indicators across all PSGs Ensure that fragility assessments are informed by gender analysis and done in consultation with CSOs, including women s organisations FOCUS Ensure that gender-related priorities inform any national plan and vision Foster legitimate and inclusive spaces for dialogue, including at high-level forums, as well as separate spaces for women to share ideas and discuss 2

4 TRUST priorities Build the capacity of women s organisations to engage in and monitor New Deal implementation Allocate aid transparently and using a gender-budgeting approach Risks associated with aid delivery in fragile states are managed, and joint oversight of funds ensures that aid addresses women s needs Adequate resources are allocated to women-focused and gender-related activities and indicators in national planning frameworks. 4. CSPPS focal points highlight past challenges in integrating gender and opportunities going forward Earlier this year Cordaid conducted a survey with CSPPS country focal points xiv to gain a deeper understanding of how gender issues were being integrated into New Deal implementation at country level. Several trends emerge from the findings: With some exceptions, such as in Togo where gender-based organisations were consulted, fragility assessments (FAs) and indicators covering the PSGs in national development plans have tended to be gender blind. FAs have fallen short of fully addressing gender-related issues, particularly violence against women and women s participation in decision-making. More generally, women have tended to be excluded from processes to define key priorities in national strategies, including those linked to the New Deal. This is particularly common in the case of high-level meetings and forums. Women s organisations and networks have mobilised in many countries to participate in and support New Deal implementation, but a lack of technical expertise, financial resources and discriminatory practices prevent them from playing a constructive role. Examples of effective approaches to promoting the inclusion of gender issues within the New Deal cited by CSPPS focal points include training and sensitisation for women s rights advocates in New Deal-related issues and linking the New Deal with parallel national processes such as the development of UNSCR 1325 National Action Plans. Despite difficulties in actively participating in formal processes, many CSPPS members report that they have undertaken studies, participated in consultations, carried out targeted advocacy with key government ministries and promoted dialogue with a range of stakeholders around the New Deal and gender issues. Some of the key needs identified by CSPPS members to improve New Deal implementation: increased access to flexible funding for women s organisations; greater political will and government support to implement gender-sensitive laws and policies as part of Peacebuilding Compacts; and capacity-building support for CSOs so that they can meaningfully engage in consultations around FAs, defining PSG indicators, etc. 3

5 The CSPPS focal points were also invited to make recommendations of key actions needed to make the New Deal a reality for women in their countries, targeting a range of different actors. Some key points are summarized in the table below: Table 3. Key recommendations from CSPPS to IDPS stakeholders For donors For government For local civil society For CSPPS Emphasise women s engagement in New Deal processes and provide capacitybuilding support Uphold laws, quotas and other genderrelated commitments Increase funding and budget lines that provide support to women s organisations Nominate women to decision-making positions Ensure availability of funding for womenspecific initiatives Sensitise the public on the gender dimensions of peacebuilding and statebuilding, and help build the capacity of women leaders to engage in the New Deal Advocate for gender equality and work with the men and media to change attitudes Continue to play a watchdog role Promote information-sharing and the mobilization of CSPPS members around gender issues, including by providing technical guidance Facilitate access to funding for women s organisations Support women s organisations advocacy efforts and help identify gender champions 5. Two new research initiatives can help seize these opportunities going forward. Cordaid toolkit on Gender, Peacebuilding and Statebuilding: Practical guidance and tools for implementation : The toolkit will provide technical, practical tools and offer clear, step-by-step guidance to support gender-sensitive peacebuilding and statebuilding processes. The material in the toolkit will enable IDPS stakeholders and others to develop impact-focused programmes and policies to better address the needs of women, men, girls and boys in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. It will synthesise the growing body of knowledge including emerging evidence, case studies and good practice examples, and can be used as both a practical manual as well as a training resource. The toolkit will build on the most recent research and practice in the area of gender-sensitive peacebuilding and statebuilding, and will include chapters on: key policy frameworks; analytical tools; data collection, monitoring and evaluation; financing for gender-sensitive peacebuilding and statebuilding; practical examples of what works; and, a training module. Joint OECD-DAC GENDERNET and INCAF Review of the quality and practice of donor support to gender equality and women s rights in fragile and conflict-affected states : This research will assess whether the significant increase in aid in support of gender equality and women s rights in fragile and conflict-affected countries xv is translating into effective programming that advances gender equality and contributes to effective statebuilding. It will be based on analyses of donor programmes in several countries, including, ideally, a New Deal pilot country. 4

6 i The High Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations, the Advisory Group of Experts for the 2015 Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture and the Global Study on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution ii Report of the Advisory Group of Experts on the 2015 Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture, p. 24. iii Global Study on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, p. 41. Based on Pfaffenholz et al. Making Women Count: Assessing Women s Inclusion and Influence on the Quality and Sustainability of Peace Negotiations and Implementation. (Graduate Institute Geneva, Centre on Conflict Development and Peacebuilding, April 13, 2015). iv Global Study on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, p For example, data from forty countries shows a positive correlation between the proportion of female police and reporting rates of sexual violence. See Progress of the World s Women: In Pursuit of Justice. (UN Women, 2011), p. 59. vv Global Study on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, p Based on Jaqueline O Neil, Engaging Women in Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration: Insights for Colombia (Institute for Inclusive Security, March 31, 2015), p. 3. Leymah Gbowee, Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer and Sex Changed a Nation at War. (Beast Books, 2011). vi Global Study on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, p.121. Based on Improving Women s Access to Justice During and After Conflict: Mapping UN Rule of Law Engagement (UN Women, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2013), 39. vii Global Study on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, p.121.based on Evaluation of the From Communities to Global Security Institutions Program (UN Women, International Solutions Group, September 2014). viii Global Study on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, p Justino, Patricia et al., Quantifying the Impact of Women s Participation in Post-Conflict Economic Recovery Working Paper (Households in Conflict Network, November 2012), ix Global Study on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, p, 171. Based on Secretary- General s Report on Women s Participation in Peacebuilding (2010), 3; Power, Voice and Rights: A Turning Point for Gender Equality in Asia and the Pacific: Asia-Pacific Human Development Report (United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2010). x Global Study on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, p.177. Rebecca Holmes and Nicola Jones, Rethinking Social Protection Using a Gender Lens, Working Paper (Overseas Development Institute, October 2010), 15-18, 36. xi Global Study on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, p xii 2015 Report of the Secretary General on women, peace and security. 16 September S/2015/716, p. 42. xiii Cordaid, Integrating gender into the New Deal for engagement in fragile states. The Hague: Cordaid; and Cordaid, Gender inequality and fragility in the post-mdg framework. The Hague: Cordaid. xiv Survey responses were received from CSPPS country team members in Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, DRC, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, REPAOC (network of West and Central African NGO National Platforms), South Sudan and Togo. xv OECD-DAC Network on Gender Equality (2015), Financing UN Security Council Resolution 1325: Aid in support of gender equality and women s rights in fragile contexts, OECD Publishing: Paris. econtexts.htm 5