UN Security Council Resolution 2122: Restoring the Holistic Intention of Women Peace and Security

Posted on October 24, 2013 0 Comments24
23 October 2013: The Control Arms Foundation of India welcomes the steps taken by the UN Security Council on 18th October 2013, to strengthen the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) on women peace and security in adopting resolution 2122 (2013).

It has been 13 years since the UN Security Council took the first historic steps in recognizing the imperative of gendered concerns in the maintenance of international peace and security, and despite some successes and good practice examples as illuminated in the Secretary General’s Report (S/2013/612) on October 16thth 2013, significant aspects of the agenda remain unattended.

To date, subsequent resolutions on women peace and security have had a strong emphasis on the responding to sexual violence and protection, which although much warranted, has come at the expense of a holistic implementation, specifically with regards to women’s participation and leadership; disarmament issues; and the prevention and prosecution of the full spectrum of human rights abuses committed against women, young women, and girls.
As Ms. Brigitte Balipou of Femmes Africa Solidarite noted in her address to the Council, “(i)t is time to dismantle the barriers to women’s full and meaningful participation at all levels of decision-making. It is time, thirteen years after the unanimous adoption of resolution 1325, for the consistent resourcing and sustained political will to support women’s deserved role in preventing, ending, and rebuilding from conflicts […]”

It is in this regard that the Control Arms Foundation of India welcomes resolution 2122 (2013), which greatly strengthens the need to fully engage women, including local women’s civil society in formal political and peace processes, and to take meaningful steps to ensure women have opportunity to take leadership roles. We welcome renewed attention on the UN’s role in ensuring full implementation across the spectrum of its activities.
We welcome the references to the Arms Trade Treaty and addressing the nexus between arms proliferation, armed conflict and human rights violations.We urge in the strongest terms that the Government of India (and Member States) sign and ratify the treaty, undertake comprehensive measures to domesticate into national law, and take concrete transparent steps to prevent arms transfer requests where clear patterns of gender based violence are evident.
Resolution 2122 (2013) comes at a critical time for India, which is simultaneously ranked the biggest importer of arms, yet lags with regard to gender equality. It is time to urgently implement all aspects of the women peace and security agenda, especially with regards to disarmament and women’s participation.There can be no peace without gender equality, and no security without disarmament.

The issue of arms proliferation has held Northeast India captive for too long, a supply and transit point on the route for trafficking in women and Small and Light Weapons, a phenomenon that cannot be addressed without a gender-responsive policy. We urge the Indian government to make this connection in concrete policy and in full consultation with local women’s civil society, who are the backbone of peacebuilding in the Northeast.

We urge in the strongest terms the immediate repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, and request the commencement of peace and reconciliation processes in all conflict effected areas with inclusive,gender sensitiveengagement with local women’s civil society.

Pursuant to Secretary Generals Presidential Statements S/PRST/2004/40 and S/PRST/2005/52, we urge the Government of India to take steps to develop a holistic and adequately resourced National Action Plan on women peace and security, ensuring broad consultation with adiverse stratum of women and women’s civil society at all stages of drafting, development and implementation, and with reference to best practice.

This resolution puts the imperative of full participation, leadership and the role of civil society front and center, and we can no longer ignore the great gender inequalities in how peace and security issues are defined and addressed. Resolution 2122 is a call to action that demands we take our words seriously, because after 13 years, now is the time.

Resolution text: http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/2122(2013)

Office of Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network & Control Arms Foundation of India.

Email: cafi.communique@gmail.com
Phone: Phone: (011) 46018541/ 26166234
Websites: www.cafi-online.com & www.womensurvivorsnetwork.org

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