EN FEBRUARY 2011
W O M E N Peace and Security The European Union in action FEBRUARY 2011
Notice This brochure is produced by the General Secretariat of the Council; it is for information purposes only. For any information on the European Council and the Council, you can consult the following websites: www.european-council.europa.eu www.consilium.europa.eu or contact the Public Information Department of the General Secretariat of the Council at the following address: Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175 1048 Bruxelles/Brussel BELGIQUE/BELGIË Tel: +32 22815650 Fax: +32 22814977 Internet: www.consilium.europa.eu/infopublic More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2011 ISBN 978-92-824-2915-0 doi:10.2860/62026 European Union, 2011 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Belgium
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction: Why Women, Peace and Security?............... 5 2. The EU Approach.............................................. 9 3. Promotion of Women, Peace and Security as a Political Objective........................................ 15 4. Women, Peace and Security in the Common Security and Defence Policy........................................... 19 5. Role of Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation..... 23 3
1. Introduction: Why Women, Peace and Security? The ways in which women, men, girls and boys experience and respond to armed conflict, peacekeeping, peace building and reconstruction differ, as do their security concerns. While entire communities suffer the consequences of armed conflict, women and girls are particularly affected because of their status in society and their sex. Understanding these differences is essential to the successful planning and implementation of response strategies, be it with regard to crisis management operations, conflict resolution and mediation efforts or post-conflict reconstruction. The civilian population has become the main victim in contemporary conflicts. It is estimated that in current wars 90 percent of the casualties are civilians and only 10 percent are active combatants. This contrasts sharply with the situation at the beginning of the 20th century, when these figures were reversed. There are several reasons for this dramatic change. For example, it has become the rule rather than the exception for warring parties to directly and violently target and attack the civilian population as a means to pursue their strategic objectives. Women and girls are heavily affected, particularly when the assailants use sexual violence and rape as a tactic of warfare and ethnic cleansing. It is also estimated that 80 per cent of the world s millions of refugees and displaced persons are women and children. While women s and girls security concerns are often related to the private sphere (e.g. domestic and sexual violence, reproductive health issues), men s and boys main security concerns are often seen to be more public and linked to traditional concepts of security (arrests and abductions, torture, gang fights, unemployment). Women s and girls security needs tend to be less visible and receive less attention often they are not even considered to be of security concern. Sexual violence continues to be rampant in armed conflicts, and in many cases has become systematic and widespread, reaching appalling levels of brutality. Impunity continues to prevail for the bulk of this violence, and women and girls are often rejected by their communities after having fallen victim to rape. 5
Men and boys are also among the victims of sexual violence or traumatised through being forced to rape or to watch helplessly while their spouses or other family members are being raped. There is a close link between the prevention of sexual violence and the empowerment of women, notably through making available opportunities to women to participate politically and economically and to improve their status and livelihood. Women and girls are, however, not only the victims of war and violence. They play active roles in providing for their families, as peace builders, politicians and civil society activists. Promoting the participation of both men and women in these roles is an important means to help prevent and resolve conflicts and promote a culture of inclusive and sustainable peace. Women also become combatants: for example, in Nicaragua approximately 30% of the combatants in the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) were women. In El Salvador, women made up 30% of the combatants of the Farabundo Martí Liberation Front (FMLN). Any programme targeting ex-combatants or persons associated with armed forces and groups should take due account of both men and boys and women and girls. Promoting Women s Participation in Somalia In Somalia, women have formed the Somali Women s Agenda (SWA), an advocacy movement for gender equality and women s empowerment that has opened the way for women to engage in crucial legislative and policy processes. SWA, which has benefited from EU financial support, has made considerable progress towards ensuring that women s voices are heard. It for instance successfully lobbied for the inclusion of women in the Independent Federal Constitutional Commission (IFCC), which is tasked with drafting the new Somali Constitution. This brought the total number of women in the IFCC to 6 (out of 30) thus becoming the first Somali-driven national institution to meet the 30 per cent quota committed to by the government. 6
