Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force for the period from 29 August to 18 November 2015

Code: S/2015/930

Period of Time and Topic: The report provides an update on the activities of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) for the three-month period from 29 August to 18 November 2015.

Introduction

The report details the observations made by UNDOF, with respect to the activities of the Israeli Defence Force, Syrian armed forces, armed groups, and civilians within and outside the ceasefire area. The report offers no references to women, peace and security (WPS). However, where necessary the report included sex disaggregated data for women as UN personnel. Unfortunately, there are no improvements made since the last report in terms of engagement with gender issues.

Military and Police

The report included the number of women personnel within UNDOF, as 23 out of 768 troops. Also, that out of 77 military observers for the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation, 3 were women.[1] These statistics reveal the gender imbalance of the mission, which must be addressed through increased engagement with the women, peace and security agenda. The report also calls on all parties to respect the ceasefire agreement to reduce risks posed to the local population.[2] It is important that in protecting civilians, parties are aware of the differentiated impact conflict has on women, men, boys and girls.

Ideal Asks for WPS Transformation

As an observer mission, UNDOF should seek to expand future reporting by including at a minimum, sex disaggregated data across all persons it observers. This includes armed personnel, injured/deceased, detained persons, and civilians. This will ensure greater comprehension of the conflict and its gendered impact on civilians. The report should also acknowledge gender imbalances amongst mission staff and proactively seek to address this at all levels.

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[1] S/2015/930 para. 25

[2] S/2015/930 para. 35