Achieving Gender Equality and Equity in Peace Processes

Abstract

The absence of women in formally convened international meetings, including those for conflict resolution, is well documented (Charlesworth and Chinkin, 2000). Although the ground work for gendered intervention should be laid at the peace negotiating table, the reality of peace processes is that the most attention is paid to the demands of those responsible for violence and bloodshed, and far less is given to alternative perspectives for peaceful reconstruction that might be offered by citizens who were caught up in the conflict. This has been attributed to the “tyranny of the emergency” (Mertus, 2000: xii). Growing realisation that the transition from conflict to postconflict is an important opportunity for re-ordering society has highlighted women’s traditional exclusion from policy- and decision-making about post-conflict reconstruction and led to increased demands for their inclusion. Women’s non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been active at the international level in seeking commitment to the inclusion of women in peace processes and the negotiation of peace agreements.