The Economic and Social Council this afternoon discussed the long-term programme of support for Haiti and decided to extend the mandate of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group for Haiti for one year. It also discussed the work of Ad Hoc Advisory Groups on African countries emerging from conflict, and held a panel discussion on the empowerment of women in countries emerging from conflict: the role of parliaments.

In the resolution on Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, adopted without a vote, the Economic and Social Council expressed its deep concern over the especially adverse effects of the 2008 hurricanes on Haiti and encouraged the international community to continue providing support for the short- and long-term needs for recovery of Haiti. It also decided to extend the mandate of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti until the substantive session of the Economic and Social Council in July 2010, with the purpose of following closely and providing advice on Haiti’s long-term development strategy to promote socio-economic recovery and stability.

Introducing the issue of the long-term programme of support for Haiti, Keith Morrill, speaking on behalf of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, said many of the challenges described in previous reports remained acute, and many previous recommendations remained relevant. There was progress made in the reform of rule of law institutions, in particular the National Police. It was imperative that Haiti remained on the international agenda, and that appropriate support be given to the country. It was important to ensure that the Haitian State capacities were strengthened, and the diversification of partners for Haiti was welcome, particularly in the context of South-South cooperation.

Also introducing the topic, Joel Boutroue, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, said the extreme vulnerability of Haiti and its people to external shocks was probably one of the main causes of its continuing impoverishment. The cancellation of multilateral and bilateral debts in July following decisions by the World Bank and the Paris Club were welcomed and much awaited developments – freeing up some $ 50 to $ 60 million from the budget that would or could be invested in poverty reduction activities.

Haiti said since the creation of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, there had never been so many opportunities for the country to benefit from the tangible support of the international community. 2009 was marked by a series of events that should give new momentum to the extent of international support for Haiti. Delegations should support the draft resolution on renewal of the Group.

During the general discussion on Haiti, speakers noted the Advisory Group's report was a very complete document - and the conclusions and recommendations deserved particular attention by ECOSOC and all Member States. Speakers stressed that significant development challenges still faced Haiti. The social and economic situation in the country remained extremely fragile; and vulnerability to extreme weather was a recurring obstacle to progress. It was important that the international community continue to keep Haiti on its agenda.

Speaking in the discussion were representatives of Haiti, Sweden on behalf of the European Union), United States, Chile, Saint Lucia, Brazil, Benin, and Luxembourg. Canada introduced the draft resolution.

Moving on to the discussion on Ad Hoc Advisory Groups on African countries emerging from conflict, Ali Hamidon, Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council, introducing the item, said the Council's oversight role in matters of development cooperation and humanitarian assistance, its charter responsibilities and its custodianship of the United Nations development agenda were of particular value in promoting better integration between relevant policy and operational dimensions of peacebuilding, thereby complementing and strengthening ongoing work that was taking place in the Peacebuilding Commission.

Heraldo Munoz, Permanent Representative of Chile and Chairman of the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission, speaking through video conference to also introduce the item, recalled that the Commission’s role was to create a positive transition for countries emerging out of conflict towards sustainable peace, and to help to re-establish institution building in these countries. Their work was based on the principle of national ownership, rebuilding institutions, as well as political and social understandings, among other things. Self-sustaining peace meant more than the cessation of hostilities; it also required the establishment of the rule of law, a move towards political, social and economic development. The Commission’s work in Africa promoted coordination and capacity building to effectively deal with the peace building priorities, good governance, corruption, and rule of law. Security sector reforms and drug trafficking were some challenges faced.

During the discussion on African countries emerging from conflict, speakers said this joint dialogue was very important, and should be sustained in a complementary manner. It was important for the international community to support these countries in developing and preparing their longer-term national strategies for poverty eradication and sustainable development.

Speaking in the discussion were representatives of Sudan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China), El Salvador and Burundi.

The Council then held a panel discussion on the empowerment of women in countries emerging from conflict: the role of parliaments.

