TABLE OF CONTENTS

About the committee…………………………………………………………………………2

Agenda B………………………………………………………………………………………3

References……………………………………………………………………………………14

ABOUT THE COMMITTEE

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 The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women)

was founded by the United Nations General Assembly on 2nd July, 2010, with a

straightforward mandate; to work in coordination with inter-governmental bodies and

member states to formulate comprehensive policies, international standards, and norms that

would push for gender equality and promote accountability.

It became operational in 2011, working proactively to ensure that girls and women could

lead, live comfortable lives free of violence, contribute effectively to their nation and towards

building sustainable peace, and benefit equally from humanitarian aid. Since then, UN

Women has ensured that there have been definitive steps taken towards realising a future in

which women are able to avail of equal opportunities.

UN Women continues this work today by developing knowledge to call attention to gaps that

need to be addressed, by providing support to member nations on their road towards gender

equality, and by strengthening the capacity of the United Nations as a whole by working with

other departments to improve the policy-making process via the use of gender statistics.

The Mandate of UN Women can be summed up as follows:

 Expanding women’s voice, leadership and participation; 

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AGENDA B: To create a women-only combat force in addition to

United Nations Peacekeeping Force for humanitarian operations.

INTRODUCTION

Now more than ever, gender equality is an issue that requires the attention of individuals,

organizations, and governments – across the world, stereotypes that place women at the lower

end of the social ladder are being overturned and rethought. Opportunities are being created

for women to take their place as equals amongst others in this world, and as glass ceilings are

shattered one by one, the notion of an all-female combat force is taking root.

Women have been actively participating in military and law enforcement roles for some time

now, and with that in mind, all eyes have turned towards the United Nations Peacekeeping

Force – which has surprisingly low levels of female participation in comparison to that of

males. It is therefore the prerogative of this committee to examine their role in the UNPKF, to

decide whether there really needs to be a body of all-female combat forces outside the

UNPKF (given that there is no legislation barring them from it), and what the mandate of this

new body might be, should it be created.

HISTORY OF THE TOPIC

Over the course of seventy-two missions, United Nations Peacekeeping has strived to uphold

its mandate of the protection of civilians, the moderation of conflict, the promotion of

political stability, peace, and security, as well as the prevention of future conflict. Out of

these seventy-two missions, fourteen continue today to protect vulnerable individuals – but

troubling reports have risen in regard to that.

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Since the year 2004, close to two thousand reports of sexual abuse have been reported against

peacekeepers on various missions around the world, and roughly seven hundred of them are

from the Democratic Republic of Congo alone. Headquartered in Kinshasa, the United

Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo

(MONUSCO) took over from its predecessor MONUC in July 2010. In the year 2016, there

were 145 allegations of sexual assault reported. Cases of sexual harassment were filed against

five peacekeepers in early 2017 – some of the victims were impregnated and one was a

minor. Such trends encompass almost every other peacekeeping mission undertaken by the

United Nations; in 2017, Amnesty International reported an incident of drugging and raping

carried out by peacekeepers on mission in the Central African Republic. The document

contained mentions of such cases happening on ‘several other occasions,’ shedding light on

the disturbing frequency at which women and children are being preyed upon by officials

meant to help them.

The Human Rights Watch has reported incidents of sexual abuse filed against peacekeepers

on missions in Somalia, Eritrea, Mozambique, Congo, the Central African Republic, Guinea,

Liberia, Sierra Leone, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, East Timor, Haiti, and South

Sudan – and amongst these are included allegations of trafficking and prostitution in

exchange for food or blankets. In 2016, the number of reported cases were 104, and in recent

years they have fallen to 62 in 2017, and 54 in 2018 – but the reality of this situation is that

these are only the numbers that have been brought to the attention of authorities. The

Associated Press found that in Congo in the year 2016, while there were indeed 145 reported

cases, there were 311 victims of rape, which leads to the following question: are there

incidents that the world remains unaware of? Moreover, does there need to be a change in the

peacekeeping missions that are deployed by the United Nations for humanitarian purposes?

What role do women play when such problems come to light?

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It is now clear to the international community that women need to play a larger role in

peacekeeping, for a multitude of reasons. Reports found that female peacekeepers were more

effective than their male counterparts in carrying out certain aspects of the mandate of the

mission. One example of this is that female peacekeepers were able to access venues and

people in the region of deployment that were closed to men, which allowed them to generate

more conclusive intelligence on potential security and stability risks. The presence of female

peacekeepers ensured that the screening and/or frisking of women could be done without

incident, thereby ensuring maximum safety and “closing a security loophole often exploited

by extremists.” There have also been fewer complaints against female peacekeepers in terms

of conduct and actions on duty, which is a testament to the potential that an all-female unit

can have in the field. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) found that in Namibia,

Rwanda, and South Africa, locals considered female peacekeepers to be less threatening, less

violent, and better at maintaining peace and defusing potential conflict. It was found that

civilians are more likely to approach and collaborate with a female peacekeeper than a male

one, and also that females were less likely to use excessive force than males, which is a key

factor in ensuring conflict de-escalation. The increased participation of women in

peacekeeping operations would also decrease the amount of sexual abuse that takes place in

the host countries – crimes that weaken the perception of the United Nations in member

states around the world and also compromise the mandate of the United Nations. Despite all

of this, female participation in United Nations Peacekeeping remains very low, far from the

50% target set for it.

