Kenyan women condemn violence in post-election strife

Progress for Women Is Progress for All

UN Women's 2008 Annual General Meeting

This year's Annual General Meeting was held on 17 May at the Goodenough College in Blooomsbury. The Annual Lecture was given by Elsie Onubogu, a gender adviser at the Commonwealth Secretariat, who spoke about the role of the Secretariat and its work for women. This was followed by a lively 'Any Questions' discussion with a panel of guest contributors.

Sheila Varadan, Chair of the Goodenough College Women's Forum, hosted the 2008 Annual General Meeting and UN Women is very grateful to her and to the College for making us so welcome.

President Zarin Hainsworth opened the event and reported on the progress made in the past year in raising awareness of UN Women's work and raising money for particular projects. She pointed out that major events, such as the highly successful Music Extravaganza at St David's Hall in Cardiff organised by the branch in Wales, are important in achieving both of these targets. Zarin also spoke about UN Women's role in seeking to influence Government policy, for example through parliamentary briefings and involvement in the GAPS (Gender Action for Peace and Security) network.

The retiring UN Women Board members were thanked for their work and nominations for the 2008-09 Board were approved. Zarin Hainsworth and Wendi Momen will continue as President and Secretary in the coming year.

Our 2008 Annual Lecture was given by Elsie Onubugu, a gender adviser at the Commonwealth Secretariat, who spoke about the Secretariat's role and its work for women. She is based in the Social Transformation Programmes Division which deals with the issues of gender, education and health. Four critical areas are covered under the gender heading - democracy, peace and comfort; human rights and the law; poverty and economic empowerment; HIV/AIDS. She talked particularly about the Secretariat’s initiatives in countries affected by conflict and the importance of integrating gender equality into post-conflict processes because of its impact on all areas of development. There are strong parallels here with the approach that UN Women takes and Elsie said that UN Women's work in post-conflict situations was to be commended.

Elsie drew on her own experience of the Commonwealth Secretariat's involvement in the restoration of peace after civil war in Sierra Leone to make some general points about current conflict situations. Many of today's armed conflicts are not between professional soldiers. They affect the whole community but their impact is profoundly gendered; the majority of perpetrators are men, but the majority of refugees and those internally displaced are women who have lost spouses, homes and livelihoods. Women and girls often suffer rape, sexual slavery, slave labour, and forced marriage or pregnancy and Elsie gave a stark account of the horrific levels of violence that are all too typical. The post-conflict process has to offer some basis for moving forward to people whose lives have been destroyed and who are left with little to build on for the future. It is crucial to ensure that men and women work together in the process because at times of reconstruction there is a tendency for men to take all the decisions. Women are often involved in the preliminary informal peace processes only to find they and their interests are then under-represented at the official peace table.

Through its involvement in Sierra Leone the Commonwealth Secretariat was able to contribute to a number of positive outcomes. Technical expertise was offered to the national electoral commission, training was organised for potential lawmakers and judges (men and women) and a task force was established for development of the police force. Rape and sexual slavery were treated as crimes against humanity by the Sierra Leone Special Court and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission raised awareness of gender issues.

Elsie also emphasised the importance of using Security Resolution 1325 (on women, peace and security) in conflict and post-conflict situations and she acknowledged the lead that UN Women has taken on this issue. Implementation of SC 1325 can assist in preventing conflict, protecting human rights, promoting peace negotiations, and ensuring equal participation by women and men in post-conflict disarmament and reconstruction. She said that a Commonwealth Working Group on Gender, Peace and Security is being set up to focus attention on the need for representation of women in every phase of conflict situations.

After the lecture Elsie took part in a wide-ranging 'Any Questions' session on UN Women policies and women's issues. The other panel members were Zarin Hainsworth, Lady Anne Greenstock (a patron of UN Women), Lady Fiona Hodgson (UN Women member and President of Conservative Women) and Dr Gillian Youngs (Lecturer on Gender & Development at Leicester University). Topics included the steps that UN Women could take to involve more men in its campaigns and the prospects for a single strengthened agency at the United Nations to take up gender issues.

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