Ali Hamidon, Vice-President of the Council, said panellists would address such issues as: what was the impact of women's role in decision-making on recovery and peacebuilding; what were successful mechanisms to increase women's participation in parliaments; how could good practices and lessons learned be replicated in other countries; and how could the Council further support the Peace Building Commission and the Security Council in fostering an integrated approach to women's political empowerment in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

The panellists were Martin Chungong, Director, Division for the Promotion of Democracy, Inter-Parliamentary Union; Catherine Mabobori, Member of the National Assembly of Burundi;
Moez Doraid, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM); and Huguette Bokpe Gnacadja, former member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

In the discussion, speakers noted, among other things, that the panel had given interesting perspectives on women's participation in decision-making in emerging from the post-conflict period. Efforts in countries emerging from conflict could help to redress inequalities of the past - gender equality could bring more durable economic growth, and this opportunity should be enhanced by the international community. It was important to note that women's participation benefited men as well.

Speaking in the discussion were the representatives of Sweden on behalf of the European Union, Burundi, Russian Federation, El Salvador, and Norway.

ECOSOC will resume its meeting on Friday, 24 July, 2009 at 10 a.m., to take up agenda item 6 (b) on the review and coordination of the Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010, followed by a general discussion; item 7 on coordination of programmes and other questions; item 7 (a) reports and coordination bodies; item 7 (b) proposed programme budget for the biennium 2010 – 2011; and item 7 (h) calendar of conferences and meetings in the economic, social and related fields, followed by a general discussion.

Report

The Economic and Social Council has before it the report of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti based principally on its visit to Haiti in May 2009, contained in (E/2009/105), which notes increased opportunities of the country to benefit from international support, as well as the major challenges that remain to translate this renewed mobilization into tangible progress on the ground. The report highlights the responsibilities of all partners to ensure aid effectiveness, a prerequisite for sustained stability of Haiti. Regarding the main substantive areas for international assistance, the Ad Hoc Advisory Group stresses the double challenges of providing immediate support to the population of Haiti, including through rapid job creation and foreign investments, and the need to continue in-depth support to communities, including in rural areas. The Group calls for simultaneous actions in these directions. The report concludes with recommendations addressed to the Haitian authorities and their international partners with a view to enhancing the impact of development assistance. As Haiti is at a crossroads, a continued mobilization by all is imperative to help the country avoid a relapse into social unrest.


Coordination, Programme and Other Questions: Long-term Programme of Support for Haiti

Opening Statements

KEITH MORRILL (Canada), speaking on behalf of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, introducing the report on Haiti, said this year's report was the fifth since the Group's reactivation in 2004, and should be read in a complementary fashion with previous reports. It built on the Group's visit to Haiti in early May. Many of the challenges described in previous reports remained acute, and many previous recommendations remained relevant. That said, the Group commended the important work done by the Government to implement its National Strategy for Growth and Poverty Reduction. There was also progress made in the reform of rule of law institutions, in particular the National Police. In the past, recommendations could have been summarised by saying "stay the course" and "no business as usual", and these words were reiterated this year. It was imperative that Haiti remained on the international agenda, and that appropriate support be given the country. In this regard, a strong United Nations presence on the ground, including through MINUSTAH, was essential. The Group also considered that the worsening of the situation in Haiti for the last decades forced all relevant international stakeholders to reassess deeply their ways of conducting business in Haiti if any progress was to be made.

The Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Group thought that its recommendations could be useful in summarising both to the Government of Haiti and the international community what there was to be done, and how. There were many aspects of the challenges facing Haiti that needed to be better understood. The Council should allow the Group to continue its work on Haiti for the next year. The next few months would be crucial to Haiti, and the holding of elections showed how the situation could remain fragile. The Paris Declaration had created a model of efficiency and partnership that should encourage the Haitian Government and donors to implement mechanisms for mutual responsibility for and follow-up of commitments made. It was important to ensure that the Haitian State capacities were strengthened, and the diversification of partners for Haiti was welcome, particularly in the context of South-South cooperation.

JOEL BOUTROUE, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, said with regard to challenges there were indeed a large number of priorities – unsurprisingly so in a country which was almost totally decapitalised and where everything was missing – from capacity building at all levels to acute priorities for almost all sectors, not to mention the catastrophic environmental situation. There was a high level of interest in Haiti, but this was not matched by a commensurate level of financial support. While he agreed with the often repeated phrase that there was a need for better money, there was also a need for more, substantially more funds, if they wanted to do more than slow down the descent of Haiti into deeper poverty. The extreme vulnerability of the country and its people to external shocks was probably one of the main causes of its continuing impoverishment. There was acute soil erosion due to extreme deforestation in a zone which lived through a five-month-long cyclone season every year. This was compounded by a limited capacity to address this situation due to close to non-existent investments, high unemployment, very low agricultural productivity, high population density, and privatised basic services which made them increasingly out of reach of the most vulnerable Haitians.

