Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region

Code: S/2015/173

Women, Peace and Security

The report focused more heavily on women’s participation than women’s protection, especially the activities of the Special Envoy. He promoted the involvement of civil society organizations and women’s groups in efforts to bring peace and stability to the region in line with SCR 1325 (2000) (para. 53). The Special Envoy also promoted the political leadership and empowerment of women, through the Women’s Platform for the Framework and funding livelihoods projects in conflict- affected communities (para. 54). Grants totalling $193,874 were disbursed to women’s groups throughout the region (para. 54). On the 14th anniversary of SCR 1325 (2000), the Special Envoy partnered with the UN Women, MONUSCO, other UN agencies, governments and women’s organizations to organize events in the region, during which he called for the increased involvement of women’s organizations in peace initiatives in the region (para. 54). The Special Envoy also chaired the first meeting of the Advisory Board of the Women’s Platform, where he encouraged strengthening partnerships with regional initiatives and institutions (like the ICGLR Regional Women’s Forum; the Office of the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace and Security; UN Women; and regional gender ministers), expanding the Board to include other partners, and improving the resource base of the Platform (para. 55).

The Observation section concluded the report’s consideration of women’s participation by noting the Women’s Platform’s role in supporting the political and economic empowerment of women in the region, addressing the root causes of instability, tackling the economic, social and political exclusion of women, addressing deeply entrenched sexual and gender-based violence and empowering women to become agents of transformation (para. 65). It also highlights women’s organizations’ work on promoting peace and reconciling communities and calls on the international donors to support them and the Platform (para. 65).

On sexual and gender-based violence, the reported noted, in International Commitments, the Board of the World Bank Group approved $538 million for regional programs relating to sexual and gender-based violence and women’s health, among other areas, and a meeting by the Special Envoy and UNDP on the Framework, in which the the UN Country teams identified gender and sexual and gender-based violence among areas of intervention (para. 39, 41). The report had a section on Human rights, child protection and sexual and gender-based violence, which unfortunately did not include any information on SGBV or women’s human rights (para. 24, 25).

References in Need of Improvement

References to women, peace and security throughout the report could have been stronger if they included women’s and women’s civil society organizations’ participation in the design of programs and activities. The report should have elaborated on how the Special Envoy consulted with women and included women in all of his activities, including promoting women’s civil society organizations, funding programs and women’s groups, organizing events and supporting the Women’s Platform to ensure his activities addressed women’s concerns. The Special Envoy also should have encouraged the Women’s Platform partnership with the SRSG on Sexual Violence in Conflict, who was already supposed to be in the DRC to better incorporate the women, peace and security agenda across different United Nations entities to better respond to women’s needs in the DRC (S/RES/2147 (2014), OP 26). The reporting on the Women’s Platform should have been much more detailed on which women participated in the Platform, how it included women’s civil society organizations, how it built women’s capacity as leaders even beyond the Platform’s membership, and next steps it could take to address any gaps in these areas to integrate a gender lens addressing the root causes of instability and reflected the diverse concerns of women in the DRC.

Mentions of SGBV had similar weaknesses. The section on Human rights, child protection and sexual and gender-based violence could have been much stronger if it included information on women or SGBV, including what MONUSCO did to protect both men and women from sexual violence. The report’s consideration of work and programs on SGBV should have included if women’s civil organizations were involved in the planning and implementation and if women’s concerns were incorporated into both World Bank Group programs and UN Country teams interventions to ensure a gender lens in all programs and processes.

Missed Opportunities

Although the mandate of MONUSCO was not the topic of this report, it nonetheless failed to respond to the relevant portions of resolution 2147 (2014) on the WPS agenda in the area of protection. Despite reporting on UN Country Teams and the Special Envoy throughout the report, and having a section on Human rights, child protection and sexual and gender-based violence; the report made no mention of either the Country Teams or the Special Envoy collaborating with the government of the DRC on implementation of the action plan to prevent and end the recruitment and use of children and sexual violence against children by FARDC to ensure a gender lens in children’s protection concerns (S/RES/2147 (2014), OP 5(l)). While the report made the link between accountability for serious crimes and breaking recurrent cycles of violence, it did not include holding perpetrators of SGBV accountable to protect and promote women’s human rights and prevent SGBV (S/RES/2147 (2014), OP 17, 29). The report failed to address donor funding for addressing the needs of sexual violence survivors, including psychosocial, sexual and reproductive health services, although the report mentions donors several times and women and women’s civil society organizations’ participation in donor conferences or the design and implementation of any service provision to ensure it meets survivors’ needs (S/RES/2147 (2014), OP 29, 35).

Furthermore on participation, the paragraph on elections under the Observation section failed to report on the safety and freedom of movement of women human rights defenders and civil society in elections, despite mentioning civil society in facilitating peaceful elections, as well as women’s participation, involvement and representation at all levels, including as voters, candidates and monitors (S/RES/2147 (2014), OP 11). The report failed to include the participation of and inclusion of the needs of female combatants and women associated with armed groups in the design of all DDR processes and programming, despite resolution 2147 (2014) requesting the participation, involvement and representation of women at all levels in DDR (S/RES/2147 (2014), OP 27). Most seriously, the report did not fully address ensuring the implementation of the PSC Framework is gender-sensitive through the Bujumbura Declaration, and the equal and full inclusion of women in the PSC Framework in all stages of conflict resolution including reconstruction, since the report limited itself to the Women’s Platform in its gendered discussion of the Framework (S/RES/2147 (2014), OP 29). A gender lens to ensure the differing needs of all genders, women’s and women’s civil society organizations’ participation, and the promotion of women’s human rights were included in the PSC Framework and any national political dialogue was entirely absent from the report (S/RES/2147 (2014), OP 27).

Ideal Asks for WPS Transformation

The report should be improved with an explicit reference to and analysis of all genders, emphasizing diverse masculinities and femininities, including the dynamics between and among genders as well as the power relations and hierarchies at play, and the intersection of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, class, and age across all political, peace, and security processes.