Can the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and international humanitarian law join forces ? : emerging findings and promising directions / Jeni Klugman, Robert U. Nagel, Mara Redlich Revkin, Orly Maya Stern

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Document type:

Book

Title:

Can the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and international humanitarian law join forces ? : emerging findings and promising directions

Author zone:

Jeni Klugman, Robert U. Nagel, Mara Redlich Revkin, Orly Maya Stern

Editor:

[Washington D.C.] : Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, 2021

Physical description:

32 p. : photogr., tabl. ; 30 cm

Languages:

English

General Note:

Source : https://giwps.georgetown.edu/resource/can-the-women-peace-and-security-agenda-and-international-humanitarian-law-join-forces/ (last accessed on 08.06.2022)

Abstract:

This report explores overlaps and synergies between International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda, specifically the protection and participation pillars of WPS. IHL is the body of law that governs armed conflict. It is designed to protect combatants and civilians of all genders by restricting the means and methods of warfare. Although IHL has a track record of meaningfully protecting the rights of people in conflict-affected areas over the past five decades, there are notable shortcomings and blind spots in its ability to address the gendered dimensions of conflict. While the authors of the report do not advocate for the merging of these two agendas, they argue that there is potential to broaden the focus of the WPS protection pillar to ensure women and girls are safe from all forms of violence, and to use IHL to add legal force to the WPS agenda. Three case studies on the militaries of South Africa, Israel, and the United States highlight progress and challenges around WPS implementation and IHL compliance. South Africa is a case in which the military is engaged in peacekeeping operations, with frequent allegations made against it of sexual assault against civilians. The United States is a case in which women’s participation in combat roles has increased significantly in recent years, as well as one in which soldiers are deployed in nonconflict situations (such as partner military training missions and black-site prison facilities) where IHL does not formally apply. Israel has the largest rate of women’s participation of any state military in the world. These cases demonstrate persistent shortcomings but also crucial opportunities to better leverage WPS to promote IHL compliance and improve women’s protection.

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