Dag Hammarskjöld Library at Uppsala University
Women in Armed Conflict
- © United Nations
Women increasingly bear the burden of armed conflict, being the targets of specific forms of violence and abuse, including sexual violence and exploitation and other physical violence and harassment. Those who survive the attacks suffer from psychological trauma, permanent physical injury and, long-term health risks.
The United Nations and its several bodies and commissions play a major role in addressing the plight of women victims in war:
In 1994, the UN Commission on Human Rights created the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences to investigate violence against women worldwide. This mechanism has now been assumed by the Human Rights Council.
The Rapporteur undertakes fact-finding missions, transmits urgent appeals and submits annual thematic reports to the Human Rights Council.
In the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, adopted in 1998, rape and any other forms of sexual violence have been defined as crimes against humanity.
In February 2010 the Secretarty-General appointed outgoing European Commission vice president Margot Wallström as the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict.
The report Women, War and Peace is an independent experts' assessment on the impact of armed conflict on women and women's role in peace-building, and is authored by Elisabeth Rehn and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on behalf of UNIFEM.
The two experts recommend strengthened protection of women and measures to address violence against women and gender discrimination in conflict and post-conflict situations, coordination within the entire UN system to ensure implementation of commitments made to women, systematic data collection and communication on the gender dimensions of conflict and consistent commitment to gender equality in all peace-building activities.
The Division for the Advancement of Women continuously reviews the thematic issue of women's equal participation in conflict prevention, management and conflict resolution and in post-conflict peace-building.
Documentation
The Security Council Resolution 1325, unanimously adopted in 2000, is a landmark resolution on women, peace and security, the role of women in peace-building and the gender dimensions of peace processes and conflict resolution.
The resolution initiated an assessment of women in armed conflict resulting in the report: Women, Peace and Security. The report in print can be accessed from the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and from other UN Libraries.
A list of resolutions, conventions and other instruments related to women in conflicts is posted by UNIFEM in the database Women, War & Peace under section Resolutions & Instruments.
Peacekeeping Best Practices and Gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping Activities provide recommendations on gender perspectives in conflicts.
The thematic reports on violence against women are posted at the official web site of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.
An overview of the subject with links to relevant documents is posted at the UN official web site under section OCHA, Women and War.
Yearbook of the United Nations provides an overview of the United Nations action relevant to the gender perspective on conflict. A complete collection of yearbooks is held by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and the Libraries at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva. Since October 2008 the complete full text collection of The United Nations Yearbooks is available online at http://unyearbook.un.org/.
Databases and Indexes
Women,War & Peace compiled by UNIFEM, serves as a web portal to UN action for the protection of women in armed conflict with links to UN main bodies and focal points and full text documents and reports is posted at the Official web site of the United Nations.
The UN Library online catalogue UNBISnet contains reports, documents and articles related to UN activities with links to full texts for recent years. Subject search can be performed using relevant terms from the UNBIS THESAURUS.
Printed Indexes