UN WOMEN STUDY GUIDE.

Transcription

1 UN WOMEN STUDY GUIDE Manchester Model United Nations Conference 2017 Manchester Model UN Society University of Manchester Students' Union

2 Your Chairs Dear Delegates, We are delighted to welcome you to UN women at this year s ManMUN Conference. We couldn t be more excited about what is bound to be an incredible weekend of diplomacy, debate, resolution writing, building alliances and friendships and loads of un. We hope to make UN Women a committee where we can all strive together to find solutions to two very pressing global problems and do our own bit for gender equality. Below, you ll find the guides to the two topics. The Bibliography and Further Reading sections will direct you towards relevant resources should you wish to do more indepth research. We would like to stress the importance of independent research, especially regarding your respective countries positions. At any point before or during the conference, feel free to get in touch with either of us if you need any help. ManMUN is an unparalleled conference in terms of quality of debate, socials and overall experience. For beginners, it is a great place to start your MUN journey from. We couldn t be more excited for the weekend and look forward to seeing you all soon! Janet Wong Head Chair Best Wishes, Janet & Asmita Asmita Sood Deputy Chair 1

3 Topic A: Sexual Violence against Women in Conflict Zones 2

4 1. Introduction Sexual violence against women has existed for as long as there has been conflict, the United Nations points out. 1 The UN definition of sexual violence suggests that the term refers to different crimes including rape, sexual mutilation, sexual humiliation, forced prostitution, and forced pregnancy. 2 Gender-based violence is hardly new to humankind; Its roots can be traced even during peacetime, in societies where gender inequality is forcefully at play. Simply because of gender, women are often subjected to gender-based persecution, discrimination and oppression, including sexual violence and slavery. Where their political rights or authority are not recognized, they often have little recourse. Coupled with the threat of war and political turmoil, the violence these women experience simply exacerbates, leaving them with little hope for security and dignity. Historically, wartime assaults against women, especially sexual assaults come from the mentality that women belong to the same "spoils" of war to which soldiers are entitled. 3 Regarded as property and subhumans, women are often treated as chattel available to victorious warriors 4. Another reason that sexual violence against women occurs is to destroy male s ego and thereby their community and pride. Men who have failed to "protect their women" are considered to be humiliated and weak. More appallingly, rape is used as a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instil fear in, disperse and/or forcibly relocate civilian members of a community or ethnic group and that this form of sexual violence persists even after the cessation of hostilities (Security Council resolution 1820 (2008)). In the brutality of war, women s bodies become a battleground over which opposing forces struggle. 5 Often, the motive for exercising sexual violence on women comes from the desire to humiliate the men these women are related to, as the men are the ones who often serve as belligerents in warfare. Nowadays there is no longer a distinct separation between war and peace times. Conflicts arise frequently and almost in all parts of the world. Wars do not strictly refer to States facing off each other; More threatening and often complicated are the prolonged periods of turmoil caused by the change of political leadership, characterized by strifes between figures backed by interest groups and power-brokers, and the shadows of political instability cast by the rising dominance of terrorist groups. Effectively these then- 1 Sexual Violence and Armed Conflict: United Nations Response published by the UNITED NATIONS Division for the Advancement of Women Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2 ibid 3 ibid 4 Ibid 5 Ibid 3

5 stable societies are turned into conflict zones that take different shapes and forms. They do, however, have in common the tendency to render women susceptible to the threat of being sexually violated against. In one of the southern provinces of the DRC, it is estimated that 40 women are raped every day. In Liberia, which is slowly recovering from a 13-year civil war, 92 per cent of the 1,600 women interviewed had experienced sexual violence, including rape. 6 These statistics are just the tip of the iceberg. The horrors of sexual violence against women cannot be illustrated in figures alone. 2. History of the Problem Notable instances of mass sexual violation of women during war include: Japanese Army and Comfort women During the second world war, the Japanese army enslaved at least 200,000 girls and women 7, using them sexually as comfort women. In Nanking, a significant Chinese population was raped and massacred in an event known as the Rape of Nanking. As many as 20,000 Chinese women 8, including children and elderly, were raped during the occupation. The atrocities these soldiers committed have never been tried by independent local or international courts, and the women have no recourse for the pain they have suffered. Women from occupied territories were forced to become comfort women and provide involuntary sexual services to the Japanese army. Some survivors who lived to tell the tale described their harrowing experiences in an informal People s Tribunal organised by NGOs in December Among them were victims from Indonesia, Philippines and China, a majority of whom have given up seeking formal justice, speaking up only so that their testimonies would not be lost in history. Red Army war crimes Also committed in the course of the second world war was sexual violence against women in the former Nazi Third Reich. In the liberation of Poland and Berlin, Polish and German women experienced mass rape committed by Red Army soldiers. In Poland, where major cities had been occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, rape of Polish women was so endemic that there were widespread sexually transmitted diseases across the country, affecting 6 Rape as a Weapon of War United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner 7 Rehn, Elizabeth, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Women, War and Peace: The Independent Experts Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Women s Role in Peace-Building. 8 Paragraph 2, p. 1012, Judgment International Military Tribunal for the Far East. 4

