Peace agreements or pieces of paper? the impact of UNSC Resolution 1325 on peace processes and their agreements

International and Comparative Law Quarterly

Volumn 59, Issue 4, 2010, Pages 941-980

  Bell, Christine ^a   O'Rourke, Catherine ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER   (United Kingdom)

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EID: 79953124446     PISSN: 00205893     EISSN: 14716895     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S002058931000062X     Document Type: Article

References (162)

1. For description of the rise in peace agreements, the reasons linking it to the end of the Cold War, and the scale of the phenomenon
2. see C Bell, On the Law of Peace: Peace Agreements and the Lex Pacificatoria (OUP, Oxford, 2008).
3. N Reilly, Women's Human Rights: seeing Gender Justice in a Globalising Age (Polity, Oxford, 2008);
4. see also, A Boyle and C. Chinkin, The Making of International Law (OUP, Oxford, 2007) ch 2.
5. The limitations of this approach, namely, that even where gender goes unmentioned it is relevant, are acknowledged and discussed in II A and VII D below. A fuller explanation of our coding of 'women' and 'gender' for the purposes of the quantitative study is set out in Section III.
6. See International Peace Institute forthcoming project on 'Understanding Compliance with UN Security Council Resolutions Addressing Civil Wars', information available at www.ipinst.org/programs/coping-with-crisis/details/11/ 28.html.
7. Paras 9, 10, 11 and 12, SC Res 1325.
8. Paras 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 13, SC Res 1325.
9. Resolution 1325 is a 'thematic' resolution best understood as a Chapter VI UN Charter (nonbinding) resolution. Its legal authority has been accentuated by the fact that it was passed unanimously, and that the resolution uses the language of obligation. On the status and nature of Resolution 1325
10. see S Anderlini, Women Building Peace: What they do, Why it Matters (Lynne Reinner, Boulder, Colorado, London, 2004) 196-199;
11. D Otto, 'A Sign of "Weakness"? Disrupting Gender Certainties in the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325' (2006) 13 Michigan Journal of Gender and Law 113;
12. T L Tryggestad, 'The UN and Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security' (2009) 15 Global Governance 539. On the background of Resolution 1325 see generally Peace Women website
13. and UNIFEM Women War and Peace Portal at .
14. Para 17, SC Res 1325. For reports see tracking at .
15. See references above (n 7).
16. Para 12 urges 'the Secretary-General and his Special Envoys to invite women to participate in discussions pertinent to the prevention and resolution of conflict, the maintenance of peace and security, and post-conflict peacebuilding, and encourages all parties to such talks to facilitate the equal and full participation of women at decision-making levels'.
17. Para 17 urges that 'the issues of sexual violence be included in all United Nations-sponsored peace negotiation agendas', and also that 'the inclusion of sexual violence issues from the outset of peace processes in such situations, in particular in the areas of pre-ceasefires, humanitarian access and human rights agreements, ceasefires and ceasefire monitoring, DDR [demobilization, demilitarization and reintegration] and SSR [security sector reform] arrangements, vetting of armed security forces, justice, reparations, and recovery/development.'
18. SC Res 1889 recognizes in its preamble the underrepresentation of women 'at all stages of peace processes', and in particular at the level of mediators. The preamble also notes the particular exclusion from peace processes of refugees and internally displaced persons, both being groups where women tend to be over-represented. Para 1 calls on Member States, international and regional organizations to improve the participation of women in peace processes, and para 4 calls on the Secretary-General to develop a strategy to increase the number of UN mediators who are women.
19. See United Nations Secretary-General, Women, Peace and Security, UN Doc. S/2004/814 (2004);
20. United Nations Secretary-General, Women, Peace and Security, UN Doc. S/2008/622 (2008).
21. See, for example, Gender Action for Peace and Security, Global Monitoring Checklist on Women, Peace and Security (Gender Action for Peace and Security, London 2009);
22. see further United Nations Secretary-General, Women, Peace and Security, UN Doc/S/2010/173 (2010).
23. See, for example, H Charlesworth and M. Woods, '"Mainstreaming Gender" in International Peace and Security: The Case of East Timor' (2001) 26 Yale Journal of International Law 313;
24. L Olsson and J Tejpar (eds), Operational Effectiveness and UN Resolution 1325-Practices and Lessons from Afghanistan (Stockholm, FOI, Swedish Defence Research Agency, 2009). More work is in train. In 2007, International Alert launched a three year project entitled Supporting women's peacebuilding priorities: Implementing UN SCR 1325, the research component of which will be case studies
25. see .
