Gender and Constitution Building - Women for Women International

United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women. “Peace Agreements
as a Means of Promoting Gender Equality and Ensuring Participation
of Women.” Report of the Expert Group Meeting, Ottawa,
Canada, 10-13 November 2003.
United Nations General Assembly. Fourth World Conference on Women, Action
for Equality Development and Peace, Beijing Declaration and Platform of
Action. New York: United Nations, 1995.
United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL). Proceso de
desmovilizacíon del personal del FMLN. San Salvador: Imprenta El
Estudiante, no date.
UN Security Council Resolution 1325, S/Res/1325 (2000).
ENDNOTES
1 A main document that firmly put gender equality on the agenda is
the Platform of Action, from the 1995 Fourth World Conference
on Women held in Beijing. The Platform’s key provisions directed
the member states and the international community to take action
to address the concerns arising from women and armed conflict. It
demanded that women be included in peace negotiations and postconflict
decision-making processes and emphasized the peaceful
resolution of prevailing conflicts. United Nations Fourth World Conference
on Women, Action for Equality Development and Peace, Beijing
Declaration and Platform of Action.
Subsequently, Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace
and Security, adopted in October 2000, highlighted the significance
of “bringing gender perspectives to the center of attention in all
United Nations conflict prevention and resolution, peace-building,
peace-keeping, rehabilitation, and reconstruction efforts. It calls for
increased representation of women, particularly at decision-making
levels.” Resolution 1325 was an important call to action, affirmed
by subsequent reports and studies that emphasized the need for
gender-based analysis and action. UN Security Council Resolution
1325.
2 Report, “Peace Agreements as a Means of Promoting Gender Equality
and Ensuring Participation of Women,” 24-26.
3 The war ravaged the country, creating 1.5 million refugees and claiming
the lives of more than 70,000 people, most of them civilians. In
the wake of the accords, optimism regarding El Salvador’s future
was widespread.
4 The human suffering during this period defies imagination. According
to the report by the Commission for Historical Clarification,
charged under the peace accords with establishing the truth about
Guatemala’s violent past, more than 200,000 Guatemalans were killed
or disappeared over the course of the conflict. In addition, hundreds
of villages were destroyed and 1.5 million people were internally
displaced or sought refuge in Mexico. Guatemala: Memory of
Silence, 72; Spence et al. “Promise and Reality: Implementation of
the Guatemalan Peace Accords,” 4.
5 ONUSAL, Proceso de desmovilización del personal del FMLN.
6 Aguilar, “Un movimiento de mujeres embrionario.”
7 Interview with Luz Méndez, Guatemala City, April 4, 1997.
8 Spence et al., “Promise and Reality,” 12.
9 United Nations, “Acuerdo para el reasentamiento de las poblaciones
desarraigadas por el enfrentamiento armado,” chapter II, article 2.
10 Ibid., chapter III, article 8.
11 United Nations, “ Acuerdo sobre identidad y derechos de los pueblos
indígenas.” chapter II, article 1.
12 United Nations, “ Acuerdo sobre fortalecimiento del poder civil y
función del ejército en una sociedad democrática,” Article 59. The
international climate during the peace negotiations played an important
role. For example, discussions on the Socioeconomic and
Agrarian Accord coincided with the 1995 Fourth World Conference
on Women in Beijing. Having gender issues on the forefront
internationally made it easier to incorporate provisions favoring
women’s rights into this accord. According to Luz Mendez, a key
female negotiator, efforts to put gender equality on the agenda were
legitimized and strengthened when women pointed out to their male
colleagues that the international donor community, which supported
the peace process financially, was strongly in favor of women’s rights.
13 Interview with Nidia Díaz, San Salvador, March 9, 1994.
14 Interview with Lorena Peña, San Salvador, July 29, 1993.
15 Luciak (2001), chapters 2 and 3.
16 Demandas de las mujeres y acuerdos de paz,” 11.
17 Spence et al., “Promise and Reality,” 14.
18 Report, “Peace Agreements as a Means of Promoting Gender Equality
and Ensuring Participation of Women,” 24-26.
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