GENDER-RESPONSIVE GOVERNMENT TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE POLICIES – A PATH TO SUSTAINABLE PEACE AND POST‑CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION

Abstract

The article is devoted to the legal basis and direction of the Government of Ukraine in the development of gender-responsive state policy of the transition period. The international principles and commitments of Ukraine in the framework of transitional justice, taking into account the gender aspect, are revealed, as well as the international and national commitments of Ukraine in the framework of involving women in peacebuilding and participation. The article presents international experience of taking into account international standards and norms in order to protect women’s rights and build peace. Global evidence indicates that women’s meaningful participation in peace negotiations increases the duration of peace. Peace agreements with female signatories are more durable and have a significantly higher number of provisions aimed at political reform and higher implementation rates. The recent study investigating 352 peace agreements in 64 countries between 1990 and 2019 also found that there was a significant increase in the share of peace agreements with gender provisions, from below 10% in the 1990s to 45% in 2013. Yet, this practice appears to have been halted. In 2019, the share of agreements with gender provisions was only at 29%. Despite an increasing evidence about the important role of women, their expertise and meaningful participation in preventing and addressing conflict and sustaining peace, women are still under- represented in the peace processes. Between 1992 and 2019, women constituted, on average, only 13% of negotiators, 6% of mediators, and 6% of signatories in major peace processes worldwide. Present peacebuilding experiences also indicate that peace is likely to be lasting only if the security needs of the population are addressed in parallel with the political and socioeconomic aspects of conflict resolution and post-conflict recovery. Women’s exposure to conflict may result in their new roles and responsibilities and may open new opportunities for their greater involvement in public life, including peace and security decision-making. Likewise, gender equality positively influences the cohesion and effectiveness of the security sector in increasingly multidimensional peace processes.