55 years after its creation, the UN found that women were doubly victimized in wars, and in 2000 passed a resolution to protect it. In its anniversary imposing a balance (Statement of Robert Montoya in the round table Oct. 15 organized by the Euro-Arab Foundation at the Library of Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, the Festival of El Ojo Cojo Film, Short and Documentary)
These days marks 10 years since the adoption of UN Resolution 1325, and thanks to this instrument and other subsequent supplemental also very important United Nations has begun to incorporate much of its agencies, missions and activities, the problem of gender violence specifically linked to armed conflicts and periods of construction and maintenance of peace.
days ago, in early October, representatives of United Nations unveiled in Madrid, in the framework of the seminar "Effective tools for equity in development, three out of women worldwide have undergone male violence at some point in their lives. The UN makes clear that half of those attacks were sexist the age of 16. In the XXI century it is estimated that 140 million and adolescents suffer genital mutilation, that 30 million children living on the streets, exposed to sexual violence.
Ten million girls worldwide are forced to marry before 12 years, 86 million girls grow up with no education, thousands of girls in Afghanistan are attacked by the Taliban for daring to go to school girls' schools are considered military targets.
More than 5,000 women die annually in the world who are victims of so-called "honor killing" carried out by their own families.
There are wars like Afghanistan in the West used to form opportunistic propagandist and the stifling oppression of women as a sign of Taliban cruelty of the enemy, but nine years later, their situation, while recognizing certain progress on the sinister Taliban period has not improved in a more radical because of the backward, corrupt and authoritarian government of Hamid Karzai to power aupado U.S. and its allies.
In Iraq, after seven years of war, and hundreds of thousands of deaths later, the U.S. and its allies claimed victory, claiming to have stabilized the country, but women have lost ground in terms of rights and their role in society. Historically, Iraqi women had been won important rights, far more advanced than in other neighboring countries have a great role in the political and social life. It had its heyday during the 70's, paradoxically, under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein ..
wars, whether in Africa, Asia, Middle East or anywhere in the world, are greatly exacerbating the levels of sexual violence against girls and women.
These attacks, these crimes are unfortunately not Isolated cases featuring handfuls of soldiers or militiamen psychopaths one side or another. They are part and parcel of the war.
Women are still as primitive wars substantial part of the spoils of war. With attacks on hundreds of thousands of girls and women in countries like Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and many others, not only the direct victims traumatized for life, it triggers the number of unwanted pregnancies and the virus spreads AIDS. Also manages to humiliate and denigrate an entire community.
In continents like Africa, where women from rural areas plays a key economic, social and family life, more than in other parts of the world, the consequences of systematic and massive violations are even greater.
As reported organizations working in the area, after being raped, women of a community, in fear, stop going to reap the most remote areas and do not come to market, thereby altering economic life of families and communities, further deepening their extreme poverty.
So, for all that bleak picture that is presented to women, since childhood, in many countries even today, any progress that's important. You can not underestimate the steps slowly and unevenly being made in many quarters, spurred by Resolution 1325. But you can not overestimate the belief that their very existence is in itself guarantee a profound, radical, worldwide.
Many programs being implemented by various UN agencies or NGOs supported by the United Nations in many countries, increased the incentive, a palpable change in the situation of many women affected by conflict, harsh droughts, famines, women displaced from their homes and villages Women huddled in refugee camps in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
know that approves United Nations resolutions and often promotes international treaties on various subjects, on torture, rights of children on the control of weapons of all kinds, on racism, on environmental protection and some others, which, strictly adhered to, would make the planet a more just and equitable to live.
But we also know that the commonwealth of nations, the largest in the world where 192 countries are represented, is far from perfect, is far from being ruled collectively, democratically by its member states and not by a handful of powers are pushing constantly for their own interests, applying double standards themselves violate treaties against torture or the Geneva Conventions, and used systematically, as the U.S. decades ago, their right to vote, to prevent the implementation of those resolutions passed overwhelmingly that they are harmful to themselves or their allies.
We should not be surprising therefore that these serious limitations of the UN often shows are also extended to the issue the implementation of resolution 1325 and all legislation in defense of women exists.