6 around 10% of the general population. In Masuria, up to 50% of women were infected, according to the Polish Ministry of Health. The liberation of Berlin had witnessed similar brutality against women. This was a tactic used by the Soviet Army to show its anger against the Germans, their bitter enemy in the long war. Wartime diaries and accounts recall that there were posters encouraging troops to vent their rage: "Soldier: You are now on German soil. The hour of revenge has struck!". 9 The scale of the rape was a staggering 100,000 women in Berlin and two million on German territory 10. Despite the enormity of the event, the true scale of the rapes was never brought to the open as Soviet military tribunals and other sources remain classified. Sexual violence against women in the former Yugoslavia Sexual atrocities were employed as a war tactic during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Siobhan Fisher, writing of the Serbs rape-until-pregnant campaign against Muslim and ethnically Croatian females in Bosnia Herzegovina, points out that repeated rape alone is still just rape, but rape with the intent to impregnate is something more. 11 As the incident had been brought to international attention, on 18 December 1992, the United Nations Security Council declared the "massive, organized and systematic detention and rape of women, in particular, Muslim women in Bosnia and Herzegovina" an international crime that must be addressed. 12 Subsequently, the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) declared that rape is a crime against humanity. Rwandan Genocide Between 250,000 to 500,000 women were raped during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, as estimated by the UN s Special Rapporteur on Rwanda. 13 In the subsequent International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), it was found that a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian ethnic population of Tutsis 14 took place in Taba between April 7 and the end of June Rape and other inhumane acts which took place on or near the bureau communal premises of Taba were committed as part of this attack. 9 Ash, Lucy. The rape of Berlin. BBC News, BBC, 1 May ibid 11 Lisa Sharlach (2000) Rape as Genocide: Bangladesh, the Former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda, New Political Science, 22:1, , DOI: / Rwanda, genocide, Hutu, Tutsi, mass execution, ethnic cleansing, massacre, human rights, victim remembrance, education, Africa. United Nations, United Nations 13 Rehn, Elizabeth, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Women, War and Peace: The Independent Experts Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Women s Role in Peace-Building. 14 The Prosecutor versus Jean-Paul Akayesu, Case No. ICTR-96 4-T, September 2, 1998, Count 12. 5

7 Tragically and most cruelly, this included the planned and purposeful HIV infection of women. Employed as a strategy of war, the Interahamwe leaders directly encouraged their militias to rape Tutsi women in order to dilute Tutsi ethnicity. 15 The women infected would eventually die of AIDs, making it an effective means of genocide. 3. Discussion Threats faced by women Although sexual violence during armed conflict affects men as well as women, it is the latter who find themselves vulnerable and more likely to be subjected to sexual violence than men. 16 For a woman, added risks of pregnancy as a result of rape, in addition to permanent damage resulting from sexual violence to the reproductive system are also present. Culturally, women who were sexually violated are frequently shunned, ostracized, and considered unmarriageable. Reproductive health Women s needs for reproductive health are largely neglected in conflict zones. Specific to women are experiences such as menstruation, pregnancy and delivery which call for special attention. Sanitary supplies are often lacking in refugee camps and camps for displaced persons, a UNHCR study in 2000 found 17. Women who are pregnant are met with dangers of miscarriage in conflict zones as they cannot get prenatal support or emergency obstetric care. According to a study on the relationship between pregnancy complications and sociopolitical violence, women who lived in neighbourhoods with high levels of violence, including bomb threats, military presence and demonstrations, were five times more likely than women in other neighbourhoods to experience pregnancy complications such as preterm contractions, rupture and haemorrhage. 18 HIV/ AIDs Women in conflict zones often have little control over their sexuality, as they find themselves forced by conflict conditions to trade sex for money, food, shelter and any other number of necessities. This makes them extremely vulnerable to AIDs and HIV infection, which is dangerously fatal and expensive to cure. According to UNIFEM, almost 1.3 million 15 Rehn, Elizabeth, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Women, War and Peace: The Independent Experts Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Women s Role in Peace-Building. 16 ibid 17 ibid 18 ibid 6

