Eli Stamnes

Women, Peace and Security in MONUSCO: Trends, Lessons and Emerging Practices

Denne rapporten undersøker hvordan FNs fredsbevarende operasjon i Den demokratiske republikken Kongo (MONUSCO) har arbeidet med kvinner, fred og sikkerhetsagendaen i perioden 2010 til 2021. Rapporten studerer hvordan kvinner, fred og sikkerhet reflekteres i MONUSCO’s mandater i denne perioden, samt hvordan FN-operasjonen har jobbet med å implementere de delene av mandatet som omhandler kvinner, fred og sikkerhet. En vurdering av tilnærmingen til kvinner, fred og sikkerhet i mandatet, og implementering av dette, gir innsikt i hvilke muligheter og begrensninger FNs fredsbevarende styrker står ovenfor når det gjelder å fremme kvinners beskyttelse og meningsfull deltakelse i de kontekstene der de sendes ut. Rapporten bidrar med anbefalinger til FN og medlemsland for hvordan de kan jobbe for a styrke implementeringen av Kvinner, fred og sikkerhet-aspektene i i DR Kongo og andre FN-operasjoner. Den er produsert av det NUPI-ledede Nettverk for forskning på fredsoperasjoners effektivitet (EPON).

Women, Peace and Security in MONUSCO: Trends, Lessons and Emerging Practices

For nearly 25 years, the United Nations (UN) has had a peacekeeping mission deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The UN Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUC) was deployed in 1999. The deployment of MONUC coincided with an evolution taking place in the UN Security Council regarding the centrality of women’s political participation in peace processes and the importance of considering women’s protection needs as part of the maintenance of international peace and security. The adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325 and the establishment of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in the year 2000 would have an instrumental impact on the mandates of UN peacekeeping missions, including those deployed in the DRC over the following two decades. This report examines how MONUSCO has worked to implement the WPS dimensions of its mandate in the period 2010 to 2021. This is based on an analysis of the mandate resolution texts during this time to identify trends over time and key themes, as well as an analysis of documents and interviews with MONUSCO personnel carried out in 2021. Assessing the approach to the mandate and its more recent implementation offers insights into the contribution and limitations of UN peacekeeping when it comes to advancing women’s protection and meaningful participation in a conflict-affected environment. MONUSCO’s approach to WPS has evolved in the period under study. The mandate had a rather narrow understanding of WPS at the outset, with provisions to address violence and threats towards women, reflective of the insecurity and gendered threats within the DRC. These threats have remained, as have more comprehensive provisions in the mandate to address them, but the mandate has also evolved in recent years to include a more substantive focus on women’s participation in conflict prevention and political processes. The report offers recommendations to MONUSCO, UN Headquarters, the Security Council and Member States, troop- and police-contributing countries (T/PCCs), and the national authorities when it comes to strengthening the implementation of the WPS aspects of the mission’s mandate in the DRC, with wider lessons for other UN peacekeeping missions in terms of their approach to WPS.

Security Council Resolution 1325 at 20: What Next for the Women Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda?

Dette notatet gjør opp status for hva som har blitt oppnådd innenfor Kvinner, Fred og Sikkerhets-agendaen (KFS) siden sikkerhetsrådsresolusjon 1325 ble vedtatt for 20 år siden. Det greier ut for de utfordringer dette arbeidet står overfor i dag, som implementasjonsgapet, det globale tilbakeslaget for kvinnerettigheter og multilateralt samarbeid, økningen i den sterkt kjønnete nasjonalpopulismen, det politiske klimaet blant FNs medlemstater og innen sikkerhetsrådet, samt Covid-19-pandemien. Det diskuterer hvorvidt denne krevende situasjonen gjør at man bør prioritere å opprettholde det man har oppnådd på feltet KFS siden sikkerhetsrådsresolusjon 1325 ble vedtatt, istedenfor å presse for å få til progressive endringer. Det argumenteres for at dagens situasjon gjør det mer relevant og nødvendig enn aldri før å ta i bruk en mer helhetlig forståelse av kjønnsbegrepet og hvordan dette er helt sentralt i politikk, konflikt og fredsarbeid. Denne tilnærmingen bør utgjøre grunnlaget for analyser av konfliktsituasjoner, samt for å forstå de utfordringer som KFS-agendaen står ovenfor nå. Fremmingen og anvendelsen av denne tilnærmingen bør være en prioritet for KFS-agendaen i årene som kommer.

