REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON THE PROGRESS MADE WITH REGARD TO THE STABILIZATION OF AND RESTORATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER IN GUINEA-BISSAU (S/2015/619).
Code: S/2015/619
Period of Time and Topic: This report was on the restoration of constitutional order and the continuation of the sanctions regime.
Introduction
The report failed to fully investigate and analyse women’s protection and participation concerns within the context of restoring constitutional order and the broader peacebuilding process. This was despite the solitary reference of the participation of the Women’s Political Platform during consultations regarding the assessment of progress made towards stabilising Guinea-Bissau during the post-election environment.[1] The lack of gender cross-cutting and application of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, or even reference to WPS resolutions, indicates a decrease in WPS engagement from previous reports (S/2015/37) and exhibits an inconsistency in UN mission reporting. Further, the report failed to include any sex and age disaggregated data where necessary.
Stabilisation of the country and the restoration of constitutional order
This section of the report provided an assessment as a result of multilateral and stakeholder-based consultations of the progress toward stabilising Guinea-Bissau and restoring constitutional order. The report discusses peacebuilding activities such as judicial reform, security sector reform, and national electoral processes, but failed to analyse the gender components of any of these thematic areas.
Despite this being a high-level progress review, and that a more detailed strategic assessment is made in the previous report (S/2015/37), this report still should have included a gender perspective and missed two opportunities to do this. First, when discussing the progress Guinea-Bissau has made towards judicial and security sector reform, and reactivation of the ad hoc Commission for Constitutional Review, the report should have discussed efforts to promote women and civil society participation within these processes.[2] Second, in regards to the ongoing root causes of instability, there should have been an added discussion on: women’s human rights protection and legal redress for sexual and gender-based violence; promotion of women in decision-making and leadership in all peacebuilding processes and activities; and, the increasing of women’s access to institution-building and economic opportunities.[3]
Ideal asks for WPS transformation
The report did not comprehensively engage with women’s protection or promotion concerns, or provide sex and age disaggregated data. This is a concern, considering the important peacebuilding and statebuilding activities discussed in the report. Specifically, the report should have provided measures taken to promote women’s full and equal participation in law and security sector reform.
_____________
[1] S/2015/619 para. 2
[2] S/2015/619 para. 21
[3] S/2015/619 para. 23