The real commitment by the international community to support Haiti better had yet to translate into a substantially increased level of financial support, as the situation in Haiti demanded, beyond those pledged in Washington, stressed Mr. Boutroue. The cancellation of multilateral and bi-lateral debts in July following decisions by the World Bank and the Paris Club were welcomed and much awaited developments. This would free up some $ 50 to $ 60 million from the budget that would or could be invested in poverty reduction activities. More generally speaking, the international community needed to continue to reform the way it operated in Haiti and in many other countries as a matter of fact. For example, there was a consensus that capacity to plan and implement was a great obstacle for the Government. As such, it was still necessary for non-governmental organizations in particular to act as quasi-substitutes to the State through activities in particular aimed at ensuring access to basic services. However, he observed, there had to be a sunset clause to many of these activities, as there was now a need to shift from substitution activities to activities carried out by the State or activities that were really implemented on its behalf. He stressed the need for dialogue as a prerequisite for stability and also healthier cooperation, in line with the principles of the Paris Declaration of mutual accountability. Only such willingness to change would bring about an environment that would make this change possible.

General Discussion

WILLIAM EXANTUS (Haiti) said since the creation of the Ad Hoc Group, there had never been so many opportunities for the country to benefit from the tangible support of the international community. After the four successive hurricanes, which dealt a severe blow to the economy and the environment, the idea that Haiti should have special support appeared to have been well-defended. 2009 was marked by a series of events that should give new momentum to the extent of international support for Haiti. As had been highlighted, the visit by the Secretary-General to Haiti in March, accompanied by ex-President Bill Clinton, led to the launching of a new dynamic. The return of Mr. Clinton as a United Nations Special Envoy led to growing hopes. The resources provided led to hope that the situation could be improved in economic, social and environmental terms, with a view to sustainable development in the long-term. This was encouraging. The fact that the authors of the report had noted was that non-governmental organizations, however important their actions in the field, could not fill in the gaps left by the State. Haiti appealed for the current channelling of official development assistance to Haiti to be reconsidered, as it did not favour the strengthening of national capacities and the principle of ownership. Economic development and the security climate were the two essential elements of stability - the joint action of the National Police and Ministries had improved the security situation; what was needed now was to ensure targeted development to stabilise this security in the medium- and long-term. Delegations should support the draft resolution on renewal of the Group.

JOHAN RUTGERSSON (Sweden), speaking on behalf of the European Union, welcomed the resolution on the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, and the report of the Group and its recommendations. Haiti faced significant development challenges. The social and economic situation in the country remained extremely fragile. Vulnerability to extreme weather was a recurring obstacle to progress. The European Union would provide 291 million euros in development assistance to Haiti for the period 2008 – 2013. The focal area of the European Commission Support Strategy for Haiti would be supported for infrastructure and governance. General budget support would further assist the Government’s macroeconomic reforms and contribute to the consolidation of the rule of law. In addition, the European Union would support a bi-national programme, including local development of the Dominican-Haitian border region. The European Union also planned a Technical Cooperation Facility related to the European Union-ACP/ Haiti partnership. The European Union commended the progress made in the security and rule of law sectors in Haiti, as well as the efforts made by the Haitian authorities towards the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. However, further work was needed to integrate the gender dimension in all social and economic development policies in Haiti.