8 adults and children are living with HIV in DRC. The region has an infection rate of 54% among adult women and 32% among adult men 19. Although not strictly an outcome of sexual violence, HIV/ AIDs spread quickly in situations of poverty, powerlessness and social instability and all of these epitomize conflict situations the disintegration of communities and family life can lead to the break-up of stable relationships as well as the disruption of social norms governing men s and women s sexual behaviour 20, UNIFEM had found. Displacement, Sex trafficking and sexual violence The breakdown of political order in conflict zones also means the disintegration of law and order, police functions and border controls. Combined with globalization s free markets and open borders, this has created an environment in which the trafficking of women flourished. Sex Trafficking grew almost 50% from 1995 to 2000, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that as many as 2 million women are trafficked across borders annually. 21 The annual profit from this trade is estimated at somewhere between $5 and $7 billion. 22 In addition to this, Traffickers often use routes through countries engulfed by conflict. Women in conflict zones are either outright abducted or are coerced into taking up sex work out of poverty. Many of them were adolescents-- in Cambodia, a survey conducted in 1995 indicated that about 31% of the sex workers in Phnom Penh and 11 provinces were between the ages of 12 and 17. In Colombia, where a civil war has gone on for decades, the trafficking of young girls and women has risen dramatically. According to the anti-trafficking organization, Fundación Esperanza, perhaps as many as 50,000 women are being trafficked annually out of the country. 23 A clear connection is therefore found between armed conflict and trafficking in women. Women in displacement are in particular risk of sexual violence. In Sierra Leone, many women were separated by force from their families during the war. Most had been abducted and forced to stay with the rebels and had been raped repeatedly. After the war, some had tried to go back to their villages only to find their houses burned and their families gone. Others who spent months searching for their family members after escaping from Revolutionary United Front soldiers were rejected by their families in disgrace. They had no choice but to return to their abductors, or head to Freetown, the capital city and become sex workers. 19 ibid 20 ibid 21 ibid 22 ibid 23 ibid 7

9 Sexual misconduct, assaults and violence against women committed by UN Peacekeepers Although the vast majority of UN peacekeepers carry out their duty with professionalism and a duty to care, violations and misconduct have been documented in Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, DRC, East Timor, Liberia, Mozambique, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Somalia. In 2002, UNHCR interviewed 1,500 people in Refugee camps from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. They told similar stories about how access to aid was restricted if the family unit could not offer sexual favours to peacekeeping officers. Many girls were forced to sell themselves for as little as US10 cents, enough to buy only a handful of peanuts. A followup report on the allegations confirmed that conditions in the camps and in refugee communities in the region make refugees, especially young women, vulnerable to sexual and other forms of exploitation. During UN missions in Kosovo (UNMIK) and in DRC (MONUC) there have also been well-publicized cases of sexual misconduct by peacekeepers with local women or girls. Sexual relations occur in conflict and post-conflict environments, either consensual or forced. While the arrival of peacekeeping personnel has the obvious advantage of providing the local population with a sense of security, sexual violence against women and prostitution, especially child prostitution, may increase with the influx of personnel where local economies have been devastated and women do not have options for employment. According to Ruud Lubbers, the then High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR has prohibited all sexual relations between humanitarian workers and recipients. Consensual or not it is against the professionalism expected of Peacekeepers to engage in sexual relationships with local civilians during their missions. 4. Past Actions Human Rights recognition In the UN World Conference on Human Rights, 1993, it was recognized that violence against women, such as domestic abuse, mutilation, burning and rape, is a human rights issue. It was the first time that violence against women had been brought from the domestic sphere into the public arena, being given explicit recognition that violence against women is a human rights issue. Legal Breakthroughs Important legal breakthroughs were made as the crimes committed in the Bosnian war and the Rwandan genocide were brought to court. The Statute of the International 8