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Official troop gender statistics as of March 2019, according to the UNPKF.

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Female personnel and military statistics, UN Peacekeeping (2000 – 2010)

The Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations found that the number of women is

significantly higher in policing units, since countries mostly allow them to enlist with

national police; however, there are certain member states that don’t allow women into the

military – and these military units are the ones that are usually deployed in great numbers on

mission. The consequence of this restriction is that women, as a result, often lack the

experience that comes with being on the field in such missions, and are thus at a

disadvantage.

Since female participation in peacekeeping operations has not been increasing sufficiently

enough to meet the targets set forth by the United Nations, the agenda that this committee

will now deliberate over is the possibility of creating an all-female unit outside of and in

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addition to the United Nations Peacekeeping to increase efficiency and effectiveness with

regard to humanitarian operations.

PAST ACTION FOR GENDER PARITY IN PEACEKEEPING

The following mentions of past actions taken by the United Nations and its member states are

present to help you as delegates formulate coherent views as to whether these measures are

sufficient enough to ensure gender parity – meant to shed light on the question of whether or

not an entirely new entity is required for female officers to assist with humanitarian

operations.

“In order to ensure the effectiveness of peace support operations, the principles of gender equality must

permeate the entire mission, at all levels, thus ensuring the participation of women and men as equal partners

and beneficiaries in all aspects of the peace process… “

- Adapted from the Windhoek Declaration (31st May, 2000)

The Windhoek Declaration and the Namibia Plan of Action on ‘Mainstreaming a Gender

Perspective in Multidimensional Peace Support Operations’ was adopted by the United

Nations with the aim of ensuring gender equality within the UNPKF in terms of recruitment,

deployment, access to negotiation and peace agreements, leadership, planning, training, and

overall participation.

Action has also been called for by the Security Council in the landmark resolution SCR1325,

adopted in October 2000, laying emphasis on the expansion of the roles of women within the

UNPKF, and recognising that the majority of people affected as a result of armed conflict are

women and children. This resolution also called upon member states to increase the number

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of women in their armed forces, which would directly correlate to the greater participation of

women in peacekeeping units deployed to regions of conflict.

There has also been an all-female Indian Formed Police Unit (FPU) commissioned to Liberia

as a part of United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to maintain stability in Monrovia,

Liberia, post the civil war in 2003. They recently completed their mandate in March 2018,

and all accounts state that this all-female regiment has had positive effects in the region.

Numbers show that the number of Liberian women contributing to the security sector is 17%,

a definite increase from the measly 6% nine years before their arrival. The commander of the

unit, Colonel Madhubala Bala, stated that “When the local women see the female

peacekeepers, they get inspired by them – [they see] ladies can perform the same role as male

counterparts.”

Image source: Emmanuel Tobey/UNMIL – President Johnson-Sirleaf with members of the all-female Indian
FPU in February 2016.

There has also been an all-female patrol organised by the female peacekeepers of the United

Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Sector East Command, which gave local women

the opportunity to approach the female peacekeepers without breaking any cultural norms and

voicing their concerns, which contributed to the maintenance of security. Reports suggest that

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this encouraged local women to join the military and provide their support to the Lebanese

Armed Forces.

CURRENT ISSUES

Cases of sexual assault are burgeoning around the world at rapid rates. Studies found that

24% of adult women have been assaulted by their partners. Even in relatively developed

nations such as the United States of America, women and girls nationwide experienced about

270,000 cases of sexual abuse per year. The frequency of sexual assault has also increased in

the military – in 2011, the number of victims of sexual violence rose from approximately

19,000 in the previous year to 26,000. Sexual assault can also result in the spread of diseases

such as HIV, as well as increase the risk of mental health issues such as depression.

Reports indicate that at least 200 million women alive today have undergone female genital

mutilation. A majority of these women were cut before they turned five years old.

Human rights violations are rampant even in federal correctional facilities; around 70% of

male officers subjected female inmates to sexual extortion, abuse, and groped them

inappropriately during searches. It was found that incarcerated women were more likely to be

denied essential medical resources and treatment, as compared to their male counterparts,

even in cases of pregnancy or chronic/degenerative disorders. This is not all – although the

statistics available are not completely reliable, it is estimated that human trafficking is a $32

billion annual industry – and adult women constitute the largest group of sex-trafficking

victims, followed by girls.

