Ms. Bachelet said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “has created a new threat to global peace and security, which is the basis for sustainable development and all human rights”; and war has had many negative consequences all over the world, especially for women and girls.
Gender Blind Agreement
The High Commissioner cited research that correlated high levels of military spending with poor women’s rights and noted that “no truce reached between 2018 and 2020” including any provisions on people’s gender.
This male-dominated trend continues in the Ukraine conflict, where only two women have been involved in negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, Ms. Bachelet continued.
Cecile AptelUNIDIR Deputy Director emphasized that on average, only one-fifth of disarmament delegations are headed by women.
“Simply put,” she said, “Women do not have an equal opportunity to shape policies of disarmament and international security, when these policies affect everyone.. ”
Because of COVID-19The pandemic, which Ms. Aptel insists has “turned the clock back on gender equality”, now is more important than ever to improve women’s participation in arms control and disarmament, she said. .
Online inequality
In the specific field of multilateral diplomacy, women have been influenced byCoronavirus As she explains, as meetings move online, the number of interventions conducted by women has decreased – most likely because the registered speakers are often male ambassadors, the deputy head of UNIDIR also said.
“Research shows that women are frequently underrepresented in discussions related to international security,” speakRenata Dalaqua, UNIDIR Program Leader on Gender and Disarmament. “The policies being debated affect everyone. But women, people of color and minorities do not have an equal opportunity to shape them.”
With at least 20 countries at wartoday– and 14 in Africa alone – former South African Deputy Defense Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, now Director of the United Nations Quaker Office in Geneva, emphasizes that more women are involved in all sectors. providing international security policy “not only as a right but also as an important component in improving diversity and thus also improving the chances of making more effective and sustainable decisions”.
Ms. Madlala-Routledge said progress on achieving this right has been slow.
Security Council Supervision
Despite the approval of four UN Security CouncilResolutions on women, peace and security, “we continue to see a marked underrepresentation of women, especially in international security structures and mechanisms,” she added.
Ms. Madlala-Routledge continued to achieve effective women’s participation in areas such as treaty implementation and disarmament programs, which required achieving a “critical mass”. She emphasized: “Women need to be present in large enough numbers to be able to effect change”, “considering the deeply patriarchal nature of most power institutions and decision-making structures, especially especially those concerned with international security”.
Priority of the head of the United Nations
Gender equality in disarmament discussions is a top priority for Secretary General António Guterreswho has consistently called for the meaningful participation of women in peace-building, peacekeeping and peace-building efforts.
Welcoming the policy, Ms. Bachelet, UN Head of Rights, noted that it has resulted in the participation of women in three of the four (participatory) UN peace processes. present in 2020.
“But women represent only 23% of delegates from conflicting parties in these processes,” she added.