26. See in particular, Otto (n 7);
27. D Otto, 'The Exile of Inclusion: Reflections on Gender Issues in International Law Over the Last Decade' (2009) 10 Melbourne Journal of International Law 11;
28. P Scully, 'Vulnerable Women: A Critical Reflection on Human Rights Discourse and Sexual Violence' (2009) 23 Emory International Law Review 113;
29. C Cohn et al., 'Women, Peace and Security: Resolution 1325' (2004) 6 International Feminist Journal of Politics 130. cf the nuanced defence of Resolution 1325 in Tryggestad (n 7).
30. For reasons for the post Cold War rise in peace agreements
31. see Bell (n 1) ch 2.
32. See figures in text at III. A. below (there are peace agreements in 97 jurisdictions or interstate disputes, with the current number of states standing at around 192 (the number of UN members), depending on how states are classified).
33. Bell (n 1) 55-56 (for classification of peace agreements in these terms).
34. J Arnault, 'Good Agreement? Bad Agreement? An Implementation Perspective', Princeton, Center of International Studies, Princeton University, no date, www.stanford.edu/class/psych165/Arnault.doc [accessed 20 September 2010].
35. As Chinkin writes, 'The legitimacy of the implementing action derives from the peace agreement, which tends to acquire a weight and authority of its own. If a particular policy is not within the mandate specified by the agreement it may be hard to convince those implementing the agreement to address the issue.'
36. C Chinkin 'Peace Agreements as a Means for Promoting Gender Equality and Ensuring the Participation of Women' United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, EGM/PEACE/2003/BP.1, 31 October 2003 at 12. For recommendations regarding gender and peace agreements
37. see further United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, 'Peace Agreements as means for Promoting Gender Equality and Ensuring Participation of Women-A Framework of Model Provisions' Report of the Expert Group Meeting Ottawa, Canada 10-13 November 2003, 10 December 2003, New York, United Nations. UN Doc EGM/PEACE/2003/Report.
38. See further, C Bell, 'Peace Agreements: Their Nature and Legal Status' 100 American Journal of international Law 391-394.
39. See M Loughlin, Sword and Scales (Hart Publishing, Oxford, 1999).
40. A Dobrowolsky, 'Shifting States: Women's Constitutional Organizing Across Time and Space' in la Banaszak, K Beckwith, and D Rucht (eds), Women's Movements Facing the Reconfigured State (CUP, New York, 2005) 114-140.
41. See also A Dobrowolsky and V. Hart, Women Making Constitutions: New Politics and Comparative Perspectives (Palgrave McMillan, Houndsmill, Basingstoke & NY, 2003).
42. Dobrowolsky Women Making Constitutions: New Politics and Comparative Perspectives (Palgrave McMillan, Houndsmill, Basingstoke & NY, 2003)., 114 (referring to constitutions).
43. See H Martin, Kings of Peace, Pawns of War: the Untold Story of Peace-making (Continuum, London and New York, 2006), xi, noting that 99 per cent of those who negotiate in peace processes are male;
44. A Potter 'We the Women: Why Conflict Mediation is Not Just A Job for Men' (Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Geneva, 2005);
45. see also, UNIFEM Briefing Note, 'Women's Participation in Peace Negotiations: Connections between Presence and Influence' (April 2009) noting that out of 21 major peace processes since 1992, only 2.4 per cent of signatories were women, no women had been appointed Chief or Lead peace mediators in UN-Sponsored peace talks, and that women's participation in negotiating delegations averaged 5.9 per cent of the 10 cases for which such information was available, .
46. For the pilot of the database
47. see .
48. The dataset on peace agreement references on women and the UN is held in full at www.transitionaljustice.ulster.ac.uk/tji-database.html.
49. See C Bell and O'Rourke, 'The People's Peace? Peace Agreements, Civil Society, and Participatory Democracy' (2007) 28 International Political Science Review 293 (reviewing peace agreement references to civil society).
50. The two main websites are the UN Peacemaker website, which defines a peace agreement as 'Peace agreements are contracts intended to end or significantly transform a violent conflict so that it may be addressed more constructively'
51. and the USIP peace agreement digital library which defines a peace agreement as 'the full text of agreements signed by the major contending parties ending inter-and intra-state conflicts worldwide since 1989', .
52. A third definition is found in the Uppsala conflict database which states that 'A peace agreement should address the problem of the incompatibility, either by settling all or part of it, or by clearly outlining a process for how the warring parties plan to regulate the incompatibility', .
53. The definition of battle-related deaths used is taken from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program as: conflict behaviour between warring parties in the conflict dyad, which is directly related to the incompatibility, ie carried out with the purpose of realizing the goal of the incompatibility and result in deaths
54. see .
