Code: S/2015/667
Period of Time and Topic: Report covers the major developments and the implementation of the MINUSTAH mandate from 4 March 2015 to 31 August 2015
Introduction
The August 2015 report of the Secretary-General on MINUSTAH implementation discusses the humanitarian situation, development activities, the electoral process and considerations made in the mission’s gradual drawdown and disengagement. References have not greatly improved since the previous report (S/2015/157), both in terms of their number and scope. WPS was not mentioned in the Observations & Recommendations section of the report, which is a critical section for shaping future developments of the mission. References to women center mainly on their protection from SGBV and HIV/AIDS, though there are several brief mentions of women participating in the police force and political processes. The report does not offer any analysis of the interaction between gender and the conflict - instead, it focuses on reporting facts and figures. There are several WPS concerns highlighted in the mandate that the report fails to provide sufficient information on.
Protection of Civilians
The report provides information on cases of rape registered during the reporting period and compares it to previous reporting periods, but does not disaggregate the gender of the survivors (para. 16). The reference to rape could easily be misinterpreted as a reference to women or gender, but as it's written, there is no language on the gender of those reporting the rapes. Sex-disaggregating this information could give greater insight into how different genders have been affected by SGBV, and whether the numbers have changed over time. Similarly, the report missed an opportunity to sex-disaggregate figures on homicides, kidnappings and crime to better show the impact of the conflict on different genders and highlight the unique protection needs of women, as called for in the mandate.
Humanitarian Support
With regards to humanitarian and development activities, the report discusses the implementation of the national strategic plan on HIV/AIDS which includes trainings for midwives and youth leaders on HIV/AIDS identification, sexual and reproductive health, underage pregnancy and gender-based violence (para. 51).
The report missed an opportunity to give a well-rounded view of the gendered dimensions of the humanitarian situation in its discussion of food insecurity, the cholera outbreak, access to water, droughts and displacement, or on how gender-specific needs are being taken into account in the distribution of humanitarian aid. The report also lacks a discussion of the gender-sensitivity of emergency response and contingency planning (para. 41). The mandate acknowledges women are especially affected by humanitarian challenges and calls for activities improving the living conditions of women - future reporting should reflect this and comprehensively discuss on-going progress (S/RES/1894, PPs, OP 18). At a minimum, reporting should provide sex-disaggregated statistics on refugees and IDPs, the food insecure, and cases of cholera (para. 42-47).
Security Sector Reform
The report provides sex-disaggregated data on women in the police force on several occasions (para. 29; Annex I para. 2, 5; Annex II). The data would be strengthened by a discussion on how gender concerns are being taken into account in police capacity-building measures (para. 31). The mandate calls for raising awareness among civilian police on the “special needs and human rights of women [...] in conflict,” however there is no indication in the report that measures to raise awareness are being taken (S/RES/1894, OP 7 (b)).
In addition, the report’s mention of the training of 12 master instructors for the creation of a management training cell notably does not specify the number of female master instructors (para. 32).
Demilitarization and Arms Management [1]
Human Rights
The report notes that Haitian stakeholders scaled up human rights reporting, and submitted a periodic report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW/C/HTI/8-9) (para. 36.). The mission provided technical advice to the Haitian government and civil society actors for their participation in the Human Rights Council’s 29th session, and facilitated the participation of the Haitian Minister for the Status of Women and Women’s Rights (para. 36). The inclusion of civil society actors in reporting processes is commendable. Future reports should continue to consult CSOs and ensure CSOs that focus on women’s issues are represented in all capacity-building, stakeholder consultation and reporting processes.
Women’s protection concerns are scattered around the report. Since the mandate dedicates one of its operating paragraphs to condemning and countering the spread of SGBV, and facilitating the access to justice for survivors, it would benefit future reports to dedicate a section to a comprehensive discussion of SGBV protection developments in Haiti. Specifically, future reports should discuss steps taken by the mission, the Haitian government, the international community and civil society to facilitate access to justice for SGBV survivors, and develop protection measures for displaced women in camps, who are a particularly vulnerable group. These are two needs highlighted in the mandate and in the framework of WP&S resolutions references by the mandate (S/RES/2180 PPs, OP 20, 22).