Women s participation in peace negotiations, where crucial decisions about post-conflict recovery and governance are made, remains strikingly low. A review by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) of a sample of 24 major peace processes since 1992 shows that women represented only 2,5 per cent of signatories, 3,2 per cent of mediators, 5,5 per cent of witnesses and 7,6 per cent of negotiators. There has been little appreciable increase since resolution 1325 was passed. These figures indicate that the underrepresentation of women at the peace table is much more marked than in other public decision-making roles. The need to pay particular attention to women s situation in times of war is stressed in international humanitarian law. The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 1949, and the Additional Protocols of 1977 provide that women must be especially protected against any attack on their honour, in particular against humiliating and degrading treatment, rape, enforced prostitution or any form of indecent assault. Other international commitments have come to reinforce this message. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993, states that violations of the human rights of women in situations of armed conflict are violations of the fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law. The Beijing Platform for Action adopted by the fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995 includes women and armed conflict among its strategic objectives and actions. Since its first landmark resolution 1325, adopted on 31 October 2000 (see insert), the United Nations Security Council has adopted several resolutions on women, peace and security or related issues, including sexual violence in armed conflict, inter alia 7
establishing the mandate of a Special Representative of the UN Secretary- General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Most recently, on 21 December 2010, the Security Council adopted resolution 1960, which created a mechanism for compiling data on and listing perpetrators of sexual violence in armed conflict. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 Resolution 1325 (2000) was the first United Nations Security Council resolution to specifically address the impact of armed conflict on women, and women s contributions to conflict resolution and sustainable peace. UNSCR 1325 stresses the importance of women s equal and full participation as active agents in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peace building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and post-conflict reconstruction. It calls on member states to ensure women s equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security. It urges all actors to increase the participation of women and incorporate gender perspectives in all United Nations peace and security efforts, including demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR). As a UNSC resolution (under Chapter VI) it is binding upon all UN member states, although there is no mechanism to enforce it and it is not legally binding, as it does not fall under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. With 18 operational paragraphs, the resolution can be summarised under five key provisions: 1. Increased participation and representation of women at all levels of decision-making. 2. Attention to specific protection needs of women and girls in conflict. 3. Gender perspective in post-conflict processes. 4. Gender perspective in UN programming, reporting and in Security Council missions. 5. Gender perspective and training in UN peace support operations. 8
2. The EU Approach The EU has in place a robust policy on women, peace and security, covering the humanitarian, development, security and political aspects of its external relations from crisis management to long-term reconstruction, funded by various instruments such as the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and the Instrument for Stability (IfS). The EU believes that the issue of women, peace and security needs to be promoted in a holistic manner, whereby action in the multilateral sphere, notably within the UN, complements efforts taken at the local level in partner countries. The EU has put in place a specific policy on women, peace and security. On 8 December 2008, the EU Council adopted the Comprehensive approach to the EU implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 on Women, Peace and Security (Comprehensive Approach) as well as a revised operational document on the implementation of these resolutions specifically within the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Furthermore, it adopted on the same day EU Guidelines on Violence and Discrimination Against Women and Girls, which strengthened the position of women s rights within the EU s overall human rights policy. The Comprehensive Approach broke new ground by cutting across the previous pillar structure and linking the CSDP firmly to other foreign policy tools such as development cooperation, political dialogue or EU action within the UN. It aims to ensure full coherence between and within EC and CFSP/ ESDP instruments and proper continuity in its crisis management initiatives and further reconstruction and development work. Owing to its cross-pillar perspective, the Comprehensive Approach remains a highly valid document in today s post-lisbon context. 9
