Women from Around the World Condemn the Election- related Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

January 12, 2012

The International Civil society Action Network and the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders condemn the election-related violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UK newspaper, The Guardian reported that at least 20 people have already been killed in election-related violence. Various groups have documented election irregularities from different provinces in the DRC including insufficient ballots, lack of security, destructions of polling stations and last minute replacement of electoral personnel. International election observers have questioned the credibility of the results while the two main candidates, incumbent Joseph Kabila and rival Etienne Tshisekedi both declare themselves winners. Congolese police have launched a crackdown in Kinshasa, forcing the people of Kinshasa and in particular  Congolese youth to remain in their homes.  More recently, members of President Kabila’s Republican Guard beat women who were demonstrating in front of the US embassy against the election irregularities.

Some women peace activists have been receiving phone treats and are verbally abused on the streets. This is a clear attempt to intimidate women’s organizations and civil society groups who are working to build peace and promote human rights and justice.

We stand in support of all women’s groups and civil society organizations demanding a peaceful resolution of the election–related conflict. We support the Cadre Permanent de Concertation de la Femme Congolaise (CAFCO)’s calls for:

• The Independent National Electoral Commission to publish the election results in detail and ensure transparency of the elections;
• The Candidates and political parties to resort to legal means to settle election disputes;
• The Congolese population to demonstrate maturity and good citizens’ behavior and practice a culture of respect, peace and justice; and
• The National Police to carry out their duty of protecting citizens with professionalism and accountability.

We call on regional institutions such as the African Union and the international community to assist the DRC in preventing post-election conflicts and provide all possible forms of support to ensure a fully democratic process. In accordance with UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions we also call on all international actors including the United Nations, European Union and others, to send envoys in order to keep tensions between the opposing political parties from escalating  and assist them in creating opportunities for negotiation, help create peace accords, and possibly bring the two conflicting groups together. We also strongly urge that all envoys or missions dispatched to the DRC have structured and systematic interaction with women and civil society organizations to benefit from the perspectives we offer and ensure that our concerns are addressed and we are included in the resolution of this crisis.

Organizations

1. Afghan Women’s Network – Afghanistan
2. African Women’s Active Nonviolence Initiatives for Social Change (AWANICh) – Ghana
3. Asia Pacific Women’s Watch – Regional
4. Asian Circle 1325 – Philippines
5. Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) – International
6. Center for Women in Governance (CEWIGO) – Uganda
7. Centro de Education e Investigacion para la Paz (CEIPAZ) – Spain
8. Corporación de Investigación y Acción Social y Económica (CIASE) – Colombia
9. Democracy  FAFI(Federation des Associations des Femmes Ivoiriennes aux USA) – USA
10. FemLINKPacific – Fiji
11. Feminist Scholar Activists for Demilitarization – USA/International
12. Fokus – Norway
13. Fountain ISOKO for Good Governance and integrated Development – Burundi
14. Global Action to Prevent War
15. Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (Netherlands/International)
16. IMPACT – Nigeria
17. International Institute on Peace Education
18. Institute for International Women’s Rights at the University of Winnipeg Global College – Canada
19. International Peace Research Association
20. Kenya Human Rights Commission
21. Kitgum Women’s Peace Initiative – Uganda
22. Kvinna till Kvinna – Sweden
23. Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas – Colombia
24. Lira Rural Women & Children Development Initiative Survivors’ Shelter (LIRWOCDI) – Uganda
25. Middle East and North Africa Partnership for Preventing of Armed Conflict (MENAPPAC)
26. Miriam College Center for Peace Education – Philippines
27. MOSIFA (Motherland Sisters Islamic Foundation in America) – New York, USA
28. Mothers for Active Nonviolence – Ghana
29. National African Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Network (NAIRWN) – USA
30. National Organization of Women (NOW) – Sierra Leone
31. National Peace Academy – USA
32. Observatorio Género Democracia y Derechos Humanos – Colombia
33. Peace Women Partners – Philippines
34. Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy
35. Permanent Peace Movement – Lebanon
36. Red Nacional de Mujeres – Colombia
37. Rural Women Peace Link – Kenya
38. Rwanda Women’s Network (RWN) – Rwanda
39. Saathi – Nepal
40. SAMANATA-Institute for Social and Gender Equality – Nepal
41. Terah Against Terror
42. Teso Women Peace Activists (TEWPA) – Uganda
43. The 1325 Network of Finland
44. The Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice – USA
45. Ulu Women Economic Development and Globalization (GWED-G) – Northern Uganda
46. United to End Genocide – USA
47. United Women for Peace and Social Promotion
48. Voice of the Voiceless – Liberia
49. WO=MEN Dutch Gender Platform
50. Women Allies Peacebuilders Network – Burundi
51. Women in Black – Belgrade, Serbia
52. Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET) – Liberia
53. Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET) – Nigeria
54. Women Integrated Initiative For Development (WIIDE) Kapchorwa – Uganda
55. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom – International
56. Women Peace Initiatives (WOPI-U) – Uganda
57. Women’s Peace Centre – Burundi