Rule of Law and Judicial Matters
In its discussion of community violence reduction, the report notes that the mission supported legal aid offices in implementing initiatives on SGBV prevention (para. 33). The report states that five out of fifty-five projects, targeting 13,000 women and children, have directly contributed to SGBV prevention and “protection of victims” (para. 34). The distinction for SGBV efforts is commendable, though the reference could be improved by decoupling “women and children” and referring to SGBV survivors - instead of victims - as is accepted best practice. Ideally, the report would not only single out the number of women targeted by SGBV prevention projects , but also discuss their participation in other initiatives mentioned, such as vocational training, security and stabilization and short-term employment (para. 33). The report also fails to mention women’s involvement in the planning and implementation of these initiatives.
The mission mandate calls for addressing the issue of pretrial detention with special regard to women and children held in detention (S/RES/2180, OP 16). However, in its discussion of pretrial detention and legal defence provided for detainees , the report missed the opportunity to provide sex-disaggregated data on the number of female inmates and the number of women detainees having their cases processed (para 26 - 28). The report also notes the “extremely high” prison population with inmates living in “inhumane conditions” but does not specify how these conditions are affecting women, a particularly vulnerable group (para. 28). Ideally, the report would note whether gender and protection concerns were part of the training provided to prison staff to enhance their professionalization (para. 28).
Political Processes and Electoral Assistance
In its discussion of the Haitian electoral process, the report states MINUSTAH supported the fulfilment of the constitutional requirement of 30% women’s representation in parliament (para. 11). The mission also arranged special protection for female candidates during the campaign (para. 13). These references could be improved by providing more information on which actions were taken to increase women’s representation and participation in the electoral process, and whether/how incidents of electoral violence (election-related killings mentioned in para. 9) affected women candidates. Sex-disaggregated data could give valuable insight into, for instance, how many out of the 37,685 candidates who registered were female (para. 6). The mandate enables MINUSTAH to play a supporting role in promoting increased women’s political participation in accordance with Haiti’s constitution, and the involvement of women as stakeholders and active participants is essential as Haiti undergoes a critical political transformation (S/RES/1894, OP 10).
Support to State Institutions
Reporting discusses MINUSTAH’s drawdown of support to institutions and the development of a strategic framework for mission consolidation and disengagement (para. 52 - 56). The report missed an opportunity to discuss women’s participation and consultation in these transition processes or in any institution-building activities. The mandate calls for engagement of political leaders and stakeholders in strategic dialogue, and the report should discuss the inclusion of CSOs, particularly women CSOs, as stakeholders in this process (S/RES/1894, OP 9).
Other
Annex III of the report displays a gender breakdown for MINUSTAH staff. Noteworthy is that though there are 86 female troops deployed (vs. 2,033 male troops), there are no women staff officers in the mission. This significant gender inequity among MINUSTAH staff should be noted and discussed in future reporting.
Ideal Asks for WPS Transformation
In the context of the mission’s drawdown, reports must advocate for the active participation of women at all levels of institution-building and strategic planning processes, especially in the context of government reform and elections. It is critical that reports mainstream gender as a cross-cutting issue, providing at a minimum sex-disaggregated data on the humanitarian and refugee situation, SSR developments and rule of law initiatives. Future reporting must include a comprehensive discussion of SGBV with a focus on access to justice for survivors and protection concerns for IDP and refugee women. Reporting should systematically engage women’s civil society as consultants and participants in humanitarian, electoral and SSR processes. Finally, reports should acknowledge internal inequalities and advocate for a gender balance among MINUSTAH staff, at both the officer and troop levels.