MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the 10th anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security
22.11.2010
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Britta Thomsen, Richard Howitt, Véronique De Keyser, Ana Gomes, Maria Eleni Koppa, Roberto Gualtieri, Marc Tarabella, Silvia-Adriana Ţicău, Rovana Plumb on behalf of the S&D Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0624/2010
B7‑0625/2010
European Parliament resolution on the 10th anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security
The European Parliament,
– having regard to UN General Assembly resolution 54/134 of 7 February 2000 that established 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women,
– having regard to UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008) on women, peace and security, and UN Security Council Resolution 1888 (2009) on sexual violence against women and children in situations of armed conflict, which emphasises the responsibility of all states to put an end to impunity and to prosecute those responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including those relating to sexual and other violence against women and girls,
– having regard to the EU Council Plan of Action on Gender Equality in Development Cooperation that should ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed throughout the EU’s work with partner countries at all levels,
– having regard to the appointment in March 2010 of a Special Representative to the UN Secretary General on Sexual Violence in armed conflict,
– having regard to the Council paper Comprehensive Approach to the EU Implementation of UNSCR 1325 and 1820 and the operational document on the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 as reinforced by UNSCR 1820 in the context of ESDP both adopted in December 2008, and to the Council document on Mainstreaming of Human Rights into ESDP of September 2006,
– having regard to the EU Guidelines on violence and discrimination against women and girls and the EU guidelines on children and armed conflict,
– having regard to the European Parliament resolution on gender mainstreaming in EU external relations and peace-building/nation-building, 2009,
– having regard to the European Parliament resolution on women in armed conflicts and their role in post-conflict reconstruction, 2006,
– having regard to the European Parliament resolution on women in politics, 2006,
– having regard to the gender-mainstreaming action plan, EP SEDE subcommittee, 2007,
– having regard to its resolution of 7 October 2010 on failures in protection of human rights and justice in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
– having regard to the new UN Gender Entity (UN Women),
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas violence against women in conflict zones is often an extension of the gender discrimination that already exists in peacetime; whereas this year the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women coincides with the 10th anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1325 which is the first resolution to address the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women and to link women’s experiences of conflict to the maintenance of international peace and security covering the inter-linked thematic areas of participation, protection, prevention, relief and recovery,
B. whereas the International Day against violence against women on 25th November,
C. whereas Security Council resolutions 1820, 1888 and 1889 strengthen and complement 1325 and the four resolutions must be considered as the set of commitments on Women Peace and Security,
D. whereas the implementation of these commitments is a common concern and responsibility of each UN Member State, be it conflict-affected, donor or other; stressing in this respect the adoption in December 2008 of the EU Guidelines on violence against women and girls and EU Guidelines on children and armed conflict and combating all forms of discrimination against them which represent a strong political signal that these are priorities for the Union,
E. whereas the implementation of UNSCR 1820 and 1325 should get priority in EU’s external financial instruments for an adequate support of civil society organisations working in armed conflicts and conflict-affected countries and regions,
F. whereas the European Parliament should observe the implementation of the broad approach and of the prospective Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in EU External Action as well as the implementation of the guidelines on violence against women and children,
G. whereas having a gender perspective in a civilian or military mission greatly increases operational effectiveness, namely as women are better positioned to gather intelligence from female populations in local communities and whereas the EU could bring considerable added value as a positive actor in responding to issues related to women in armed conflict,
H. whereas violence against women, under any circumstance, constitutes a violation of their human rights and fundamental freedoms; whereas the deliberate use of sexual violence and rape is the most dreadful of all tactics in war,
I. whereas the EU should enable equal participation of women in conflict prevention, crisis management, peace talks and post-conflict phases like post war reconstruction planning,
J. whereas when part of a widespread and systematic practice, rape and sexual slavery are recognised under the Geneva Convention as crimes against humanity and war crimes; whereas rape is also now recognised as an element of the crime of genocide when committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a targeted group; whereas the EU should support efforts being aimed at ending impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence against women and children,
K. whereas the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) should significantly contribute to further implementation of UNSC resolutions 1325 and 1820 with regard to both its internal structure and its external actions and policies,
L. whereas the EU has adopted a series of important documents on how to implement UNSCR 1820 and 1325, but has only shown very limited interest in putting these guidelines into practice in a systematic and coherent way,
M. whereas 2010 is also the year of MDG plus 10 review,
N. whereas only a minority of EU member states drafted a national action plan aiming the implementation of UN SC resolution 1325; whereas Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom have adopted national action plans,
1. Stresses that the 10th anniversary of the Security Council resolution 1325 should mark the start of a reinvigorated agenda for the implementation of 1325 which cannot be advanced without political leadership at the highest levels and increased resources; highly recommends that this issue be duly addressed in the ongoing review of the EU human rights policy when it comes to the elaboration of a comprehensive Human Rights Country Strategy and to the evaluation of the EU Guidelines on violence against women and girls, the EU guidelines on children and armed conflict and combating all forms of discrimination against them;
