Women's Safety Must Be a Priority During Transition

Women's Safety Must Be a Priority During Transition

In July 2007, as Janjaweed militias murdered, and brutalized the people of Sudan’s Darfur region, the United Nations deployed UNAMID, a peacekeeping mission there, in an effort to halt the barbarity and to stabilize the region. Thirteen years later, the mission was withdrawn, creating a security vacuum.

According to the UN, just one month after UNAMID withdrew, violence in Darfur, particularly sexual violence, spiked. Three years later, when another UN Mission in Darfur, UNITAMS, departed, reports of rampant sexual violence followed. In both cases, the UN Security Council failed to consider Sudanese women’s perspectives and needs.

“The grave situation in Sudan offers fundamental lessons for drawdowns and terminations of United Nations peacekeeping missions in other transition contexts where women’s lives are at stake — such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Somalia and Haiti,” according to a recent briefing presented to the UN Security Council.

“Part of deliberate planning for mission transitions must be centering gender-responsive approaches across policies and programs and putting the needs of women and girls at the top of the priority list,” said Lisa Carty, U.S. Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. “Three interrelated issues [are] essential to preserving women and girls’ rights during and after transition processes.”

“First, civil society engagement must be prioritized. Local women-led and survivor-led groups must be regularly consulted, and their views meaningfully incorporated into transition planning by the UN and host governments,” she said. “Civil society actors should be our first partners when seeking to execute essential WPS [women, peace, and security] activities, as missions draw down.”

Second, said Ambassador Carty, during transitions, leaders should “assess impacts of climate change on the security situation using a gender lens. … Thoughtful planning and partnership with climate advisors and local organizations can support local ownership and peacebuilding efforts during pivotal moments like mission drawdowns.”

“Third, missions, host governments, and the international community must work to prevent gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, as missions depart, and to support victims and survivors,” she said.

“We must actively engage and elevate civil society organizations, especially those led by women and girls,” said Ambassador Carty. “We must understand and plan for the impacts of climate change on peace and security. And we must maintain a focus on ending conflict-related sexual violence; no level of violence is acceptable. These are moral obligations that we must realize together in critical transition settings.”