DOUGLAS MEURS (United States) said the United States welcomed the report. Haiti faced serious remaining challenges, enumerated in the report, which served as a helpful summary of the real progress Haiti had made over the last year, strengthening social services to combat poverty. The progress that Haiti had made towards renewed and strengthened national institutions now more than ever should be accompanied by economic growth, job creation, and predictable assistance from Haiti's partners. It was important that the international community continue to keep Haiti on its agenda. The lack of State presence and the need to strengthen both national and local Government in Haiti should be addressed.
ALEJANDRO ROGERS (Chile) said the consideration of this agenda item was of greatest importance. The Advisory Group's report was a very complete document - and the Conclusions and Recommendations deserved particular attention by ECOSOC and all Member States. There were still serious problems in Haiti, but it was encouraging to note that the report stated that this year the Group considered the evolution of the situation encouraging, particularly with regard to the work done by the Government to apply the National Growth Strategy Document and the Poverty Reduction Document. Chile supported the report's statement that it was essential for Haiti to remain on the international agenda and receive support from the international community. The challenges faced by this Caribbean nation in years to come were of vital significance to pave the way towards socio-economic improvement and the consolidation of lasting peace for its citizens. The pillars for this were: reduced vulnerability to natural disasters; revitalisation of the economy; improvement of basic services; and a stable socio-economic fabric. Chile contributed to Haiti's development, supporting the generation of national capacity in areas of low development where Chile had strengths. Despite all efforts by donor countries and international organizations it was essential to promote further private investment to create jobs in an atmosphere favourable to public and private investment. Chile was committed to continuing to support Haiti.

DONATUS ST. AIMEE (Saint Lucia) said Saint Lucia supported the recommendations and the report. Culturally, Saint Lucia and Haiti shared pretty much the same mannerisms, dance, among other things and therefore Saint Lucia supported the renewal of the mandate. Drawing on their experience, the report noted the issue of watershed management; this needed to be tackled in conjunction with reforestation. Using agriculture and forestry as a mechanism should be revisited. Haiti was ready for the introduction of renewable forms of energy, such as hydro and wind power, and once they were there one could look at small and medium sized enterprise management; they had the skills, but also needed micro financing elements. Devolution could not be dealt with by the central Government, each locality needed to address their needs, and addressing local Government development had to be further assessed. The international community had to increase their support for Haiti to help them get out of this situation. Saint Lucia next year would be looking at ways to collaborate with Haiti in this regard and to help Haiti to face the challenges ahead.

JOAS LUCAS QUENTAL NOVAES DE ALMEIDA (Brazil) said since the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti was reactivated in 2004, it had been an excellent instrument of advocacy for international support for the economic, social and institutional recovery of the country. Although the Group did not play a formal role in MINUSTAH, it helped the Council keep in mind that stability was not sustainable in the long run if the causes of widespread poverty were not successfully addressed. The extension of the Group's mandate for one year showed that the Council fully understood the linkage between security and development. The Group could also help build upon the positive results obtained in the donor Conference held in Washington. Matching words and deeds was absolutely crucial if the collective action was to be credible and effective. Brazil was firmly committed to the long-term development of Haiti, and was ready to maintain and, if possible, expand these initiatives, if the authorities found it appropriate.

THIERRY ALIA (Benin) welcomed the progress made by the Haitian Government within its work on the many challenges facing the country. They supported the efforts being done and aided the country to help it out of its crisis.

SYLVIE LUCAS (Luxemburg) said the report presented by the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti was supported, as was the statement by Mr. Boutroue on the challenges before Haiti. The situation was complex - among the priorities, the issue was to prioritise. The country was a classic case of correlation between socio-economic development and political stability. It was essential to have economic development, with job creation and new impetus for the economy, to provide stability. There was also a peace dividend through economic development and the State's commitment to providing basic services. Non-governmental organizations could not replace the State, the latter had to play its role to the full, making it possible to contribute towards the stabilisation of the situation. There was a need for an ongoing commitment by the international community to support Haiti's authorities and the priorities they defined, and a political consensus within the national dialogue.

Action on Resolution on Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti

In the draft resolution entitled the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, (E/2009/L.13), adopted without a vote, the Economic and Social Council expresses its deep concern over the especially adverse effects of the 2008 hurricanes on Haiti and encourages the international community to continue providing support for the short- and long-term needs for recovery of Haiti; decides to extend the mandate of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti until the substantive session of the Economic and Social Council in July 2010, with the purpose of following closely and providing advice on Haiti’s long-term development strategy to promote socio-economic recovery and stability, with particular attention to the need to ensure coherence and sustainability in international support for Haiti, based on the long-term national development priorities, building upon the Interim Cooperation Framework and the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, and stressing the need to avoid overlap and duplication with respect to existing mechanisms; expresses its satisfaction to the Secretary-General for the support provided to the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti and requests him to continue to support the Group’s activities adequately and within existing resources; requests the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, in accomplishing its mandate, to continue to cooperate with the Secretary-General and his Special Representative in Haiti, the head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, the United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, the United Nations Development Group, relevant United Nations funds and programmes and the specialized agencies, the Bretton Woods institutions, regional organizations and institutions including Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Organization of American States and the Caribbean Community, the Inter-American Development Bank and other major stakeholders; and requests the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti to submit a report on its work, with recommendations, as appropriate, to the Economic and Social Council for its consideration at its substantive session of 2010.