10 Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY, 1993) included rape as a crime against humanity, alongside other crimes such as torture and extermination, when committed in armed conflict and directed against a civilian population. 24 In the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR, 1994), rape was declared a war crime. The landmark case of the former mayor, Jean-Paul Akayesu being found guilty of rape as a crime of genocide also set precedent. Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, 2000 The first UN Security Council Resolution on Women and peace and security was passed unanimously in The resolution calls for the acknowledgement of the role played by women in conflict prevention, conflict management and peacebuilding. The UN secretarygeneral was asked to appoint more women as special representatives and envoys and to expand their role in peacekeeping operations. The Security Council pledged to bear in mind the gender dimension in peacekeeping operations. Resolution 1325 also states that women must be involved in peace talks and that the particular needs of women need to be taken into account. Women must also be involved in initiatives concerned with democratisation, peacebuilding and human rights. 25 Resolution 1820 on Women and peace and security, 2008 In this second resolution, the Security Council noted that women and girls are particularly targeted by the use of sexual violence, including as a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instil fear in, disperse and/or forcibly relocate civilian members of a community or ethnic group. 26 The resolution stresses the need for the exclusion of sexual violence crimes from amnesty provisions in the context of conflict resolution processes, and calls upon member states to comply with their obligations to prosecute those responsible for such crimes, and emphasizes the importance of ending impunity for such acts Future Challenges Failures of the humanitarian community to reach women Deep-rooted gender bias and inequality continue to be at play in the process of 24 Rwanda, genocide, Hutu, Tutsi, mass execution, ethnic cleansing, massacre, human rights, victim remembrance, education, Africa. United Nations, United Nations 25 Women in armed conflicts. Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, 16 Sept Rwanda, genocide, Hutu, Tutsi, mass execution, ethnic cleansing, massacre, human rights, victim remembrance, education, Africa. United Nations, United Nations 27 ibid 9

11 delivering humanitarian assistance. The reality was that we saw over and over again that need is not, in fact, what determines a woman s access to assistance, protection and support. Her nationality, ethnicity, age, marital status, family situation and even her place of residence are far more likely determinants, UNIFEM had found. 28 UNHCR has noted that women are likely to suffer from a range of discriminatory practices in conflict situations, from receiving smaller food rations to legal wrangles over custody, inheritance and property. 29 Challenge in regulating peacekeepers The issue of whether or not peacekeepers should be screened before they are deployed is a matter of hot debate. The UN s Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) cannot require testing of military personnel contributed for service with the United Nations, as this is determined by the national policies of each contributing country. A UNAIDS panel of experts has unanimously agreed that HIV/AIDS testing should be voluntary. Not only is prevention deemed impractical, retribution for their wrongful conduct is near-impossible. When UN personnel commit actual crimes such as rape or trafficking, it is often difficult to bring them to justice. Under the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Rights of the United Nations, UN personnel and experts have immunity from legal processes. The contributing country retains exclusive criminal jurisdiction over military personnel. 30 The UN Head of Mission does not have any authority to discipline troops, but only general responsibility for conduct and does not include punishing misconduct. Prosecutions carried out by the soldier s home country are generally not made public because they take place in military courts, which are closed procedures. The socio-economic conditions of conflicts and peace-keeping environments aid sexual exploitation. Sitting in the legal and ethical grey area is the association between increased prostitution, sexual exploitation and HIV/AIDS infection and the arrival of peacekeeping personnel. UNIFEM pointed out that we are acutely aware that it is not UN peacekeepers alone who contribute to creating conditions of sexual exploitation and increased prostitution... the collapse of a normal economy, accompanied by the collapse of law and order, contribute to this environment of exploitation. Anyone can be an exploiter: members of armed groups, the government, regional organizations and the private sector. The core of the problem has deeper roots than those that can be tackled by simply regulating UN peacekeepers, in preventive or punitive measures. 28 Rehn, Elizabeth, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Women, War and Peace: The Independent Experts Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Women s Role in Peace-Building. 29 ibid 30 ibid 10