55. For an overview of civil war datasets and their categorization of 'civil war'
56. see K Eck, 'A Beginner's Guide to Conflict Data: Finding and Using the Right Dataset' Uppsala Conflict Data Program Paper .
57. See eg, L Harbom, S. Hogbladh and P. Wallensteen, 'Armed Conflict and Peace Agreements' (2006) 43 Journal of Peace Research 617.
58. See eg, L Harbom, S. Hogbladh and P. Wallensteen, 'Armed Conflict and Peace Agreements' (2006) 43 Journal of Peace Research 617.
59. We counted processes rather than conflict dyads because processes often address more than one conflict dyad simultaneously
60. (see eg Agreements in Burundi); counting by 'dyads' would therefore have led to double-counting of these processes. The Uppsala Conflict Data Program defines a dyad as 'two conflict units that are parties to a conflict. One of these units has to be an armed challenger while the other unit has to be the challenged one, for example; government vs opposition group or two alliances fighting each other (the alliance is connected by its position in the incompatibility) ', .
61. This last element of the coding is, we note, controversial as sexual violence should not be assumed to be directed against women only. However, many of the processes in which sexual violence is mentioned are ones where violence against women was an acknowledged feature of the conflict and where failure to code as a mention of women would be to fail to recognize that violence against women was the primary motivating factor for the provision.
62. See Cohn et al. (n 16) 138, quoting demands of women's organizations in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Boungainville and Fiji: 'Whatever the code words let us in! Peace-builder, decision-maker, whatever argument works, let us in! Let us in so we can wrestle with the discussion at least, contest the parameters, and react, in real time and not after the fact.'
63. The agreements are in Bougainville/Papua New Guinea and are referenced and discussed further below (n 82). In fact, research on the Bougainville process indicates a substantive 'women's process' although this often took place with little connection to the formal track one negotiations and peace agreements:
64. see Chinkin (n 21) 4.
65. See P Hayner, Negotiating Peace in Sierra Leone: Confronting the Justice Challenge (Geneva, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, International Centre for Transitional Justice, 2007) 17-18 (documenting the influence of human rights guidelines circulated by the UN Secretary General on the Sierra Leone Lomé Accord, 1999. These guidelines were only circulated to UN SG representatives in mid 1999, and were perhaps only drawn to the attention of his representative in Sierra Leone two days before the Lomé Accord was signed).
66. See further below (n 90).
67. The list of agreements draws on and incorporates but goes beyond other comprehensive collections. By way of comparison, at the time of writing the UN peacemaker collection had 376 peace agreements in 91 jurisdictions, while USIP has 129 agreements in 42 jurisdictions. However, our own records indicate that even our own collection is incomplete, for we have references for up to 60 additional agreements which we do not hold, but believe from authoritative sources (including references from within other peace agreements) to exist, but which are not publicly available. For the most part these include rather obscure 'repeat' agreements, and a large number of agreements in Chad/Libya.
68. These peace agreements were signed between 1 January 1990 and 1 May 2010. The figures relating to processes after 1325 include 24 processes which started before that date and continued after. In order to provide for the most accurate accounting of references to women these processes are included in both the before and the after tallies. Of post Resolution 1325 processes, only 20 were processes starting after that date.
69. The percentages relate to the percentage of agreements and processes in the relevant time period. as with table 1, the processes that were both pre-and post-Resolution 1325 are included in both before and after figures to provide for the most accurate reflection of changes.
70. The percentages relate to the total number of agreements in the relevant time period.
71. A logistic model was estimated with the dependent variable taking the value 1 if the agreement contained a reference to women, the value 0 if it did not and with the explanatory variable taking the value 1 if there was UN involvement in drafting the agreement, 0 if there was not. Estimating this model separately for pre-and post-Resolution 1325 agreements indicated that, for post-1325 agreements UN involvement had a significant positive influence on the likelihood of agreements making reference to women; for pre-1325 agreements, however, the likelihood of agreements making reference to women was not significantly affected by UN involvement. The statistical analysis demonstrated that the effectiveness of UN involvement, in terms of references to gender/women in agreements, could not be considered independently of whether or not Resolution 1325 was operating.
72. See A Jarstad and D. Nilsson, 'From Words to Deeds: The Implementation of Power-Sharing Pacts in Peace Accords' (2008) 25 Conflict Management and Peace Science 206.
73. See A Jarstad and D. Nilsson, 'From Words to Deeds: The Implementation of Power-Sharing Pacts in Peace Accords' (2008) 25 Conflict Management and Peace Science 215.
