[psych-hr] UN launches new guide to tackling gender issues through peacekeeping

UN LAUNCHES NEW GUIDE TO TACKLING GENDER ISSUES THROUGH PEACEKEEPING
New York, Oct 29 2004  6:00PM

The United Nations today published its Gender Resource Package for
Peacekeeping Operations - a comprehensive guide for those serving in the
field and at Headquarters aimed at integrating concerns about equality and
the particular concerns of women into the workings of missions across the
globe.

With an initial printing of 3,500 and a French translation expected by the
end of this year, the 228-page document is the latest manifestation of a
growing trend towards tackling gender issues in the once male-dominated
world of peacekeeping. It also reflects the changing nature of conflicts
themselves, which increasingly not only target women but involve them as
fighters as well.

The manual offers detailed guidance for peacekeeping personnel working on a
range of issues, including human rights, HIV/AIDS, the protection of
children, the media, law enforcement and staff security. While the focus is
on meeting the specific needs of women and girls - including those who have
suffered sexual violence, and those who may be pregnant or mothers - the
text also highlights how men can make a difference.

Specific instructions are offered for sensitizing peacekeeping personnel to
gender issues. These range from providing both male and female condoms to
increasing women's representation in the missions, especially in the higher
ranks. According to the publication, women represented only 1.5 per cent of
all military personnel provided by Member States to UN operations in 2003.

"The launch of this Package is an important milestone in the evolution of
the Department of Peacekeeping Operations' commitment to mainstreaming a
gender perspective in all functional areas of peacekeeping operations,"
said Assistant Secretary-General Hédi Annabi at a panel discussion in New York.

In 2000, there were only two peacekeeping missions with gender advisers, a
figure which has jumped to 10 today. The Department of Peacekeeping also
has a permanent gender adviser, Comfort Lamptey, who also addressed gender
issues in the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

"Today, we can point to some improvements, even whilst we recognize that we
have only taken 'baby steps' in a long process aimed at transforming our
Department into one which both understands and embraces the principle of
gender equality as a necessary ingredient for ensuring operational
effectiveness in today's world of peacekeeping," Mr. Annabi added.

In a forward to the book, which comes with a CD-Rom containing additional
resources, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the Under-Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping, says gender mainstreaming is "in many ways, still a new
concept and we will, no doubt, learn many lessons as we move forward."

As such, he says, the guide is "very much a work in progress."


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