WPS and Female Peacekeepers

The chapter provides an overview of the participation of female peacekeeping personnel in UN missions, tracing key target and agenda- setting policy events, as well as examining causes for the slow progress in female participation. The chapter considers female participation in the military, police, and civilian components of UN peacekeeping operations. It then critically discusses the drawbacks of the “gender- balancing” agenda advanced by the UN, which critics argue has often amounted to “tokenism.” This necessary, but insufficient goal of increasing numbers alone, has been prioritized over the more comprehensive and potentially transformative goal of gender mainstreaming. Gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping is defined as “a way of guaranteeing that the concerns, requirements and opinions of women and men are included equally into every aspect of peacekeeping.” Moreover, each component of the mission should include a “gender perspective in all its functions and tasks from start- up to draw- down” (United Nations 2014: 21– 22). Failing to address the complexity of gender relations and the militarized, masculine, institutional structures within peacekeeping missions themselves will ultimately constrain gender equality. Seeking to situate the WPS agenda within the broader context of UN peace operations, the chapter concludes by reflecting on some of the possible implications of the trend toward militarization and securitization within peacekeeping which will have consequences for women’s active and quality participation in peacekeeping.

The Human Rights Pillar of the United Nations: Challenges and the Way Ahead

Last year the United Nations (UN) turned 70 years old, and this year marks the tenth anniversary of the Human Rights Council and the 50th anniversary of the two international human rights covenants. As the organisation is in the process of choosing its ninth Secretary-General, who will take office on 1st January 2017, it is timely to take stock of the UN human rights pillar and to identify areas that can be improved in order to make this pillar more suited for fulfilling its intended purpose and for dealing with contemporary challenges. This policy brief offers suggestions as to what the next UN Secretary-General can do to consolidate and strengthen the human rights pillar.

Rethinking the Humanitarian-Development Nexus

In this policy brief, the author outlines the first steps taken in the rethinking of the humanitarian-development nexus. The next Secretary-General would be advised to continue on the same path in order to make sure that the recent commitments made by member states and expressed in various documents are realised. The author sums up five areas the next Secretary-General should prioritize. This policy brief is to a large extent based on the seminar titled Rethinking the humanitarian-development nexus, which was held at NUPI on 15 March 2016. The seminar was co-organised by NUPI, the Norwegian Centre for Humanitarian Studies and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as part of the UN 70: A new Agenda project.

Introduction: Assessing the impact of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture

The future of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture

UN Peacebuilding Architecture: The First 10 Years

Since its establishment, the UN's Peacebuilding Architecture (PBA) has been involved in peacebuilding processes in more than 20 countries. This edited volume takes stock of the overall impact of the PBA during its first decade in existence, and generates innovative recommendations for how the architecture can be modified and utilized to create more synergy and fusion between the UN's peace and development work. The volume is based on commissioned research and independent evaluations as well as informed opinions of several key decision-makers closely engaged in shaping the UN's peacebuilding agenda. It seeks to find a balance between identifying the reality and constraints of the UN's multilateral framework, while being bold in exploring new and innovative ways in which the UN can enhance the results of its peace and development work through the PBA. The research and writing of each chapter has been guided by four objectives: to assess the overall impact of the PBA; to generate innovative ideas for how the PBA can be made more effective post-2015; to analyze the PBA’s role at the nexus of the UN's peace and development work; and to consider what would be required for the PBA to increase and improve its impact in future. It will be of interest to diplomats, UN officials, the policy community and scholars engaged in the debate following the 2015 review and the implementation of its recommendations, and will be an essential resource for UN and peacebuilding scholars.