KEITH MORRILL (Canada), introducing the draft resolution E/2009/L.13, entitled Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, said the draft resolution requested the prolongation of the mandate of the Group. There were a number of co-sponsors to the draft, and any further interest on behalf of Member States to join as co-sponsors was welcomed. It was hoped that the Economic and Social Council would allow them to continue their work, for an additional year, as this was very important for Haiti.

Coordination, Programme and Other Questions: Ad Hoc Advisory Groups on African Countries Emerging from Conflict

Opening Statements

ALI HAMIDON, Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council, introducing the agenda item on Ad Hoc Advisory Groups on African countries emerging from conflict, said at the 2008 substantive session, upon the termination of the Council's mandate on Guinea-Bissau, Member States invited the Peace-Building Commission to inform it of socio-economic challenges of peacebuilding of Guinea-Bissau. By doing so, Member States were signalling that the Council remained relevant to the discussion on peacebuilding, and could draw on some of the Commission's lessons in this area for its efforts to promote conflict-sensitive development. The Council's oversight role in matters of development cooperation and humanitarian assistance, its charter responsibilities and its custodianship of the United Nations development agenda were of particular value in promoting better integration between relevant policy and operational dimensions of peacebuilding, thereby complementing and strengthening ongoing work that was taking place in the Peacebuilding Commission.

This year the interaction between the two bodies had increased. Today's informal report from the Chair on the socio-economic challenges of peacebuloiding of the African countries on its agenda gave another opportunity to strengthen this interaction.

HERALDO MUNOZ, Permanent Representative of Chile and Chairman of the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission, addressing the Council via a video conference, recalled that in 2005 heads of States and Governments established that the Commission’s role was to create a positive transition for countries emerging out of conflict towards sustainable peace, and to help re-establish institution building in these countries. Their work was based on the principle of national ownership, rebuilding institutions, as well as political and social understandings, among other things. Self-sustaining peace meant more than the cessation of hostilities, stressed Mr. Munoz, it also required the establishment of the rule of law and a move towards political, social and economic development.

The Commission’s work in Africa promoted coordination and capacity building to effectively deal with the peace building priorities, good governance, corruption, and rule of law. Security sector reforms and drug trafficking were some challenges faced. Burundi, Côte D’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and the Central African Republic were priority countries for the Commission. For instance in the African Central Republic, the Commission’s work focused on good governance, establishing the rule of law, and combating youth unemployment. In Guinea, despite the instability, the emphasis had been placed on increased security and the fight against drug trafficking. Mr. Munoz hoped that the forthcoming elections in the country would play an important role in the consolidation of peace. These countries had also benefited from financial support. There were also other countries that were eligible for assistance including the Ivory Coast, Congo and Liberia.

The Commission also worked to build and strengthen partnerships working with regional and sub-regional bodies, said Mr. Munoz. For instance in Sierra Leone they advocated for greater sub-regional cooperation. He recalled that there was an open invitation from the African Union for him to visit its Headquarters later this year in order to further strengthen the partnership between them, which was vital and essential in championing the case of sustainable peace. They were currently in the process of consolidating the work of the peacebuilding architecture, focusing on real concrete and better coordinated actions from the outset, rather than just peace keeping efforts as an exit strategy.