Extract from the Comprehensive Approach A gender perspective, encompassing both women and men, should inform EU external actions in order to achieve a comprehensive response to the threats faced by the civilian population in times of conflict and in its aftermath. This is the premise for effective stabilisation, peace building, post-conflict reconstruction and institution building. Moreover, a strengthened commitment to gender issues in the EU activities, with regard to conflict prevention, crisis management, peace building and postconflict reconstruction and institution building, can enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Furthermore women s peace initiatives and conflict resolution efforts are a valuable resource for the development of sustainable and inclusive approaches to peace and security. The Comprehensive Approach adopts a holistic view, recognising the close links between peace, security, development and gender equality. There is not only a need to promote the participation and the protection of women in conflict situations and peace building but also a need to ensure that these actions are supported by wider development considerations, such as the promotion of women s economic security and opportunities and their access to health services and education. The Comprehensive Approach builds on EU experience of gender and crisis management that dates back to 2005, when the Council adopted the first operational paper on the implementation of UNSCR 1325, focusing on practical measures for taking work forward in the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) context. This document was followed in 2006 by a Checklist to Ensure Gender Mainstreaming and Implementation of UNSCR 1325 in the Planning and Conduct of ESDP Operations, replaced in 2008 by the above-mentioned operational document. 10
Furthermore, commitments to promote the role of women in peace building and/or enhance the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions on women, peace and security exist in several important policy documents, for example in the 2006 EU Concept for support to Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) and the 2010 EU Plan of Action on Gender Equality and Women s Empowerment in Development. Analysis of women s participation in elections, both as candidates and as voters, is now systematic in EU election observation missions. In order to operationalise policy commitments, the Comprehensive Approach set up an interinstitutional Women, Peace and Security Task Force to oversee implementation. This task force, which has been meeting periodically since early 2009, is informal in character and should not be confused with the formal Council working parties, several of which are relevant in this context. The Comprehensive Approach included a commitment to adopt, at a later stage, indicators to follow up its implementation. These indicators were adopted by the EU Council on 27 July 2010 and will allow implementation to be tracked across the EU Member States and institutions as well as CSDP missions, and thus improve the EU s accountability for its commitments in this field. 11
Implementation of the EU Comprehensive Approach in practice: Supporting the role of women in peace building in Pakistan In the context of the unfolding crisis in the North West Frontier region, the Pakistani Government requested support with the preparation of a Post- Crisis Needs Assessment (PCNA). Developed by the European Union, Asian Development Bank, World Bank and United Nations during a 10-month period up to August 2010, the PCNA assessed peace building opportunities in the fields of governance, rule of law, agricultural and natural resources, off-farm economic development, education, infrastructure, health, social protection and strategic communications. Three cross-cutting issues were adopted, namely Peace Building and Crisis Sensitivity, Capacity-Development and Gender. Attention was paid to ensure that both women and men participated in stakeholder and community consultations during the crisis analysis phase, and that gender dimensions were considered in the needs assessment phase. European Parliament and UNSCR 1325 The European Parliament has been an active promoter of UNSCR 1325 and has passed five resolutions on the topic since 2000: 25 November 2010 - Resolution on the 10th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security (2010/2968) 7 May 2009: Resolution on gender mainstreaming in EU external relations and peace-building/nation-building. (2008/2198). 16 Nov 2006: Resolution on Women in International Politics (2006/2057) 1 Jun 2006: Resolution on Women in armed conflicts and their role in postconflict reconstruction (2005/2215) 30 Nov 2000: Resolution on Participation of women in peaceful conflict resolution (2000/2025) 12
In October 2010, 10 EU Member States had a National Action Plan on women, peace and security: Denmark (2005), Sweden (2006), UK (2006), Austria (2007), Spain (2007), Finland (2008), Belgium (2009), Netherlands, Portugal (2009) Estonia (2010). In addition, five EU Member States (Bulgaria, Greece, France, Ireland and Slovenia) were in the process of developing a NAP. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, visits the EUPM HQ in Sarajevo - the EU s first civilian crisis managment operation 13
3. Promotion of Women, Peace and Security as a Political Objective TThe EU, with its wide network of delegations around the world, is a major political player, and one of the objectives of the Comprehensive Approach is to mobilise this political strength to promote the women, peace and security agenda. In this respect, the EU has committed to promote the implementation of the relevant UNSC Resolutions through its political and human rights dialogues with partner countries as well as through raising awareness and mobilising decision makers on the issues at stake. The creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS) further improves the EU s efficiency in pursuing this agenda. The EU has included specific attention to women, peace and security in its political and human rights dialogues and consultations with countries such as Canada, Ethiopia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, South Africa, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and the US. Since 2009 the EU has systematically included an item on women, peace and security in the EU-African Union (AU) Human Rights Dialogue. In October 2010 women, peace and security was also discussed at the EU-AU civil society seminar held in Addis Ababa before the human rights dialogue. The EU has systematically promoted the Women, Peace and Security Agenda of the United Nations Security Council, including by supporting the creation, by UNSCR 1960, of a Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on sexual violence in armed conflict. 15
