Regional: SADC Organ on politics defence and security cooperation- Expert group meeting

A group of experts reviewed and refined draft strategies and frameworks initially drafted in a broader based meeting in March 2011. The group comprised of representatives of SADC member states, senior security sector personnel, national gender machineries, SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security executives, and gender specialist from the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), think tanks and NGOs.

Working in two groups the facilitator tasked each of these to develop a vision, mission, goals, strategic objectives, activities, guiding principles, indicators, indicative budgets, time frames and monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

Experts working around sexual and gender based violence issues reviewed the “SADC Regional Strategy to address sexual and other forms of gender based violence in conflict and post-conflict situations”. The second group made up of experts from various security sector institutions and foreign services reviewed the “Draft policy framework for mainstreaming gender into the SADC Organ on Politics Defence and Security Cooperation (OPDSC)”.

The two groups came up with comprehensive documents that will go through the various SADC processes for approval and adoption by SADC member states. It is envisioned that in a year’s time gender concerns will be addressed at all levels of the regional structure. It is anticipated that the documents will guide in providing appropriate responses to and adequate provision for women, children and other vulnerable people during times of conflict, political instability and post conflict.

The expert group received this initiative with enthusiasm. Ensuring that the emergent policy documents guaranteed political commitment to putting an end to sexual and other forms of gender based violence in conflict and post conflict situations was a priority of the exercise. Participants were particularly concerned about ensuring the holistic protection of and care for victims and survivors including comprehensive rehabilitation for victims and survivors of SGBV including the provision of reparations and that the pursuit of perpetrators of this crime are well targeted for prosecutorial action.

Cognisant of existing policies and provisions on gender based violence as well as the SADC Gender and Development Protocol, experts ensured that the policies did not depart from existent processes. The continued development of national action plans to end GBV in member states provide springboards from which to launch policies on SGBV in conflict and post-conflict situations. International provisions such as UN Resolution 1325, 1820 and 1888 give impetus to ensuring robust draft frameworks.

Cases such as the DRC and Zambia provided lessons learnt and entry points for best practise. The wide spread use for violence as a weapon of war and the various responses provide a knowledge base for similar experiences in other countries. Zambia on the other hand has never experienced a conflict within the country’s borders but has hosted internally displaced people (IDPs) from several of her neighbours undergoing conflicts. Many of these IDPs have been survivors of SGBV and as such the Zambian gender machinery has had to develop strategies to respond to these cases. These experiences were captured within the draft framework as much as possible.

The expert group meeting concluded that women must always be involved. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are not in place so while training and capacity building of women within the security sector is happening, the implementation remains weak. The selection of these women for facilitating and training others is negligible. This is a challenge that must be addressed and as such initiatives of mainstreaming gender at regional level provide opportunities.
The strategy itself is the first of its kind and will guide SADC to address issues of SGBV in conflict and post-conflict situations in the region. The presence of people working on the ground for example, in the DRC, was instrumental on shaping the development of the strategy and deepening understanding of the issues at hand.