Discussion

HAMZA AHMED (Sudan), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said the Group of 77 and China recalled the innovative experiment that had been tried by the Council in creating the Ad Hoc Advisory Groups on African countries emerging from conflict. This was the Council's attempt to ensure that there was a focused attempt to address the socio-economic causes of conflict, and to ensure that there was an integration of relief, in the humanitarian phase, to development. In addition to addressing political and security issues, including the security sector reform, the Group of 77 and China continued to believe that in order for peace to become truly irreversible, sustainable development must be at the heart of peacebuilding. It was important for the international community to support these countries in developing/preparing their longer-term national strategies for poverty eradication and sustainable development. Many of these countries were reliant on one or two crops for their export earnings. A comprehensive economic diversification strategy was indispensable to their ability to deliver higher and more equitable incomes to their population. Conflict and instability would have led to the destruction and deterioration of their infrastructure. Targeted support to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of physical infrastructure by the international community was vital to the long-term recovery of those countries emerging from conflict. The Advisory Groups had undertaken a review of their work, and concluded that there were several core lessons to be learned, including making good use of the work of United Nations entities to complement the policy approach of the inter-Governmental body by strong support at the technical and operational level.

HERALDO MUNOZ, Permanent Representative of Chile and Chairman of the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission, said it was important to get fast results. With regard to working with the population, he said if the Commission could not communicate with the public, the consolidation of peace could be undermined. This was why the Commission worked closely with the authorities in the respective countries. With respect to the point raised by the representative of Sudan on the vulnerability of countries dependent on exporting commodities, he said the Commission along with the World Food Programme and ECOSOC could collaborate to hold a seminar on the impacts of the food, economic and post conflict crises.

CARMEN MARIA GALLARDO (El Salvador) said this meeting between the presidency of the PeaceBuilding Commission and ECOSOC was the culmination of an effort by the countries which founded the Peacebuilding Commission. This joint dialogue was very important, and should be sustained in a complementary manner. This was an effort that had never before been made in the United Nations system, and should be the start of an enriching process. Joint initiatives would help to strengthen countries which wanted to learn, as well as countries assisting others in their process of peace consolidation.

PIERRE BARUSASIYEKO (Burundi) thanked the United Nations for making Burundi one of its priorities following the conflict the country faced. Burundi faced many challenges at the same time, and particularly appreciated the projects implemented and noted the importance of the programmes to combat and eradicate poverty.




Panel Discussion on the Empowerment of Women in Countries Emerging from Conflict: the Role of Parliaments

Opening Statement

HAMIDON ALI, Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council, said the importance of an active involvement of women in peacebuilding had been repeatedly highlighted by the international community, starting with the Beijing Declaration of 1995 and its Plan of Action. The involvement of women in the peace and peace-building processes was central to the successful rebuilding of countries after war. It had been proven that peace processes and peacebuilding were more likely to succeed if women were fully engaged as participants, planners, implementers and beneficiaries. One indicator for inclusive development was women's representation in legislative bodies and their possible participatory governance in the social, political and economic spheres. Women's participation in parliament was the most effective way to ensure that legal reforms promoted gender equality and non-discrimination, and that recovery efforts provided equal economic opportunities for women and prioritised women's needs in key sectors, such as health care, education, and shelter from the beginning.

Panellists would address such issues as: what was the impact of women's role in decision-making on recovery and peacebuilding; what were successful mechanisms to increase women's participation in parliaments; how could good practices and lessons learned be replicated in other countries; and how could the Council further support the PBC and the Security Council in fostering an integrated approach to women's political empowerment in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

Statements by Panellists

MARTIN CHUNGONG, Director, Division for the Promotion of Democracy, Inter-Parliamentary Union, said women had a major role to play in institutions of Government, which was of crucial importance when managing post conflict situations around the world. For any institution of Government to be democratic it had to be representative of all segments of society, and that was why the Inter-Parliamentarian Union focused on women’s contributions to parliament. They carried out surveys, tracked women’s participation in governance, and provided technical assistance to Governments to make sure they were gender responsive and sensitive, as well as shared experiences of women around the world. With respect to women in post-conflict societies, he said they did not intend to reinvent the wheel, everyone knew the role of Governments and activities; however this role was crucial because there was a need to craft a new legal framework to govern society, to ensure that historical and other injustices were corrected.