Please note that the names of the Congolese organizations endorsing this statement have been left out for safety reasons

Individuals

1. Cerue Garlo – Liberia
2. Betsy Kawamura, Women4NonViolence – Norway
3. Maud Edgren-Schori – Sweden
4. Mahima Achuthan – USA
5. Renee Black – Canada
6. Lindora Howard-Diawara – Liberia
7. Aude Plassard – France
8. Shirley Randall; Director, Centre for Gender Culture and Development,  Kigali – Rwanda
9. Mama Koite; Vice President du Conceil Economique  Social et Culturel de L’Union Africaine /ECOSOCC/UA
10. Solange Woodson – United States

Statement on the US National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security
December 20 2011

The International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) and its partner programme, the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) applaud the Government of the United States for the adoption of the 2011 National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and related Executive Order. We congratulate the United States for joining the family of nations that have embraced and adopted this agenda, and look forward to comprehensive US action across national and multilateral entities.

ICAN/GNWP’s mission – similar to the simple yet profound goal of the US NAP – is to recognize, support and elevate the voices and contributions of women active in the promotion of peace, security, social justice, rights and democracy in countries affected by conflict, transition and closed political space. Our partners are self-empowered, courageous and committed individuals, leaders in civil society, who are often doing the peace work that neither international actors nor their own governments can undertake. In its implementation of the national action plan, we hope that the United States will ensure that mediation, peace making and peacebuilding processes include systematic and structured engagement with such actors, so these processes benefit from the wealth of experience and dedication they offer.

We also hope the potential magnitude of this plan is appreciated across the United States government. The resolution of violent conflict and peaceful transformation away from authoritarianism toward open societies remain the most elusive challenges for the international community. The women, peace and security agenda offers an important roadmap for sustainable peacemaking and preventive work. This agenda is not about making wars safe for women, it is about ending the horrendous practice of warfare entirely.

It offers a framework for the inclusion of active nonviolent positive agents of change on equal footing alongside the spoilers and armed actors, in the critical discussion around peace, security and power. It is a transformative agenda and we look forward to invigorated US leadership at home, and partnership at the United Nations and in other regional bodies where the US is present.

As the process takes shape we hope that bureaucratic markers of progress do not impede or replace actual progress and practice in crisis contexts. We look forward to seeing the US NAP come to life vis-à-vis US engagement in the Middle East, the Arab Spring, across Africa, Asia, Latin America and beyond.

We also offer one poignant thought: Where would we be, if such a plan had been adopted and implemented for the past decade? How many lives could have been saved? What lost opportunities for peacemaking could have been salvaged? This plan must be put into action immediately. In the next decade, its current promise must turn into reality.

ICAN/GNWP for women’s rights, peace and security
technical expertise, capacity development, localized knowledge and – always – independent perspectives

AFGHAN WOMEN’S DECLARATION
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN IN BONN
05 December 2011
PREAMBLE

1. On 23rd November 2011, the Afghan Women’s Network (AWN) consulted 500 women
leaders representing 500,000 women from more than 20 provinces of Afghanistan.  Their
recommendations and perspectives on issues of national and international interest are
incorporated in this Declaration. This Consultation was the culmination of AWN’s year-
long mobilization and advocacy campaign for women’s inclusion during the Bonn
process and beyond.

2. The Afghan women who participated in this consultation reaffirmed their support for the
international community’s long term engagement in Afghanistan, and emphasized that
Afghan women’s achievements of the past 10 years should be promoted and
strengthened through the commitments of Afghan government and the international
community at the Bonn Conference.

3. Afghan women are not where we were in 2001. Over the past ten years, we have
struggled, fought and earned our achievements with the support of the Afghan
government and its international allies.  From a position of virtual oblivion in 2001, over
4 million young girls are attending schools and higher education institutes today.
Seventeen percent of civil servants across the country are women, who actively
contribute to national reconstruction and economic development. The women who hold
over 25% of seats in parliament daily assert the need for accountability and transparency
mechanisms in a reformed governance structure and hundreds of women organizations
are striving to end violence and discrimination against women and girls in the most
remote valleys of the country1.

