INTERNATIONAL: UN Continues Working to Increase Women's Rights

A Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) on Sexual Violence was appointed. Four existing UN agencies focusing on gender were merged to create a new gender entity called UN Women. Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile, will head the new organization, and the UN hopes that the budget will soon reach $1 billion - double the combined budgets of the four existing agencies. Peacekeepers have developed innovative initiatives, including better communication with local communities, to improve their ability to protect people from violence. Also, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is in the process of developing training exercises for peacekeepers so they can better prevent sexual violence and respond if women have been assaulted.

Yet despite greater support for the women, peace and security agenda over the past decade and the important developments over the last year, some issues remain. Women on the ground continue to disproportionately suffer violence, lack of access to basic services and exclusion from many of the political processes that determine their future.

As the mass rapes in Walikale in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) showed us, neither the Congolese government nor the international community is yet able to prevent violence against women or respond once it happens. The Walikale rapes received enormous attention and resulted in welcome self-criticism, at least on the part of the UN peacekeepers. They acknowledged that their lack of effective communication with the local community impeded the prevention of such attacks. The rapes also showed that Margot Wallstrom, the SRSG on Sexual Violence, did not receive the support she needed from within the UN. One important lesson that should be taken away from these horrific rapes is that the SRSG's office should be the focal point on sexual violence within the UN and should have the necessary backing to be able to respond in a timely way.

Yet women in the DRC continue to be raped every day and most of them still have no access to medical or psychological care. One reason for this is inadequate funding and access to survivors because of insecurity and poor infrastructure. But poor coordination by the UN agencies and NGOs providing sexual violence programming is also to blame.

RI is deeply concerned about the upcoming referendum on independence in south Sudan and the likelihood that a general deterioration in the security situation in the country will mean more women will be raped. Given the high levels of sexual violence during the civil war between the north and the south, it is safe to assume that if fighting breaks out around the referendum, women will again be targets. Unfortunately, it is also safe to assume that most of these women will not have access to post-rape care and that the perpetrators of these crimes won't be held accountable.

The Security Council has an important role to play in all of this. Resolution 1820, adopted in 2008, gave the Council the authority to place targeted sanctions on people who systematically commit acts of sexual violence. The first step would to be to create a monitoring and reporting mechanism so the Security Council can receive the information it needs in order to list individuals for sanctions. Not one person has been listed for sanctions yet. By using all the tools at its disposal, the Security Council can demonstrate that sexual violence against women in conflict is indeed a threat to peace and security, and that perpetrators will be held accountable.

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This post is part of a series to promote the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women, which runs from the International Day to End Violence Against Women on November 25 to International Human Rights Day on December 10. During the campaign, groups from around the world join together to speak out against gender violence. Follow our blog to read stories from our advocates about RI's work to increase women's rights.