Extracts from the EU statement during the UN Security Council open debate on Women, Peace and Security: Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict New York, 17 December 2010 The EU calls on the Security Council and all member states to redouble their efforts, notably in the fight against impunity. Often in the name of peace, amnesty is given to combatants who have used sexual torture or sexual violence as a tactic of war. But there can be no sustainable peace without prosecution of perpetrators and justice for victims; targeted and graduated measures should be imposed on all parties to a conflict responsible for grave instances of sexual violence. Perpetrators should be held accountable. Data collection and follow-up on the prosecution of sexual offenders requires urgent strengthening. The Security Council should adopt a zero-tolerance approach by including issues of sexual violence as a priority element of resolutions, mandating its Sanctions Committees, and these should explicitly include sexual violence as a criterion for the designation of political and military leaders for targeted measures. In the run-up to the tenth anniversary of UNSRC 1325, the EU and the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU organised a high-level event in Brussels on 9 September 2010 on The 10th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325: Ensuring women s participation in peace and security. The event was co-hosted by Steven Vanackere, Belgian Foreign Minister, and Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. It was also addressed by keynote speakers Rachel Mayanja, UN Special Advisor on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, and Margot Wallström, Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General on sexual violence in armed conflict, as well as other leading figures including Alain Leroy, head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, Chairman of NATO s Military Committee and Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate in 2003. The EU has channelled specific funding to the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and the subsequent UNSC resolutions. Notably, in the framework of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), the EU is supporting UN Women in carrying out a project entitled Women Connect Across Conflicts: Building Accountability for Implementation of UN Security 16
Council UNSCRs 1325, 1820, 1888, 1889. This action is aimed at spurring implementation of these resolutions in South Asia (Pakistan and Afghanistan), the Southern Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) and Central Asia/the Ferghana Valley (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan). Between 2007 and 2009, the European Commission, UNIFEM and the ILO Training Centre in Turin implemented a project focusing on gender equality and the aid effectiveness agenda. Four conflict-affected or fragile states (Nepal, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the DRC) were among the programme s 12 focus countries. The programme produced a specific study on Nepal analysing the implementation of UNSCR 1325. In 2011, under the Instrument for Stability, the EU plans to launch a specific call for proposals to support women s networks in crisis-affected countries. In addition, it will, in cooperation with the UN, support the participation of women in peace negotiations as well as in peace building and post-conflict planning. 17
4. Women, Peace and Security in the Common Security and Defence Policy Civilian and military crisis management play a key role in the EU s implementation of UNSCR 1325 and subsequent UNSC resolutions on women, peace and security, and there is a growing recognition within the CSDP of the importance and the added strategic and operational value of employing a gender perspective. The EU has since 2005 developed specific policy tools on mainstreaming gender into CSDP, highlighting the need to address gender in all phases of CSDP operations and missions, including by ensuring the availability of the necessary expertise in terms of personnel and training. Currently, the main EU policy tool in this field is the operational document Implementation of UNSCR 1325 as reinforced by UNSCR 1820 in the context of ESDP, agreed by the Council in December 2008. Common Security and Defence Policy The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in its current format is a recent EU policy. It was only in 2001 that the EU declared the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) to use the term employed before the 2009 Lisbon Treaty operational, and in 2003 that the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) declared that the EU now has operational capability across the full range of Petersberg tasks in the military sphere. In the same year the EU dispatched its first ESDP mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUPM, still ongoing). Since 2003, it has launched 24 missions, of which 12 are currently active. 19