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In almost all cases, the institutional response has been lacklustre; moreover, the resources

devoted to efficiently and decisively handling such problems are insufficient. All of the above

listed issues are examples of violations of human rights that an all-female force might be well

equipped to handle – if the entity is formed in a such a way that it can assist the governments

of member states in regulating and preventing such problems without violating their

sovereignty and breaching federal legislation, then it would indeed be effective. It is assumed

that the cases of military rape would significantly decrease if the unit was comprised entirely

of females, and an all-female force could help with the mental and physical rehabilitation of

victims of sexual assault in areas affected by conflict or otherwise.

It is apparent from these statistics that females are at a distinct disadvantage in society – they

are usually the victims of injustice and acts of violence and cruelty. It has also been observed

that a prevalent obstruction to justice is the lack of reporting. In colleges, the rate of rapes

being reported to campus authorities ranges from 5% to 28%, depending on the nature of the

assault. Approximately fifteen million girls around the world have been subjected to sexual

assault; it is estimated that the actual number is much higher. What is more, data from over

thirty countries shows that only 1% out of fifteen million sought professional help. This is an

issue that could potentially be remedied by the presence of female officers as a part of an all-

female unit – girls might find it easier to report rape and seek help if they can relate to the

officer.

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All things considered, the arguments against having an all-female combat unit in addition to

the United Nations Peacekeeping Force are that firstly segregating these two organizations by

virtue of gender is a step backward rather than forward – several prominent women in

military organizations in their respective countries have stated that they find the notion of an

all-female force insulting, because it insinuates that they do not have the same potential as

men do.

Moreover, in the past, women were not allowed to join the army, and in some countries that

still holds true. This means that female commanders may not have the experience that male

commanders do, and this could be damaging to the unit as a whole because there is no one

with experience in the field and an intrinsic knowledge of what to do. It could also be argued

that the additional force of female-only units might not receive the numbers necessary to

deploy forces – if the number of female peacekeepers in the UNPKF has been so low, what

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makes the international community so confident as to assume that this new entity will have

the numbers that it requires to work efficiently?

CONCLUSION

It can be seen that the policies already in place, to a certain extent, work towards the

integration of women into peacekeeping operations, as equals, in greater numbers. Discussion

in committee should keep such milestones in mind when deciding if a new entity for all-

female combat forces is necessary. To an extent, all-female units can exist within the UNPKF

– but the dismal percentage of women in the UNPKF must also be kept in mind when

arriving at conclusions, as well as the ‘reputation’ that peacekeepers have gathered over the

course of the past decade.

The obvious questions that can be brought up in committee can be structured along the lines

of ‘should there be such a force or not?’ – but further research and a nuanced understanding

of this agenda should hopefully steer debate towards important lines of questioning, such as

‘what problems exist within the operations of United Nations Peacekeeping that call for such

a force to be created?’

A point that this committee must take into consideration is the nature of such a force, if it is

to be created – should it be within the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping, or should

there be a separate body created entirely?

QUESTIONS A RESOLUTION MUST ANSWER

1. If a new body is to be created, what is its mandate and how shall it function?

2. How shall this new entity be structured within the framework of the United Nations?

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REFERENCES

1. www.unwomen.org/en

2. “Windhoek Declaration, Namibia Plan of Action on ‘Mainstreaming a Gender

Perspective in Multidimensional Peace Support Operations’” Windhoek Declaration,

Namibia Plan of Action on ‘Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in

Multidimensional Peace Support Operations,’ 31 May 2000.

www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/wps/windhoek_declaration.pdf.

3. “DR Congo: UN Peacekeepers Face Fresh Sexual Abuse Claims.” BBC News, BBC,

28 Apr. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39745357.

4. “CAR: Fresh Evidence UN Peacekeepers Drugged and Raped Young Woman.”

Amnesty International, 11 Oct. 2017, www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/10/car-

fresh-evidence-un-peacekeepers-drugged-and-raped-young-woman/.

5. “UN: Stop Sexual Abuse by Peacekeepers New Report Reveals Lack of Justice,

Protection for Victims.” Human Rights Watch, 4 Mar. 2016,

www.hrw.org/news/2016/03/04/un-stop-sexual-abuse-peacekeepers.

6. “FEATURE: Hailed as 'Role Models,' All-Female Indian Police Unit Departs UN

Mission in Liberia | UN News.” United Nations, United Nations,

news.un.org/en/story/2016/02/522102-feature-hailed-role-models-all-female-indian-

police-unit-departs-un-mission.

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7. “UNIFIL's Sector East Organizes All-Female Patrol Peacekeeping.” United Nations,

United Nations, peacekeeping.un.org/en/unifils-sector-east-organizes-all-female-

patrol.

8. Fuentes, S. P. (2014, May 21). Top 18 Issues Challenging Women Today. Retrieved

from http://shriverreport.org/top-18-issues-challenging-women-today/

9. WHO, Violence against Women, Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence against

Women, updated November 2016.

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