12 Gender mainstreaming and women s role in making peace There is a discussion on whether gender mainstreaming and affirmative action should be in place in peacekeeping forces, missions and the peace-building processes. The concept of gender mainstreaming has been defined by the United Nations as the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in any area and at all levels. It is a strategy for making the concerns and experiences of women as well as of men an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally, and inequality is not perpetuated. 31 However, the initiative saw limited progress. In the 32 years between 1957 and 1989, only 0.1% of the field-based military personnel in UN peacekeeping missions were female. Women made up only 4% of police and 3% of the military in UN operations in Limitations of legal frameworks There is no lack of existing legal framework, both domestic and international, that clearly prohibits and criminalizes violence against women. Going forward, Gay J. McDougall, the former Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, recommends that such framework "must better reflect the experience of women and the true nature of the harms to them, particularly during armed conflict, through consistent, gender responsive practice. 32 UN Human Rights Committee reaffirmed this view by establishing that the right to gender equality is not merely a right to non-discrimination, but one that requires affirmative action. Another major limitation of legal redress lies in the fact that the upheaval of war itself makes it nearly impossible for women to seek redress from government entities. With the disintegration of law and order in society, women have nowhere to turn to and no hope in making their case against perpetrators. Lastly, even if women have full access to the rule of law, cultural and social stigmas, as well as a woman's status in society, also affect her ability to protect herself or seek protection. 6. Questions to consider: 1. How can the international community address issues such as the failure to reach women and meet their needs in humanitarian aid delivery? 2. Is gender mainstreaming and affirmative action in peacekeeping forces the answer? 31 ibid 32 ibid 11

13 3. How can the underlying socio-economic and cultural forces in driving women into sex work and exploitation be addressed? 4. Are peacekeepers and the peace-keeping environment they create beneficial for women in conflict zones? 5. Can there be and should there be pre-screening of peacekeepers before they are sent off in a mission? 6. How do we move forward with protecting women from sexual violence, beyond just the recognition of rights? How do we provide redress to women who have suffered? 7. Bibliography Journals and Articles 1. Sexual Violence and Armed Conflict: United Nations Response published by the UNITED NATIONS Division for the Advancement of Women Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Apr. 1998, 2. Rape as a Weapon of War United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, 3. Rehn, Elizabeth, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Women, War and Peace: The Independent Experts Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Women s Role in Peace-Building. United Nations Development Fund for Women, 2002, default/files/pub-pdf/3f71081ff391653dc1256c e9-unicef- WomenWarPeace.pdf. 4. Ash, Lucy. The rape of Berlin. BBC News, BBC, 1 May 2015, magazine Lisa Sharlach (2000) Rape as Genocide: Bangladesh, the Former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda, New Political Science, 22:1, , DOI: / Websites and Online Resources 1. Rwanda, genocide, Hutu, Tutsi, mass execution, ethnic cleansing, massacre, human rights, victim remembrance, education, Africa. United Nations, United Nations, preventgenocide/rwanda/about/bgsexualviolence.shtml. 12

14 2. Women in armed conflicts. Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, 16 Sept. 2014, diplomatie.belgium.be/en/policy/policy_areas/human_rights/specific_issues/ gender_and_women_rights/women_in_armed_conflicts. 13

15 Topic B: Women and Elections 14

16 1. Introduction National and local elections can support women s political participation in multiple ways, but specific measures may be required to overcome the barriers of gender discrimination. Women candidates may face gaps in capacities or resources that prevent them from competing effectively, for instance. If polling stations are located in remote or unsafe areas, women voters may be reluctant to use them. Sometimes electoral management bodies are unaware of hindrances to women s participation because they do not have the knowledge, skills or data to analyse and correct these. UN Women s support to women in elections in sensitive regions At a critical point in Egypt s political transition, UN Women helped establish the first Egyptian Feminist Union, comprising 500 women s groups and the Egyptian Coalition for Civic Education and Women s Participation, which serves as an election watchdog. More than 500,000 people from 27 governorates have signed a National Charter highlighting women s aspirations for the future of their country. In partnership with UN Women, the Government is implementing the Women s Citizenship initiative to issue ID cards to 2 million women who need them to vote and access public services. After Kenya s 2010 Constitution guaranteed gender equality and the use of affirmative action, UN Women backed a gender audit of a draft Political Parties Bill to see if principles were translating into practice. The Interim Independent Electoral Commission subsequently adopted recommendations to make the bill more gender-responsive. When it passed into law, it stipulated that the registration of political parties depends on having no more than two-thirds of any gender in their governing bodies. Another provision requires filling vacant seats in the legislature with people of the same gender. Partnering with women civil society and government leaders in Colombia, UN Women helped successfully advocate for the adoption of a 30% quota for women candidates in national elections. To engage the broader public, an ad campaign drove home the message that Democracy without women is incomplete. 2. Recent Work In its resolution 66/130 on women and political participation, ratified in 2013, the General Assembly called upon Member States to enhance the political participation of women and accelerate the achievement of equality between men and women. It urged all States to take action to ensure women s equal participation, including in times of political transition, by reviewing electoral systems for their impact on the participation of women; implementing appropriate measures to eliminate barriers to women s participation; encouraging political parties to remove barriers that discriminate against the participation of 15