74. Bangladesh/Chittagong Hill Tract (B) 4 (a) and (C) 3-4, Agreement between the National Committee on Chittagong Hill Tracts Constituted by the Government and the Parbattya Chattagram Janasanghati Samity, 2 December 1997;
75. Burundi art 8, Accord de Partage de Pouvoir au Burundi (French) 6 August 2004;
76. India/Bodoland Para 4.2 Memorandum of Settlement on Bodoland Territorial Council, 10 February 2003;
77. Nepal art 9, Decisions of the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) Maoist Summit Meeting, 8 November 2006;
78. PNG/Bougainville art 11.1 of Constitution, art 33 of Transitional Provisions, Draft Basic Agreement Concerning the Bougainville Reconciliation Government, 24 December 1998;
79. Philippines/Mindanao art 25, Peace Agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front, 2 September 1996 (provision for 15 per cent sectoral representatives including from 'women');
80. Somalia: art IV, Addis Ababa Agreement conclude at the first Session of the Conference on National Reconciliation in Somalia, 27 March 1993;
81. art 29, The Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic, 29 January 2004;
82. art 5, Decision on the High Level Committee Djibouti Agreement, November 25, 2008.
83. Somalia (2004) Decision on the High Level Committee Djibouti Agreement.
84. S Nakaya, 'Women and Gender Equality in Peace Processes: from Women at the Negotiating Table to Postwar Structural Reforms in Guatemala and Somalia' (2003) 9 Global Governance 459, 468.
85. Afghanistan Chapter VI, Agreement on Provisional Arrangements in Afghanistan Pending the Reestablishment of Permanent Government Institutions (Bonn Agreement), 5 December 2001;
86. Burundi art 15 (16), Protocol 4, Chapter 3, art 13 (d), Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement for Burundi, 28 August 2000;
87. DRC: Chapter III (1), Global and Inclusive Agreement on Transition in the Democratic Republic of Congo (The Pretoria Agreement), 16 December 2002;
88. art 3b (iv), Inter-Congolese Negotiations: The Final Act (The Sun City Agreement), 2 April 2003;
89. Great Lakes: art 1 (11) and 3 (33), Dar-el Salaam Declaration on Peace, Security Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Regions, 20 November 2004;
90. Preamble, Protocol of Non-Aggression and Mutual Defence in the Great Lakes Region, November 30, 2006;
91. Guatemala: Preamble, Agreement on a Firm and Lasting Peace, 29 December 1996;
92. art 178, Agreement on the Implementation, Compliance and Verification Timetable for the Peace Agreements, 29 December 1996;
93. Liberia: art XXVII, Comprehensive Peace Agreement Between the Government of Liberia and the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) and Political Parties, 18 August 2003;
94. Mexico/Chiapas: Paragraph 5e, and III.5, Joint Proposals that the Federal Government and the EZLN agree to remit to the National Debating and Decision-Making Bodies in accordance with paragraph 1.4 of the Rules of Procedure, 16 February 1996;
95. PNG/Bougainville: art B.4.28, Bougainville Peace Agreement, 30 August 2001;
96. Sudan: art 1 (15), Darfur Peace Agreement, 5 May 2006;
97. arts 1 (2) and 7 (19), Chapter One, Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement, 14 October 2006;
98. Uganda: arts 2.1 (b) and 2.1 (f), Agreement on Comprehensive Solutions between the Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army/Movement, Juba, Sudan, 2 May 2007;
99. Zimbabwe: art 20, Agreement between the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the Two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Formations, on Resolving the Challenges Facing Zimbabwe, September 15, 2008.
100. Sudan (2006) Darfur, 2008.
101. Sudan: Protocol between the Government of the Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) on Power Sharing, May 26, 2004.
102. Bangladesh/Chittagong Hills Tract (1997) (n 46).
103. See E Rooney, 'Engendering Transitional Justice: Questions of Absence and Silence' (2007) 3 International Journal of Law and Context 93.
104. cf Nakaya's discussion of Somalia (n 48) 469-470 finding that breakthrough quotas for women failed at the level of implementation because 'the real decision making authority continues to rest within clans.'
105. Bangladesh/Chittagong Hills Tract (1997) (n 46);
106. India/Bodoland (2003) (n 46);
107. Guatemala: Agreement on the Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 31 March 1995;
108. Mexico/Chiapas: Protocole sur les principes de négociation en vue d'un accord de paix conclu par le Gouvernement et l'EZLN (Ejército zapatisa de liberación nacional), 11 September 1995;
109. Actions and Measures for Chiapas Joint Commitments and Proposals from the State and Federal Governments, and the EZLN, 17 January 1996;
110. Agreement on the Documents, 16 February 1996;
111. Commitments for Chiapas by the State and Federal Governments and the EZLN under Paragraph 1.3 of the Rules of Procedure, 16 February 1996;
112. Joint Declaration that the General Government and the EZLN shall submit to national debating and decision-making bodies, 16 February 1996;
113. Philippines/Mindanao Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain Aspect of the GRP-MILF Tripoli Agreement on Peace of 2001, 5 August 2008.
