The changing nature of today’s wars, shows that civilians have been involved in these wars as both victims and perpetrators. Since these are internal wars, many civilians are often displaced, and they end up becoming refugees. In the midst of all this, women and children suffer most in this transition, with women suffering from sexual violence. In this context of armed conflict, it is observed that women, men, girls and boys experience conflict differently and they also respond differently in times of peacekeeping, peacebuilding and also in post-conflict reconstruction. Women are not only the victims of war; they are also denied full participation in decision-making in areas of peace and security. Furthermore, their vital roles in conflict prevention, conflict resolution, peacekeeping and peacebuilding are rarely acknowledged. The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 in October 2000, with the theme “Women, Peace and Security”. Although there are other forums that have addressed women in peace and security, there is none that has been more vocal, unanimous and holistic than Resolution 1325. The Resolution recognizes the need for women to be involved in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction. It also calls for the participation of women in decision making and peace processes. It further calls for the integration of gender perspectives in peacekeeping operations and the protection of women and girls from gender based violence in conflict zones. Resolution 1325 refers to other various previously adopted resolutions and other policies and gives mandates to the different role players like the United Nations, member countries and all parties involved in conflicts. In its efforts to implement the Resolution, the United Nations developed a System-Wide Action Plan for 2005- 2006 which was later reviewed and updated for 2008-2009 with performance indicators, monitoring and accountability procedures. The member states are under the obligation to ensure that the policy on peace and security is incorporated in their national policies. This study has cited Liberia being a country that has emerged from civil war and how the Resolution has been applicable in the reconstruction of that country. Though progress has been recorded in the implementation of the Resolution, there are still gaps and great challenges in the use of the action plans. However, the United Nations entities are working on the revised action plans and their report will only be given in 2010. This study has compared Resolution 1325 with the landmines campaign which has been referred to as the most successful humanitarian advocacy ever in history. There are various lessons learnt from the landmines campaign which could be used for the successful implementation of Resolution 1325. This study has assessed the impact of Resolution 1325 since its adoption to date and found out that there has been little progress. The gender perspective in preventing armed conflict has not made it any easier for women to participate in decision making and peace processes. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

I oktober år 2000 antog FNs säkerhetsråd den första resolutionen där kvinnor ses som aktörer för fred och inte bara som offer för konflikt. Eftersom 1325 är en resolution antagen i säkerhetsrådet, är den juridiskt bindande för alla FNs medlemsstater.Mitt övergripande syfte med denna uppsats är att belysa vikten av att samhällets olika nivåer, från absoluta toppnivå till gräsrotsnivå, samarbetar för att resolutioner från FNs säkerhetsråd, framförallt när det gäller så kallade mjuka frågor, skall uppmärksammas och bli framgångsrika.Mer specifikt är mitt syfte att studera effekterna av resolution 1325. För att göra detta har jag intervjuat åtta representanter för olika kvinnoorganisationer, som representerar gräsrotsnivån, sex i Stockholm och två i New York. Dessutom har jag hämtat information från dokument från FNs generalsekreterare, säkerhetsrådet och Sveriges regering, som representerar toppnivåer i samhället. För att belysa att avsaknaden av en ny resolution om kvinnor, fred och säkerhet beror på säkerhetsrådets genusblindhet, använder jag mig av ett feministiskt teoretiskt perspektiv. Dessutom relaterar jag avsaknaden av en ny resolution till begreppet legalstrategi. Resultatet av denna uppsats är, för det första, att man bara delvis kan skylla avsaknaden av en ny resolution på säkerhetsrådet. Det är också resultatet av en vald strategi från kvinnoorganisationernas sida. För det andra, är resultatet av min uppsats att de effekter man nu ser i samhället av resolution 1325 har uppnåtts tack vare det arbete som kvinnorganisationer har utfört sedan år 2000. Kvinnoorganisationerna har tagit resolution 1325, från toppnivåerna ner till gräsrotsnivåerna och spridit information och kunskap om den. Sedan har man tagit upp resolution 1325 till toppnivå igen genom att ställa krav om förändring hos de nationella makthavarna. / In October 2000, UN Security Council adopted a resolution on women, peace and security, in which women for the first time were seen as actors for peace and not just victims of war.Since it is a resolution of the Security Council, it is legally binding upon all UN Member States. My overall aim with this thesis is to illuminate the importance of close cooperation between macro and micro levels of society, in order to make UN Security Council resolutions, especially resolutions on “soft issues”, successful. Furthermore, the main purpose of this thesis is to study the effects of Security Council resolution 1325. In order to do this, I have interviewed representatives of eight women’s organizations, representing the micro level, on their opinion regarding 1325. In addition, I have concluded information from the UN Secretary-General, UN Security Council and the Swedish government, representing the macro levels of society. I am using a feminist theoretical perspective in order to illustrate that the lack of another resolution on women, peace and security is caused by gender blindness of the Security Council. Moreover, I am relating the lack of another resolution to the issue of legal strategy by women’s organizations. Thus, the results of this thesis are, firstly, that the Security Council only partly is to blame; it is also an outcome of strategy by women’s organizations. Secondly, the result is that the effects of 1325 now seen are achieved because of the work of women’s organizations; taking the resolution from the macro level down to the micro level of society, and then finally, up to the macro level again, demanding change from their national governments.