In terms of ongoing reconciliation projects, Mr. Chungong noted that in Kenya, there was increasing importance given to the funds distributed to different constituencies which had been one of the root causes of conflict in that country. Transitional justice mechanisms were also necessary to provide some form of justice to those affected. There were still some obstacles to women’s involvement in the justice system, particularly in the cases of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Haiti. It was not just important that women were participating in parliament, but rather it was important to focus on what contributions they made. The constraints generally stemmed out the nature in which Governments found themselves, such as post-conflict environments which resulted in serious financial constraints for instance. To ensure that quotas were implemented, it was necessary for them to ensure that each country established an equal playing field for all members of society to participate in Government. In recommendation, among others, he said quotas and other special measures should be implemented to help correct imbalances; proportional representations should be more friendly in terms of electoral systems; encouraging parties to adopt women friendly practices including levelling the playing field; and supporting parliaments to establish parliamentary committees on gender.

CATHERINE MABOBORI, Member of the National Assembly of Burundi, said Burundi had a war that lasted over 15 years, and the last cease-fire took place on 4 January 2009 between the Government and the last remaining rebel movement, which was now a political party known as FNL. Under the agreement, the members of the party were being integrated into the structures of the public administration and national defence. There were hopes for lasting peace, as the population had seen enough war. With regards to women's participation and reconstruction, this had to be viewed through the post-conflict perspective, as well as the role they played during the conflict, the peace-building process, the negotiating process, and within the different parties. From the beginning of the crisis in 1993, women had mobilised for individual and collective initiatives. When the war broke out, the first person who launched a message was the wife of the President. Women were organized into collectives to fight for peace. Women also participated in the Arusha negotiations.

Women were now heads of political parties. They had had the status of Observer during the Arusha negotiation process, being able to lobby the negotiators and the international community. At the 2005 elections, there was general mobilisation of women, encouraging them to take part in local decision-making, despite the lack of quotas at that level, as these existed for the Government and the Senate, but not local Governments. At this point, the number of women represented nationally jumped considerably. However, there was no mechanism to safeguard this process, and this was something that was being sought. Following the 2005 elections, Burundi had been classed as a post-conflict country. There were projects financed by the Trust Fund for Peacebuilding between the Government of Burundi that were exclusive to women, aiming to strengthen the role of women in peace-building through socio-political changes and efforts to protect women from gender-based violence, in particular with regards to extreme poverty. It was important to involve women and let them be responsible, and to provide them with the means to develop their autonomy in terms of management of the post-conflict period. Civil society was improving its organization, and partnerships with civil society organizations and with men partners should continue to be strengthened.

MOEZ DORAID, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), said one of the most visible changes to political institutions in post-conflict contexts was the marked increase in numbers of women holding public office, notably in national assemblies. Female parliamentarians could influence Government spending and allocations to areas that were often neglected, but had serious implications for the wellbeing of citizens and long-term recovery prospects. In Rwanda, the work of female ministers of parliament had contributed to an increase in health spending from 3 per cent in 1998 to 12 per cent in 2006. Presence was not the same as influence, stressed Mr. Doraid. There was a need to enhance women’s political effectiveness so that they could support positive effects on recovery and long-term peace building. Four key areas that represented challenges and obstacles that women parliamentarians faced, especially in post conflict contexts, included: addressing the legacy of exclusion; capacity challenges; gender-based public administration; and sexual and gender based violence.

If women were not involved in the peace process from the beginning, they could not assert their needs at an early stage, nor build the credibility and legitimacy of their leadership. They also tended to be excluded from important forums for shaping early recovery planning – such as national post-conflict assessments, poverty reduction strategies processes, constitutional and other legal reform processes and donor conferences. On average in 22 peace agreements for which there was information since 1992, women were just 7.6 per cent of negotiators in delegations to peace talks. Women were 2.7 per cent of signatories to peace deals, and were zero per cent of chief mediators – the United Nations had never apportioned a woman to this role. On capacity challenges, he said that in many contexts, women were relatively new to national decision making roles and forums. Gender-sensitive public administration reforms were needed to ensure women’s access to, participation in, and benefit from governance and accountability systems, law enforcement and judicial systems, and institutions to stimulate and regulate the economy and improved service delivery. Where women had been and continued to be targets of sexual and gender based violence, there was a serious disincentive to engage in public decision making due to threats to life and physical security as well as health complications. To address this challenge, the United Nations Development Fund for Women had provided overall basic security training for women candidates and their campaign teams.