UN Inconsistencies
How is it possible to understand, if not, that in 62 years of peacekeeping operations the UN had been only seven women with a range of special representative of Secretary General of United Nations for any mission, or that there are only two women in the 40-person team that make up the General Secretariat? This, paradoxically, despite the fact that Resolution 1325, in his text urges the Secretary-General UN and Member States to ensure an increase of women in all areas of peacebuilding, as well as special envoys character.
How is it possible that ten years after the adoption of resolution 1325, only 20 countries, including Spain, have decided to carry out a specific action plan on the subject, and that of these only 11 are under development? And this after a decade.
How is it possible to go unpunished violations and abuses committed by girls and women Helmets blue "specifically charged to protect, to lead by example. Many of these women have been raped by militiamen or soldiers in wartime and when we take refuge in a UN camp or being in an area controlled by the "blue helmets" relive this nightmare. And this was neither a case or two, but many in different countries and hundreds of "blue helmets" of different nationalities involved.
In calling Machel Report, prepared by Grace Machel, former Minister of Education and Culture of Mozambique and wife of Nelson Mandela, the UN acknowledged publicly for the first time in 1996, responsibility its "blue helmets" in rape, trafficking of women and child abuse in missions undertaken in Angola, Mozambique, Bosnia, Croatia, Somalia, Rwanda and Cambodia.
This was before the 1325 resolution, yes, but he turned to producing in Haiti since 2004, and in Sudan, especially in the Darfur region and in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the very UN acknowledged in a report in 2005 that there were 105 complaints against blue helmets, who took advantage of Congolese women and girls desperate for sex with them in exchange for food or coins.
How can we reconcile the UN resolution 1325 with the Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, in force since 1946, which establishes that the recipient of "blue helmets" can not judge them on their territory even if they make the crime or crimes?
What the UN is doing such complaints before then? The Office of Internal Oversight of the UN is responsible for investigating whether a "blue helmet" has violated an internal text called "Ten Rules: Code of Personal Conduct for Blue Helmets."
What do you do the Office of Internal Oversight to confirm the allegations? The UN tribunal has no internal, so that their only option is to give the "blue helmets" to their country of origin to the judge.
So far only a couple of cases this took shape in the "blue helmets" Italian who had served in Somalia, although there are already hundreds and hundreds of soldiers reported. In most cases, only to return home ahead of "blue helmet" aggressor, without it unfit to participate in what other country missions in the future.
remains very, very much to do yet in all institutions at all levels, to eradicate this scourge. And sexual violence, despite how serious it is, is not the only problem to address. It is necessary for women to participate actively in peace processes, starting with the very institutions that planned and carried out.
English Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, defended in January at the conference "Women, Peace and Security" held in Brussels by the European Commission and NATO, a proposal to establish Contributions ensure that women participate at all levels, civil and military, in peace processes and conflict resolution. It is not the only one that has been proposed in international bodies. But the idea went nowhere, and the first to reject it "unrealistic", it was the secretary general of NATO, Andres Roghair Rasmussen. The maximum head of NATO said it was impossible to achieve something within the Atlantic Alliance given "national traditions from which we started."
And that ended the discussion.
is to recognize that Spain has the dual mission of military women Outside the European Union average, which may help to have a greater sensitivity to address an issue as assaults on women. Currently between 7% and 9% of soldiers that Spain has engaged in peacekeeping missions are women, while the average in the European Union as a whole is only 4%.
is an encouraging sign for Spain in this matter, as is encouraging a case like Liberia. In a country like that, immersed in a bloody war since the early 90's until 2003, with over 250,000 fatalities, with a high number of violations, one in 10 raped women younger than 5 years the long struggle of women has begun to bear fruit. They, with their street protests, with mass demonstrations, played a key role in ending war and building peace.
Today Liberia is president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first female president. Through its work and that of many women's organizations, today 20% of the personnel of the Liberian security forces are women.
Two years ago Liberia was created in the first court specializing in gender violence throughout Africa.
From this month, Liberia has with a Freedom of Information Act, the first also in Africa. And that the UN has financed the Liberian Women Democracy Radio, which has increased capacity to broadcast nationwide.
data are certainly encouraging, but the road is still long and for progress in a sustained manner worldwide is essential to emphasize the social and media pressure on politicians and all institutions international. And like all battles fought by real equality of women, can not be just a battle of women themselves, but a battle of women and men, because she is playing an aspect essential to the future we want for humanity.
Roberto Montoya
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