War

International Alert Uganda Investing in Peace briefing paper series targets policy makers in government, development partners, civil society and the private sector. It explores the interplay between economic development and conflict in Uganda. This report forms part of a wider comparative study on women’s political participation in countries emerging from conflict in the Great Lakes region. Relative peace in Northern Uganda has allowed the majority of internally displaced persons to return home and women have emerged as critical economic actors taking advantage of opportunities to secure their families’ livelihoods. They are at the forefront of the economic recovery of the region. The paper also examines the constraints on women’s economic and political empowerment and makes recommendations to government and development partners.

The widespread use of small arms has ruined lives and set back development for decades. This is an impact assessment of the Control of Small Arms between 2006 and 2012. There are contributions by the GTZ programme “Promotion of Peace and Security in the EACÀ.

This paper is about the reparations regime of the International Criminal Court and reparations possibilities for victims of sexual violence. It will contain a legal analysis of the reparations system of the Court, including the Trust Fund for Victims of the International Criminal Court. In a second step, the needs of women who experienced conflict related violence will be examined. The central question, which this paper will try to answer, is whether the ICC reparations regime has the ability to provide gender-sensitive reparations and thus make a contribution to the improvement of women’s lives in post-conflict societies.

Johannesburg, 20 September: Tomorrow is International Peace Day. The focus this year is peace education pledging, “to teach our children the value of tolerance and mutual respect. Let us invest in the schools and teachers that will build a fair and inclusive world that embraces diversity.À

A recent Gender Links Study on the prevalence of violence against women (VAW) in the Limpopo province of South Africa found that more than half (57%) of women who had attended school said they had been sexually harassed at school or university. They referred to incidents where a teacher, principal or lecturer hinted or threatened that they would fail exams, get bad marks and that their schooling would be adversely affected, if they did not provide sexual favours.

This magazine focuses on analysing and reporting on trends in current and emerging conflicts and their resolution on the African continent. Focusing on developments and challenges in peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, articles in the magazine aim to contribute to the body of knowledge on ‘what works’ through the sharing of information on specific interventions, case studies, good practices and recommendations. Conflict Trends is widely accessed and used by policy makers, academics and conflict resolution practitioners in Africa and beyond.

Gender-based violence (GBV) has been used as a tool of instilling fear, hatred and persecution during conflict situations. It is a fact that GBV takes place pre-conflict situations. Moreover, conflicts and wars only accelerate the rate at which GBV is committed. In the 1990s and early 2000s, there was conflict in the Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. These conflicts went down in history as conflicts where horrendous crimes were committed. As a result of the atrocities committed and the magnitude of victims, the international community with the assistance of the United Nations formed the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

These international tribunals were given the task of prosecuting the perpetrators of these crimes. Prior to the formation of these tribunals, the international community had experienced other wars whereby international tribunals were also formed to deal with the atrocities committed. However, this research only aims at comparatively analysing the ICTY, TCTR and the SCSL because these new tribunals were the first in experiencing the development of the prosecution of GBV. The former international tribunals did not effectively deal with gendered crimes therefore there was no precedent set in international law regarding the prosecutions of these crimes.

The conflicts that occurred in the Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone also saw the introduction of more brutal forms of GBV. These forms of GBV that developed forced the tribunals to change the way they prosecuted gender-based crimes because the nature and the magnitude at which the crimes were committed was massive. Forms of GBV that were earlier recognised such as rape and sexual violence were now being used as a means through which the perpetrators committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The comparative analysis between the ICTR, the ICTY and the SCSL also aims at showing how the different challenges and hurdles that these courts faced when prosecuting these crimes. The pitfalls that the tribunals experienced at the pre-trial phase are also investigated and critically analysed with the aim of drawing lessons about mistakes that should not be repeated in newer international tribunals. A comparative analysis will also be done on the different precedents that were set by the cases that were heard in these tribunals with the aim of showing how these tribunals have indeed contributed to the development of the prosecution of these types of crimes.

Finally, recommendations will be made regarding how future international tribunals better deal with these crimes. The research paper also aims at creating awareness that these types of crimes must be treated differently and with caution because the effects that the victims suffer from last way after the conflicts and trials are over. Lessons must be carried from past prosecutions in order to correct and better improve the way in which the prosecutions are carried out and also the way in which the different victims are treated even after the prosecutions have been completed

UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) recognizes the importance of promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women in order to achieve the goals of peace and development, and emphasizes the critical role Member States can play in that respect. It urges Member States to take action at the national level in the following key areas:
Women’s participation in decision-making and peace processes.
The protection of women and girls and
Gender training.

War has never been gender-neutral. Throughout history, rape and other forms of violence against women have been used as a weapon of war, serving not just to violate and degrade women, but to assault the honour and identify of the opposing nation or community. While the majority of warriors are men, women too have joined armed groups, whether to fight injustice, to protect themselves or to seek retribution for the loss of loved one. Others are forced to flee, lest they be pressed into slavery by conquering troops. In situations of conflict, women are the first to be affected by infrastructure breakdown, and carry the ever-increasing burden of caring and providing for their families, the injured and the wounded, forced to adopt survival strategies at the margins of war economies. Throughout history, too, women have found ways to organize resistance to war and conflict. Today, in conflict zones throughout the world, women are mobilizing both within their communities and across borders to demand that the international community put an end to violence, urgently address the impact of war on women and communities and protect the future of entire societies. They are also demanding a role in shaping the future. Women who have survived wars must find ways to live with the gross injustices that have filled their past and are haunting their present À“ acts of discrimination and violence committed before, during and after conflict. For the reason, they cannot be forgotten in the recovery process, which must include the establishment of gender justice based on the rule of law. While women are often the first victims of armed conflict, they must also be recognized as part of its resolution. The participation of women in peace-making, peacekeeping, and peace-building ensures that their experiences, priorities, and solutions contribute towards stability and inclusive governance. It was mobilization by women, with the support of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), under the leadership of the Government of Namibia as president of the Security Council, that led to the foundation and adoption of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security. It is mobilization by women in conflict areas worldwide that now promises to hold the UN system À“ and the entire international community À“ accountable for its implementation. We must work together to take concrete, practical steps needed to implement this historic resolution, protect the rights of women in conflict and post-conflict situations and engage their energy and commitment in finding a more lasting road to peace.

This publication is in honour of women around the
world who pursue peace, and whose efforts to reconcile
communities, insist on accountability, and sustain their
families in times of crisis require the kind of courage most
of us are rarely called upon to display.
The Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice has been working in armed
conflict situations since 2004, advocating for justice through the
International Criminal Court and domestic prosecutions as well as
supporting the voice, capacity, strategies and mobilisation of women’s rights and peace activists

The African Journal on Conflict Resolution is a biannual peer-reviewed journal published by the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) for the multidisciplinary subject field of conflict resolution. It appears on the list of journals accredited by the South African Department of Education. ACCORD is a non-governmental, non-aligned conflict resolution organisation based in Durban, South Africa. ACCORD is constituted as an education trust. The journal seeks to publish articles and book reviews on subjects relating to conflict, its management and resolution, as well as peace-making, peacekeeping and peace building in Africa. It aims to be a conduit between theory and practice. Views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of ACCORD. While every attempt is made to ensure that the information published here is accurate, no responsibility is accepted for any loss or damage that may arise out of the reliance of any person upon any of the information this journal contains.