17 women; promoting awareness of the importance of women s participation in the political process; developing training to support women s participation in the electoral process; and investigating allegations of violence against women elected officials and candidates. At its sixty-eighth session, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the resolution. It encouraged Governments to provide precise data on the political participation of women at all levels, including, where appropriate, information on the political participation of women in times of political transition. The present report is submitted in accordance with that request. The examples set out in the report are based on the responses, unless otherwise indicated, of 42 Member States and seven United Nations entities. The report also draws on the recent report of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice (A/HRC/23/50). 3. Background Work The normative framework for women s political participation is derived from a number of sources, including human and political rights declarations, conventions and resolutions. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines the principles of nondiscrimination and equal enjoyment of political rights, including the right of women and men to take part in the government of their country. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women articulates women s equal right to participation in political and public life, including the right to vote in all elections and public referenda, eligibility for election to all publicly elected bodies and participation in the formulation and implementation of government policy. This Convention also states that States parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country, including through temporary special measures. In its resolution 1990/15, the Economic and Social Council recommended specific targets for increasing the proportion of women in leadership positions to 30 percent by 1995 and 50 percent by The Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 assessed progress towards those goals and States adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. According to this, Governments are committed to take measures to ensure women s equal access to and full participation in decision-making and to establish the goal of gender balance in governmental bodies and committees, public administrative entities and the judiciary. The Platform for Action became a major catalyst for Governments to introduce temporary special measures, such as quotas, in order to increase women s political participation. In its resolution 1325 (2000), the Security Council urged Member States to ensure increased representation of women at all levels of decision-making in conflict resolution and peace processes. However, despite the decades of mobilization and efforts undertaken in that regard, the General Assembly voiced its concern, in resolution 66/130, that women in every part of the world continue to be largely marginalized from the political sphere. 16

18 4. Participation of women as voters The most widespread indicator of women s civic engagement is their participation as voters in elections. Many States have begun reporting sex-disaggregated data on voter registration through their electoral management bodies. However, most States do not report sex-disaggregated data on the turnout rates on Election Day (voter turnout data). The limited data available has not been systematized or aggregated over time and across regions, and it is therefore not possible to draw conclusions about progress or setbacks. Available data suggests that voter turnout varies from region to region and is lowest among young voters. The turnout of women is frequently influenced by lower access to information and civic education, fear of political violence in the polling process and family responsibilities. Women who do go to the polls may face higher levels of targeted violence and may be subject to family voting practices that violate their freedom of choice. Women may not possess the required documentation to register and vote, such as identification documents or citizenship certificates, in particular in times of conflict or political transition. Further efforts are therefore needed, including conducting gender analysis of voter registration practices and voter turnout, and systematic reporting of the data in order to strengthen the knowledge base and design appropriate policy or programme responses. 5. Overview of Progress While some progress has been achieved over the past three decades, women remain marginalized from political decision-making in every region of the world. In some regions, economic development and rapid growth have not been accompanied by gender equality gains. Wide variations remain in the average percentages of women parliamentarians in each region. As of June 2017, these were (single, lower and upper houses combined): Nordic countries, 41.7 percent; Americas, 28.1 percent; Europe including Nordic countries, 26.5 percent; Europe excluding Nordic countries, 25.3 percent; sub-saharan Africa, 23.6 percent; Asia, 19.4 percent; Arab States, 17.4 percent; and the Pacific, 17.4 percent. In other regions, the dismantling of authoritarian regimes and transition to democracy have not always been accompanied by a substantial increase in women s representation in new political institutions. Such trends are reflected in the low numerical presence of women in elected and appointed bodies. As of January 2017, only 18.3 percent of government ministers were women; the most commonly held portfolio by women ministers is environment, natural resources, and energy, followed by social sectors, such as social affairs, education and the family. 17