114. Great Lakes (2004) (n 49), para 35;
115. see also, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Annex 4, The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (The Dayton Agreement), 21 November 1995;
116. Burundi (2000) (n 49), Protocol I, art 5;
117. Cambodia: Annex 5, art 2, Agreement for a Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict, 23 October 1991;
118. Colombia arts 13 and 43, Political Constitution 1991;
119. Eritrea: Preamble, art 5, Constitutional Commission of Eritrea Draft Constitution, July 1996;
120. Fiji: art 5 (k), Constitution (Amendment) Act of 1997 of the Republic of the Fiji Islands, 25 July 1997;
121. Great Lakes: (2004) (n 49), Preamble, Paragraph 11, art 35;
122. (2006) (n 49), art 2;
123. Iraq: art 20, Constitution of Iraq, 2005;
124. Liberia (2003) (n 49), art XXXI (3);
125. Mexico/Chiapas: Actions and Measures (2006) (n 55), 'Guarantees of Access to Justice'; Commitments for Chiapas (1996) (n 55)
126. Commitment 1; art 5 (e)
127. Joint Proposals that the Federal Government and the EZLN agree to remit to the National Debating and Decision-making Bodies in Accordance with paragraph 1.4 of the Rules of Procedure, 16 February 1996;
128. Nepal: Preamble and art 3.5, Comprehensive Agreement concluded between the Government of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), 21 November 2006;
129. Preamble, 12-point Understanding between Parties and Maoists, 22 November 2005; (2006) (n 46) Preamble;
130. Philippines/NDF Part III, art 23, Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, 16 March 1998;
131. Somalia (2004) (n 46), art 26 (i);
132. South Africa: Preamble a, Declaration of Intent, 21 December 1991;
133. Sudan: Principles on Preamble, art 1.6, Machakos Protocol, 20 July 2002;
134. arts 2 and 3, Declaration of Principles for the Resolution of the Sudanese Conflict in Darfur, 5 July 2005;
135. (2004) (n 51), art 1.6.2.16;
136. Uganda: (2007) (n 49), arts 2 (1) (b), and (f), and 5;
137. art 5, Agreement on Implementation and Monitoring Mechanisms, February 29, 2008;
138. UK/NI Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity, Part 1, The Agreement Reached in Multi-Part Negotiations, 10 April 1998;
139. Zimbabwe (n 49) art 6.
140. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Annex, Washington Agreement, 1 March (1994);
141. (1995) (n 56) Annex 4;
142. DRC (2003) (n 49), Resolution No DIC/CPR/02 (cites Sudanese incorporation of CEDAW);
143. Great Lakes (2006) (n 49), art 35;
144. Guatemala: (1995) (n 55), B.1. (c);
145. B.13 (h), Agreement on the Social and Economic Aspects and Agrarian Situation, 6 May 1996;
146. Mexico/Chiapas (1996) Actions and Measures (n 55), 'Situation, Rights and Culture of Indigenous Women'.
147. Afghanistan Preamble, The Tashkent Declaration on Fundamental Principles for a Peaceful Settlement of the Conflict in Afghanistan, 19 July 1999;
148. Burundi (2000) (n 49), art 6;
149. DRC: art III, Act d'Engagement, Nord Kivu, 23 January 2008;
150. art III, Act d'Engagement, Sud Kivu, 23 January 2008;
151. Eritrea (1996), (n 56), art 7.2;
152. Great Lakes: (2004) (n 49), Preamble;
153. (2006) (n 49), art 3;
154. Preamble and art 8, Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region, 15 December 2006;
155. Guatemala: art 1. B, Agreement on the Social and Economic Aspects and Agrarian Situation, 6 May 1996;
156. Iraq: Preamble, UNSC1546, 8 June 2004;
157. Iraq: Preamble, art 30, Constitution of Iraq, 15 October 2005;
158. Mexico/Chiapas: (1995) (n 55), art 1 (1) (b);
159. (1996) (n 56), 'Situation on Rights and Cultures of Indigenous Women';
160. Nepal (2006) (n 56), art 7.6;
161. Sudan (2005) (n 56), Preamble;
162. UK/NI (1998) (n 56), 'Rights, Safeguards, and Equality of Opportunity'.