REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON THE AFRICAN UNION-UNITED NATIONS HYBRID OPERATION IN DARFUR (26 FEBRUARY TO 15 MAY 2015)

Code: S/2015/378

Period of Time and Topic: UNAMID’s mandate implementation, revised strategic priorities implementation and transferring some of UNAMID’s responsibilities to the country team from 26 February to 15 May 2015

Women, Peace and Security

The report highlights an increasing trend of SGBV in Darfur (S/2015/378, para. 15). UNAMID records 37 incidents of sexual and gender violence crimes and documents an additional 28 cases of SGBV, including conflict-related related sexual violence, with 49 survivors including 5 children (S/2015/378, para. 12, 55). In most incidences the survivors are engaged in livelihood activities and the perpetrators are not arrested (S/2015/378, para. 15). The report notes three rapes and one attempted rape that was stopped by a male IDP (S/2015/378, para. 15). One perpetrator was injured in that incident and his armed group besieged the town until they received compensation for his injuries (S/2015/378, para. 15). Fear, stigma and lack of police capacity continued to cause underreporting of SGBV crimes. UNAMID police conducted trainings, including 350 female Darfur police officers, on capacity building and investigating aggravated gender-based violence crimes (S/2015/378, para. 63). The report includes women among the most vulnerable groups UNAMID is tailoring its protection strategy to in Northern Darfur, including firewood escorts (S/2015/378, para. 47). Despite transfers to the country team of certain responsibilities, UNAMID expects to continue to monitor and report on SGBV (S/2015/378, para. 75). The mission has, however, ceased its gender mainstreaming activities (S/2015/378, para. 77).

The report also includes women’s participation. UNAMID facilitates mediation through traditional women war singers in Northern Darfur to effectively engage two tribes (S/2015/378, para. 66). These activities mobilized the women in peacebuilding and led to the formation of six local committees to prevent conflict (S/2015/378, para. 69). Women were among those who received risk education on unexploded ordinances (S/2015/378, para. 50). Women and girls were also among those IDPs who received English language instruction (S/2015/378, para. 64). In regard to DDR processes, 314 women former LJM combatants were found to be eligible for programs (S/2015/378, para. 43). The report also mentioned the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur and the Darfur Development Strategy, which include WPS (S/2015/378, para. 33, 41, 76).

References in Need of Improvement

The report could be stronger if its references to the WPS agenda fully responded to resolution 2173 (2014). The report should include UNAMID’s actions taken to cease SGBV, including reporting crimes to authorities, in addition to reporting on SGBV crimes to the Security Council (S/RES/2173 (2014), OP 24). The report also could be stronger if it reported on and supported the full participation of women in not just one local conflict resolution and prevention measure but in all stages of peace processes including conflict resolution, post-conflict planning and reconstruction, and included women civil society organizations (S/RES/2173 (2014), OP 24). The report should report on women in all protection of civilians references (S/RES/2173 (2014), OP 8, 20).

The report could be stronger in its consideration of women’s protection. The report should report on the protection context by including a gender lens in its reporting of the situation and considered women’s protection issues outside of SGBV (S/2015/378 section II. Conflict dynamics and security situation). The report should expand its consideration of protection from sexual violence to consistently include men (S/2015/378, para. 12, 15, 55, 75). The report’s mention of tailoring of UNAMID’s protection efforts to women’s protection needs should incorporate women into the design and implementation of protection strategies to ensure they are actually addressing women’s protection needs (S/2015/378, para. 47). The report should include the differentiated impact of explosives on women, men, girls and boys in its consideration of unexploded ordinances and include women and women’s civil society organizations in UNAMID’s safety education programs to address those different effects and needs (S/2015/378, para. 50).

In regard to women’s participation, the report could be stronger if it fully reported on the context, including why women’s participation is important. The report’s mentions of the Doha Document for Peace should include context on the role of women in implementing the Document, even though WPS is included in the Document itself, to ensure women and women’s civil society organizations’ involvement to include women’s human rights concerns at all levels (S/2015/378, para. 33, 34, 40, 41, 75). The report should take not only women ex-combatants into consideration in DDR process but also women associated with armed groups (S/2015/378, para. 43). The report should also include women and women’s civil society organizations in the design and implementation of DDR programs to ensure women’s concerns and needs were incorporated into DDR processes (S/2015/378, para. 43). Women should further be included in police training programs, including design and implementation to ensure the programs met the needs of women police officers and women civilians (S/2015/378, para. 63). There are similar gaps in the report’s coverage of women receiving English language instruction, with the report failing to include if the programs include women and if they meet women’s needs (S/2015/378, para. 64). While women are included in one process in Northern Darfur, the report should provide more information on their participation, including if women’s civil society organizations are involved, if the women’s capacity as mediators and negotiators is effective and strengthened, and if women’s human rights and other diverse concerns are incorporated into the negotiations at all levels (S/2015/378, para. 66, 69). If women are not incorporated in these ways, the report should detail next steps to include women.

Additionally, the report could be stronger if it referenced survivors of SGBV instead of victims(S/2015/378, para. 55). It should also expand its references to civil society to include women’s civil society organizations, women leaders and women human rights defenders (S/2015/378, para. 34, 35, 36, 66).

Missed Opportunities

The report misses several opportunities to fully incorporate UNAMID’s mandate in resolution 2173 (2014) in both women’s participation and protection. The report fails to include the full participation of women in its consideration of the internal dialogue process (S/RES/2173 (2014), OP 12; S/2015/378, para. 24). The report additionally fails to mention the mandated Women Protection Advisors in the Protection of civilians section (S/RES/2173 (2014), OP 24). The report also misses the opportunity to include time bound commitments to end SGBV as per resolution 2106 (2013) or its own actions to end SGBV in its reporting on SGBV crimes and Protection of civilians section (S/RES/2173 (2014), OP 24).

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.