19 The standard indicator used to monitor progress on women s political participation is the proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments. That data has been tracked and made available by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) for over three decades and is also one of the indicators used to monitor progress towards the attainment of Goal 3 of the Millennium Development Goals, on promoting gender equality and empowering women. Data on women Heads of State and Government is also regularly collected. However, the participation of women in other elected bodies, such as local governments, and in primarily appointed bodies, such as at the executive/ministerial level and public administration, is not regularly collated globally. As of June 2017, only 2 countries have 50 percent or more women in parliament in single or lower houses: Rwanda with 61.3 percent and Bolivia with 53.1 percent; but a greater number of countries have reached 30 percent or more. 46 single or lower houses were composed of 30 per cent or more women, including 19 countries in Europe, 13 in Sub-Saharan Africa, 11 in Latin America have applied some form of quotas - either legislative candidate quotas or reserved seats - opening space for women's political participation in national parliaments. Gender balance in political participation and decisionmaking is the internationally agreed target set in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. 6. Challenges affecting women s political participation Systemic and legal barriers to women s political participation persist at all levels and in multiple forms and include culture and patriarchy, lack of financial resources, the challenge of balancing family and professional obligations and lack of support by political parties. Member States reported that stereotyping and traditionally prescribed gender roles foster views of women as unqualified for political office (Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Burkina Faso, Indonesia, Italy, Philippines and Zimbabwe). The situation is compounded by their lower socioeconomic position in most States, with women lacking the basic resources or economic independence necessary to pursue public office. Political empowerment, therefore, goes hand-in-hand with the economic empowerment of women. Male-dominated power structures continue to hinder women who consider political careers. Several States noted that candidate selection processes within political parties can serve as a barrier (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Guatemala, Indonesia, Japan and Zimbabwe). Political parties are the gateway to political office; however, few women are nominated as electoral candidates since party leaders tend to select men. Women are hampered by fewer family and business connections, have relatively less access to the financial and social capital required for campaigning, have less experience in local government or are not sitting incumbents. Household duties, including unpaid care work, reproductive roles and restricted mobility, lower the ability of women to campaign and attend political meetings. Even after navigating the nomination processes of political parties, women may encounter other institutional and structural barriers, including those related to the electoral system, absent or weak legal protections against gender-based violence and a gender-biased electorate. Mainstream media contributes to the challenge through negative stereotyping and 18

20 unequal coverage of women candidates, reinforcing the prevailing gender bias against women. 7. Points to be Addressed 1. Ensuring a solid international framework for gender equality, non-discrimination and women s equal participation through state provisions, including the adoption of temporary special measures especially in post-conflict election areas. 2. Strengthening the legislative basis of gender balance at the national, sub-national and local levels. 3. Introducing political finance or other reforms that provide an incentive to political parties to increase the number of women candidates nominated. 4. Increasing the proportion of women in appointed positions, including at the executive and ministerial levels across all sectors and ministries 5. Ensuring that data on women s political participation at all levels is systematically collected and analysed 6. Recognizing and assessing the types of electoral and political violence that women encounter as voters, candidates and elected or appointed officials, and ensuring adequate legal provisions under which to prevent and prosecute it and protect women from it; 7. Facilitating an enabling environment for women in political life, including through targeted awareness campaigns, media incentives and public recognition of the value of women s participation and contributions 8. Supporting young people, especially girls, to consider political careers 9. Support and complement Member State efforts to provide data on women s political participation by establishing a mechanism to develop standards for data collection and to track the data worldwide on a regular basis; 10. Increase assistance to support Member States in their national efforts by implementing training to support women in participating in electoral processes, political activities and other leadership activities; 11. Making civil society organisations more gender sensitive 12. Issue of non-binary and transgender representation in elections 19

21 8. Bibliography and Further Reading 1. elections 2. facts-and-figures