Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Ms. Martha Pobee's
Statement to the Security Council on
Sustaining WPS Commitments in accelerated drawdown of peace operations
New York, 07 August 2024
Madam President
I am most grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this important debate. I join my colleague, the Executive Director of UN Women, and express appreciation to Sierra Leone for bringing this issue to the floor.
Madam President and Distinguished Members of the Security Council
Consolidating peace dividends and gains is one of the fundamental concerns and objectives during transitions and drawdowns of peace operations. A key area where gains must be preserved is on Women, Peace and Security, in line with our shared commitments under resolution 1325.
Indeed as indicated by the Executive Director, peace operations have become instrumental in facilitating and promoting women’s leadership and agency; ensuring women’s meaningful participation in political and peace processes; and protecting women and girls from human rights abuses and violations. Missions’ transitions present challenges but also opportunities for stakeholders to consolidate gains in these critical areas and to sustain peace.
Since 2014, the UN has managed at least ten transitions in politically and operationally complex settings. In the last few years, UN peace operations have drawn down at an accelerated pace from Mali and Sudan. A phased disengagement from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is underway. In all these transition settings, the implementation of the WPS agenda has proved to be challenging.
Madam President,
Rushing through a transition process against a background of a tense political climate, persisting security threats and protection concerns, can jeopardize hard-won peace gains, including progress on gender equality. Indeed, national stakeholders could be unprepared to shoulder additional responsibilities, while support from international partners may not be readily available.
Unless transitions are well-structured, adequately-resourced and gender-responsive, women and girls will be at risk of setbacks. These could include losing access to essential services, being excluded from new decision-making processes, and becoming vulnerable to waves of fresh violence and insecurity, including conflict related sexual violence. Permit me to share a few examples:
- In Mali, prior to the accelerated withdrawal of MINUSMA, women accounted for 38 percent of the membership of the Peace Agreement Monitoring Committee. This was transformative and helped to enhance women’s political participation. The draw down of MINUSMA however, has negatively impacted peacebuilding programmes focusing on women and girls and on sustaining gains made in the political sphere.
- The recent departures of peace operations from key hotspots in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have led to security vacuums, leaving women and girls exposed to attacks by armed actors. These drawdowns have also diminished the capacity of the United Nations to support stakeholders in addressing conflict-related sexual violence altogether – in specific areas, including investigation, reporting and assistance to survivors. This is particularly concerning as the establishment of the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements on conflict-related sexual violence is a key request made by the Security Council.
- Other challenges relate to limited funding, capacities and capabilities towards the implementation of existing National Action Plans on 1325, which should be a priority throughout the life of the mission, during transitions and post draw down.
Madam President,
To achieve more successful transitions, a forward-looking approach rooted in joint planning --involving national authorities, local civil society organizations, the United Nations peace operations and the Country Team, international partners and Council members -- is vital. Establishing a shared vision on Women Peace and Security can help prioritize United Nations support and direct capacity and resources in the right direction. In this regard:
- The Peacebuilding Fund can play a crucial role by providing flexible and targeted funding to address gaps and sustain gender equality and women’s empowerment during critical transition periods. For instance, in Liberia, before and since UNMIL’s departure in 2018, the fund has supported increased women’s participation in conflict prevention and resolution, strengthened women’s engagement in public spheres and political processes and improved gender mainstreaming in the security and justice sectors.
- In Guinea-Bissau, during UNIOGBIS transition in 2020, the Government endorsed a Common Conflict Analysis and peacebuilding priorities. They mainstream gender equality and promote the empowerment and effective representation of women in political dialogue, and in peacebuilding and development processes.
- In Sudan, during the transition from UNAMID to UNITAMS in 2020-21, a capacity mapping led to a significant enhancement of gender expertise in the mission and the mainstreaming of gender equality priorities in programmatic work.
- In the DRC, a multiplicity of measures in 2020-21 have had some impact. These measures included: i/ Gender Conflict Analysis, ii/ integration of gender and Women, Peace and Security in several benchmarks and indicators, and iii/ joint mission assessments on progress, including transfer of mission tasks to UN Women in South Kivu. MONUSCO continues to work, in collaboration with the Country Team on a new Joint Justice Programme to assist DRC State institutions in the prevention, investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of serious crimes, including conflict-related sexual violence and other crimes. In anticipation of the next phases of the disengagement, MONUSCO is also coordinating with the Country Team on the continuation of adequate follow-on arrangements on “legacy issues”, including accountability and victims’ support related to cases of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
Madam President,
In all ongoing and upcoming transitions – whether in the DRC, Iraq or Somalia, we must act early to ensure our planning, coordination and engagement with partners address the full range of Women, Peace and Security work.
United Nations peace operations and country teams, national governments, regional organizations, and civil society partners, and women networks need to specifically ensure that: i/ gender analysis is part of transition processes from inception to completion; and ii/ necessary gender expertise capacity and resources exist to sustain gains. Furthermore, Security Council periodic visiting missions must systematically engage with national authorities and partners on WPS agenda, particularly in transition contexts.
We must continue to do our utmost to support and enable women and girls to take the rightful place in their communities and to shaping in equal measure the destinies of their country.
I thank you for your kind attention.