HUGUETTE BOKPE GNACADJA, Lawyer and former member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, said whenever women were given an opportunity to lead or take measured decisions, they made it with a mindset of generations, looking at generations - and when men were given the same opportunity, they worked with the mindset of looking at people. A man who was leading a nation would lead it by thinking of the next election - the woman would think about the future. This was why it was important to capitalise on the natural ability of women to think in a more globalised way. When talking about the presence of women in the process of conflict prevention, resolution, and post-conflict rehabilitation, it was simply because women saw things and experienced conflicts and wars in a different way from the way that men did. Military presence increased incidents of women's rights violations, and the traumas were not the same. National leadership should be taken, and international women's diplomacy should be developed. Whenever the official delegation of a State Party attended meetings of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and it was composed of women Parliamentarians, it entirely changed the nature of the discussion.

Parliamentarians should work towards the adoption of Optional Protocols and Conventions in order to fill gaps in legislation. Parliamentarians also led the call to withdraw the reservations to Protocols or treaties signed by States parties. Parliamentarians were called upon to build partnerships between men and women in Parliament as their perspectives completed each other. With regards to the international legal framework in favour of the implementation of agreements and resolutions and ensuring that women were part of the process right from the conflict-solution step, this was important. The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was a very important tool for protecting women, such as women who became widows due to conflict, and found themselves existing without a legal framework to protect them. On the national level, it was important to have national courts with relevant competence that could deal with crimes arising from the conflict situation.

Discussion

In the discussion, speakers noted, among other things, that the panel had given interesting perspectives on women's participation in decision-making when emerging from the post-conflict period. Efforts in countries emerging from conflict could help to redress inequalities of the past - gender equality could bring more durable economic growth, and this opportunity should be enhanced by the international community. The percentage of women Parliamentarians could be increased. A speaker noted that a panellist had said that women were often widowed by conflict - would this be helped by increasing women's participation in Parliament, he asked. Could the Inter-Parliamentary Union help in changing mentalities, another speaker asked, noting that women could have difficulties in acceding to Parliament as political parties themselves put difficulties in the path of women. What was UNIFEM's view on improving women's participation in peace negotiations and in participation after the achievement of the peace agreement. It was important to note that women's participation benefited men as well, another noted.

Concluding Remarks

MOEZ DORAID, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), said the United Nations Development Fund for Women had been supporting women groups in Darfur and their participation in national peace dialogues. Another example was in Uganda in the north where they partnered with the Department of Political Affairs to provide gender support and advice to the UN envoy team. In addition their partnership with the Women’s Peace Coalition made it possible for them to access the negotiating teams on the various elements of the peace agreements. Women’s political participation was to the benefit of society and development, what had been observed when they participated was a greater emphasis on post-conflict justice mechanisms for war crimes in general – which was prerequisite for the future and reconciliation. Furthermore, they gave more emphasis to property rights and the consolidation of these rights to internally displaced persons and refugees whether men or women.

CATHERINE MABOBORI, Member of the National Assembly of Burundi, said with regards to political participation by women, this was useful for all of society. Women had much greater listening qualities and sensitivity to social problems, as well as impartiality, and were more available then men. It was thus important for there to be more women in decision-making at high levels, as they provided more services than did men.

HUGUETTE BOKPE GNACADJA, Lawyer and former member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, said the prerogatives of Parliament and the collaboration between the Executive and Parliament when it came to the nomination of key people at the national level should not be ignored. This nomination was a moment for both sides to agree to promote gender nominations - this was the only way to get many women as Ombudsmen and diplomats and in the key positions at decision-making level that they were longing for.

MARTIN CHUNGONG, Director, Division for the Promotion of Democracy, Inter-Parliamentary Union, said women’s participation was a benefit to society as a whole and made a positive outcome to parliamentary affairs. On the transforming of mentalities, especially when women had been combatants and moved to parliamentary roles, he said education was important to transform combatants to parliamentarians. A key precept to democracy was that women could work together. In El Salvador, parliament was focused as a key actor to democracy. Adopting women-friendly business practices would transform perceptions of parliaments around the world. Policies had been traditionally crafted to suit men and not women. In order for women to move away from their traditional household roles, policies needed to be developed to support this. For instance it was recommended that day care centres could be created in parliament buildings to facilitate the domestic role women were relegated to play.

For use of the information media; not an official record

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