The operational document builds on a previous document and a checklist on the same topic (dating from 2005 and 2006 respectively). It is a practically oriented document and considers the entire planning and implementation cycle of CSDP missions and operations, as well as their follow up (particularly in the lessons identified processes). This document and the Comprehensive Approach may be considered as the two main strands of EU policy on women, peace and security. Most CSDP operations and missions now include human rights and/or gender expertise. In the EUFOR Chad/Republic of Central Africa (RCA) military CSDP operation, the gender adviser appointed to the Operational and the Force Headquarters was, inter alia, involved in conducting gender training, and proposed a comprehensive structure for monitoring and reporting. EULEX Kosovo has a Human Rights and Gender Office which ensures that EULEX Kosovo policies and decisions comply with the relevant standards, and an Internal Investigation Unit which receives complaints of alleged breaches of the code of conduct. EUPOL RD Congo has a team of experts on sexual violence in Goma (North Kivu), supporting training of the Congolese police. The gender adviser in EUPOL Afghanistan provides advice to the Afghan authorities on gender policy in the Afghan National Police. In November 2009, the Council agreed the document Implementation of UNSCR 1325 and UNSCR 1820 in the context of training for the ESDP missions and operations recommendations on the way forward. This document aims to improve the coherence and quality of pre-deployment training for staff deployed in CSDP missions and operations. It also plans to increase the availability of and access to gender training, inter alia, through the development of standard elements for a training 20
curriculum on the implementation of UNSCRs 1325 and 1820 in the CSDP. These standard elements were agreed by the Council in December 2010. In 2010, the EU prepared a thematic lessons and best practices report on mainstreaming human rights and gender in CSDP. Some of the findings were as follows: The active participation of women and women s groups at peace negotiation tables, in democratisation processes, in the work of political parties and in elections, in line with UNSCR 1325 and the subsequent UNSC resolutions on women, peace and security is crucially important for rebuilding the societal and political environment. CSDP operations and missions should regularly meet with women s groups in order to hear their concerns, grievances and demands, with a view to integrating these issues, as relevant and appropriate, into ongoing mission planning. Sexual violence is a crime that is used as an illegal tactic of war leaving deep scars in society. Among the efforts to fight this phenomenon, the EU can seek to reform the security sector and encourage prosecution of the perpetrators by working with local police services, prosecutors, courts and prisons as well as through international tribunals. The primary task of the local security services should be to protect the population. Clear orders and training should be given on this at all levels of the security services. Impunity for sexual crimes should end and the government responsibility to prevent trafficking and the slave trade should be made clear. Collaboration with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Sexual Violence in Conflict is encouraged. The overall responsibilities of senior operation and mission management staff at headquarters and field level for human rights and gender mainstreaming should be emphasised. They need to ensure that the operation or mission (within their mandates) delivers on the EU s foreign policy objectives, and they should also be in a position to see how this mainstreaming increases operational effectiveness. The human rights and gender adviser/focal point should be strategically positioned in the organisation chart, close to the operation or mission management, and should take part in strategic meetings, where relevant, so as to have access to the necessary 21
information that mainstreaming inside the operation or mission requires, and the backing to carry out mainstreaming across different operation or mission components. Ongoing CSDP missions and operations (January 2011) EUPM: EU Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 2003) EUFOR: Althea European Union military operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 2004) EUBAM Rafah: EU Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point (since 2005) EUJUST LEX-Iraq: EU Integrated Rule of Law Mission for Iraq (since 2005) EUSEC Congo: EU mission to provide advice and assistance for security sector reform in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (since 2005) EUPOL COPPS: EU Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories (since 2006) EUPOL Afghanistan: EU Police Mission in Afghanistan (since 2007) EUPOL RD Congo: EU police mission undertaken in the framework of reform of the security sector (SSR) and its interface with the system of justice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (since 2007) EULEX Kosovo: EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (since 2008) EUMM Georgia: EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (since 2008) EUNAVFOR Somalia or Operation Atalanta (since 2008) EUTM Somalia: EU military mission to contribute to the training of Somali security forces (since 2010) 22