Are peace agreements more likely to include gender provisions if women participate in the peace negotiations? The international community, national governments and civil societies around the world have assumed that women’s inclusion in peace negotiations result in higher quality peace agreements, where women’s interests are better taken into consideration. To date, there is a lack of empirical underpinning of the assumption. This study uses a twofold research design, combining statistical and qualitative methods to examine the interrelation between women’s descriptive and substantive representation in peace negotiations in the post-Cold War era. First, the statistical analysis suggests that peace agreements are more likely to include at least one gender provision referring to women’s rights and security if women participate in the negotiation. At the same time, the agreements are not more likely to address a higher number of different areas for increased rights and security measures for women. Second, the qualitative analysis examining the mechanisms shows that there is no guarantee that women will push for gender provisions, but that their particular experiences and interests in conflict, and the expectations from others give them strong reasons to do so. Important factors for women to successfully push for gender provisions have to do both with their individual will and personal ability, and external factors relating to the presence of traditional gender norms and the power balance between men and women in the country of conflict.

<p>This thesis is about issues concerning the implementation of women's human rights in Sri Lanka.</p><p>Sri Lanka has had a conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam, LTTE for two decades. Since 2002 there has been a ceasefire agreement in place, which is being violated by both parties. Before being abandoned in 2003, one woman was present during the peace talks that were held.</p><p>In this paper I present the results of my field research conducted in Sri Lanka in November and December of 2005. The aim was to find out how women were active in the peace process since it is stipulated in international conventions that they have a right to participation. During the interviews with women activists it became evident that women were not involved in the official peace process. Therefore the thesis is about women’s human rights in Sri Lanka and the obstacles for their implementation.</p><p>Two main reasons for the lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka are identified. Firstly, for reasons of culture and patriarchal structures, there is a general lack of implementation internationally of women’s human rights. Secondly, the unresolved conflict situation in Sri Lanka, which reflects the unequal power relations between men and women that existed prior to the conflict. The lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka results in women not being present in the political life and they are therefore not part of the official peace process.</p><p>International conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on peace and security are addressed in the thesis in order to examine women’s human rights and their right to participation in politics and peace building.</p><p>Finally, I conclude that in order to include women in the official peace negotiations women need to actively participate in politics. The method presented to ensure such participation is that of affirmative action. It is a measure that falls under the category of temporary measures, which is suggested in CEDAW article 4.1.</p>

This thesis is about issues concerning the implementation of women's human rights in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has had a conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam, LTTE for two decades. Since 2002 there has been a ceasefire agreement in place, which is being violated by both parties. Before being abandoned in 2003, one woman was present during the peace talks that were held. In this paper I present the results of my field research conducted in Sri Lanka in November and December of 2005. The aim was to find out how women were active in the peace process since it is stipulated in international conventions that they have a right to participation. During the interviews with women activists it became evident that women were not involved in the official peace process. Therefore the thesis is about women’s human rights in Sri Lanka and the obstacles for their implementation. Two main reasons for the lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka are identified. Firstly, for reasons of culture and patriarchal structures, there is a general lack of implementation internationally of women’s human rights. Secondly, the unresolved conflict situation in Sri Lanka, which reflects the unequal power relations between men and women that existed prior to the conflict. The lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka results in women not being present in the political life and they are therefore not part of the official peace process. International conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on peace and security are addressed in the thesis in order to examine women’s human rights and their right to participation in politics and peace building. Finally, I conclude that in order to include women in the official peace negotiations women need to actively participate in politics. The method presented to ensure such participation is that of affirmative action. It is a measure that falls under the category of temporary measures, which is suggested in CEDAW article 4.1.