2. Calls for the allocation of specific and significant financial, human and organisational resources regarding the participation of women and gender mainstreaming in the field of foreign and security policy; calls for more women to be deployed in police, military and justice and rule-of-law missions and in peace-keeping operations as well as in diplomatic mission and democracy building efforts; calls on EU Members States to actively promote women participation in their bilateral and multilateral relations with states and organisations outside the EU;
3. Urges the HR/VC Ashton to make sure that the EEAS and the EC is sufficiently staffed with gender experts in order to coordinate and ensure consistency of EU policies and actions, monitor the implementation of commitments and facilitate the exchange of good practices;
4. Strongly encourages the HR/VC to also strengthen the EU Task Force on women, peace and security, which should peer-review the adoption and implementation of national action plans on UNSCR 1325 and 1820, conduct systematic gender analysis of Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and monitor and advise EU Delegations in conflict-affected countries and regions;
5. Considers the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) a unique opportunity for reinforcing the role of the EU with respect to the implementation of UNSCR 1820 and 1325;
6. Urges therefore the HR/VP to go beyond the practice of gender mainstreaming and make substantial and highly visible commitments with regard to staffing, financial resources and organisational hierarchy; urges the HRVC to appoint at least five women for the EEAS ten top jobs and to respect gender balance (approximately 50-50%) in EEAS staff including at senior posts; urges the HRVP to form an organisational unit within the EEAS that will be responsible for gender issues within the thematic department and to make sure that in each geographical department and EU Delegation at least one full time post is dedicated to gender, with responsibilities also on women, peace and security and that these persons are part or closely linked to the EU Task Force;
7. Welcomes the series of events such as open days, receptions and other forms of public events implemented by at least the three CSDP missions EUPM, EULEX and EUMM in order to celebrate the 10th anniversary of UNSCR 1325; welcomes the impetus by the EU’s Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) in this respect; reminds that CSDP missions are one of the most important tools by the EU for demonstrating its commitment to the objectives of UNSCR 1820 and 1325 in crisis-affected countries and regions;
8. Urges the HR/VC and EU Member States to always include reference to UNSCR 1820 and 1325 in each of CSDP Council Decision and mission’s mandate and to make always sure that all CSDP missions has at least one Gender Advisor and an Action Plan on how to implement women, peace and security aspects; urges HRVC, EU Member States and Heads of Missions to make cooperation and consultation with local women’s organisations a standard element of each mission;
9. Calls for the establishment of adequate complaint procedures which would particularly help reporting sexual and gender-based violence; calls on the HR/VC to include a detailed reporting on women, peace and security in the six-monthly evaluation of CSDP missions;
10. Recalls the mass gang rape that took place from 30 July to 4 August, in the eastern Congo mining district, that at least 8300 rapes were reported last year in eastern Congo and that at least 1244 women reported being raped in the first quarter of 2010, which is an average of 14 rapes per day; urges both EU missions in RD Congo, EUPOL RD Congo and EUSEC RD Congo to make the fight against sexual violence and the participation of women the main priority in the context of the effort to reform the Congolese Security Sector;
11. Stresses the importance that the EU should appoint female police and military staff in CSDP-missions on a larger scale; the contingent of female police officers within the UN-peacekeeping force in Liberia can be used as a model;
12. Points to the need for establishing a code of conduct and gender training for EU’s personnel serving in military and civilian missions which illustrate sexual exploitation as unjustifiable and criminal behaviour;
13. Calls for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and 1820 in the EU’s country strategy papers and to mobilise more financial support for the participation of women from conflict-affected countries in European processes; calls on the HR/VC, the Commissioners for Development, Enlargement and Humanitarian Aid to make women, peace and security aspects and integral part of the planning and programming of the external financial instruments such as EIDHR, ICI, IPA, but especially DCI and IfS;
14. Emphasises that the European Commission should facilitate the access for small NGOs to subsidies of the European Instrument on Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR); recalls that at present many small women’s organisations fail with the bureaucratic obstacle of application;
15. Calls on the Commissioner for development to prioritise support for work by women’s organisations in conflict-affected areas; urges the HR/VC to use the long term component of the Instrument for Stability (IfS) for allocating funding in support of women’s participation in peace, security and reconciliation related processes and to systematically earmark allocations for women, peace and security in all short term measures financed under Art. 3 of the Instrument for Stability;
16. Takes the view that EU Delegations should inform civil society organisations such as local women organisations, about their engagement in conflict regions and consult civil society organisations in the process of policy-planning;
17. Suggests respecting gender balance (approximately 50-50%) in every area of external action, including reconciliation work, peace building, peace enforcement, peace keeping and conflict prevention and post-conflict management;
18. Calls for an immediate increase in women participation in all the initiatives aimed at finding solutions to conflicts, including as mediators, negotiators and in the implementation of conflict resolution measures;
19. Calls on the HR/VC to initiate an annual week in which women leaders are consulted and which could complement the UN Global Open Day for Women and Peace followed by EU Delegation reports and follow-ups;
20. Stresses the need for national action plans which should give details on the timeframe of the national strategy, establish realistic objectives, develop supervising mechanisms as well as introduce quotas for the participation of women in control-, evaluation- and supervising-mechanisms;
21. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the UN Special Representative on sexual violence in armed conflicts and to the newly appointed Head of the UN Gender Entity (UN Women).