5. Role of Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation The EU recognises that humanitarian crises, and notably conflicts, are not gender neutral and have a differentiated impact on women, girls, boys and men, who generally face different risks, suffer from different vulnerabilities, and develop various coping mechanisms to survive and support their families. Addressing the gender dimensions of development issues such as health, education and access to security providers can contribute to conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts, particularly in terms of empowering women and providing them with the skills and resources necessary to participate actively in public life. This can enable both men and women to be better equipped to adapt and respond to changing circumstances, including situations of insecurity and instability. Humanitarian Aid The European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid adopted in 2007 highlights the importance of bringing a gender perspective more directly into humanitarian aid. It commits to systematically taking into account gender considerations and women s specific needs, to incorporating protection strategies against sexual and gender-based violence and to promoting the active participation of women in humanitarian aid interventions. Considering that women and girls affected by humanitarian crises have specific needs, the EU is committed to programme and implement humanitarian aid interventions in a gender-sensitive way. This translates into concrete projects where the specific needs of women and girls in terms of health, food assistance and nutrition, water and sanitation are examined and taken into account according to the specific context of operation. In crisis situations, institutions and systems normally in place to ensure physical and social protection are often weakened or destroyed; families and communities are often separated, which results in further breakdown of protection systems. In such contexts, civilian women and girls often become particularly vulnerable and exposed to sexual and gender-based 23
violence, which is why the EU endeavours to design and implement humanitarian projects in ways that protect and empower women and girls. In terms of protection the EU tries to organise its humanitarian assistance in a way that preserves the security of the most vulnerable, and especially women and girls. This means ensuring the safest possible access to food distributions, sanitation facilities, fuel or water supplies, and creating safe shelters for vulnerable groups such as womenheaded households and victims of sexual violence. It also means providing adequate health and psychosocial services to cover the reproductive health needs of women and girls and the survivors of sexual violence among them. In eastern DRC, for example, the EU supports several humanitarian projects that provide free medicines, medical care and psychological support to victims of sexual violence, and develop training for local medical staff. In terms of participation and empowerment, the EU puts a lot of effort into giving women a voice, as well as the instruments to preserve their dignity while supporting their children, and helping to sustain their communities. This is for example achieved through cash and vouchers: humanitarian food assistance interventions where small amounts of money are distributed to women who can in turn buy food and support their families. The EU is committed to reinforce the gender accountability of its humanitarian aid and is currently working on the development of a new gender approach that will reaffirm the importance and illustrate the positive impact of gender-sensitive humanitarian programming. 24
Development Cooperation The adverse developmental impacts of conflict, particularly on women and girls, should be recognised and addressed in the design and delivery of peacebuilding programmes. The infrastructure for health and education is often badly damaged during times of conflict, and this can have a negative effect on welfare and opportunities for women and girls in the post-conflict phase. Gender-based violence is also a pervasive problem that can be exacerbated by violent conflict and its aftermath, and can generate many physical, social, economic and psychological costs for women and their communities. Women who survive gender-based violence need multiple levels of care, such as HIV and STI (Sexually transmitted infections) testing, primary health care, gynecological surgery, counselling, community and family mediation, food, economic reintegration, legal advice and support. At the same time however, measures have to be put in place at the structural level to recognise and protect women s rights, such as law reform to eliminate gender discrimination, reforms of justice and police forces, and policies to promote gender equality in the sectors of health, education and social economic welfare. Security and development are becoming increasingly inter-related, and both are pre-requisites for the establishment and maintenance of sustainable peace. This linkage has been acknowledged by the EU in many policy documents such as the 2005 European Consensus on Development. The 2007 Communication and Council Conclusions on Gender Equality and Women s Empowerment in Development Cooperation call for the incorporation of women into all peace-building efforts. This linkage has also been recently confirmed in the EU Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women s Empowerment in Development (2010-2015) which contains actions to support partner countries in fully implementing the UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security. As the global leader in funding for development assistance and an increasingly important actor in crisis management and peace building, the EU is in a position of high leverage to influence the extent to which gender issues are mainstreamed into these processes. 25
More information at: www.consilium.europa.eu www.eeas.europa.eu www.ec.europa.eu/europeaid www.europarl.europa.eu 26
General Secretariat of the Council Women, Peace and Security The European Union in action 2011 26 pp. 14.8 x 21 cm ISBN 978-92-824-2915-0 doi:10.2860/62026
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