4. Afghan women affirm that our future can and must evolve in a different Afghanistan
from the past, in which our daughters and their daughters will be able to actively engage
in peace building and nation building in an equitable environment. This optimism,
expressed by most of the women during this consultation and particularly from South
and South Western regions, is the source of our strength, perseverance, and pride.   This
declaration is our testament to that belief.

5. The women who participated in the consultation process stated their appreciation for
the leadership and mobilization of women activists and groups under the Afghan
Women’s Network (AWN).  They expressed their strong support for the
recommendations outlined in the Afghan Women Position Paper, launched by AWN in
October 2011.  They stand in solidarity with their sisters, who will be participating on
their behalf at the International Conference on Afghanistan in Bonn on 05 December,
2011.

The Women’s Declaration
6. We, the women of Afghanistan, demand from our elected government a confirmation
of its plans and commitments in protecting and promoting women’s human rights
during the transition and post-transition processes. We expect to see more practical
measures implemented by the government to comply with its human rights obligations as
enshrined in the Afghan Constitution.
WOMEN & GOOD GOVERNANCE

7. Afghan women call upon our government and its international allies to strengthen
measures against the widespread corruption and embezzlement within the
government system.  This corruption is the one of the main obstacles working against
women’s inclusion and participation in leadership and decision making. Our experiences
reveal that the lack of transparency and accountability in national flagship programs, and
processes such as peace and reintegration, have obstructed our inclusion and participation
in governance at the national and provincial levels.

8. The focus of the Afghan government has been much on the political aspects of peace
and transition processes with little on governance reform and service delivery. Tribal
commanders and middlemen peace brokers mainly control provincial government
functions. These elements have previous records of women’s rights violations.
Communities fearing these elements don’t allow their daughters to continue their
education and work.  We call for a dedicated and forthright effort by our Government
to end these abuses.

WOMEN & TRANSITION
9. Afghan women demand that women’s security become a measurable indicator of
transition monitoring and evaluation. Women from the first round of transition
provinces confirm that their mobility has been impacted – in particular, in provinces such
as Laghman. In some areas, female government employees have been threatened.  We
fear that women in provinces yet more debilitated by conflict will experience these trends
more acutely as transition progresses across the country.

10. Afghan women call for a systematic approach to consultation with women in
communities and women groups before and during the transition process, to ensure our
voices and perspectives are part of the implementation and monitoring of transition.

11. Afghan women firmly believe that a strong rule of law and accountable justice
system will provide the best remedy for the increasing lack of trust among Afghan
citizens and their government.  We believe that widespread corruption has paralyzed the
rule of law, mostly in provincial government functions. Afghan women should be given
the chance to participate in leading a concerted effort to strengthen the rule of law, with
more women in the judiciary and in the Supreme Court Executive Council.

WOMEN & PEACE AND REINTEGRATION

12. Afghan women consider peace and reconciliation to be a critical means to end
violence and instability. A long lasting peace in Afghanistan requires national dialogue
and national consensus building, and our contributions in household and community
conflict resolution put us in a strong position to lead and manage a national dialogue
towards national reconciliation. If the legacies of civil war and internal unrest are
addressed through an inclusive, Afghan-led process, we believe Afghans will become
more united to confront insurgency.

13. Afghan women call for a high standard of transparency in the reintegration
process. Our experiences indicate that insurgents who are reintegrated in our
communities take advantage of reintegration packages and power sharing deals while
their families are far away in the neighboring countries. Therefore, the reintegration
process should become a community-based initiative in which insurgents reintegrate
together with their families. This way, community members will monitor their post-
reintegration activities as well.

14. Afghan women demand a 25% quota of women on the High Peace Council and
Provincial Peace Councils. In most provinces, the only female representative is a
government employee.

WOMEN & THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENT TO AFGHANISTAN

15. Afghan women appeal to the international community to strengthen and continue
supporting women’s groups and civil society organizations during the transition
process and beyond. Women’s groups and civil society organizations are the main agents
of change and inclusive democracy in Afghanistan.

16. Afghan women believe that Afghanistan urgently needs national security forces
whose capabilities and qualifications extend beyond counter-insurgency to include
law and order, community safety, and safeguarding women and children from abuse.
Significant investments should be made to strengthen these aspects of their training and
overall responsibilities.

17. Women’s Rights Defenders and Human Rights Activists are at an increasing level of
threat as political settlements take shape in Afghanistan.  Afghan women call on the
United Nations and International Human Rights Organizations to formulate
emergency and long-term protection strategies to support Women’s Rights
Defenders at risk.

18. Afghan Women further appeal to Islamic countries to promote improvements in
Afghan women’s skills and expertise in Islamic law and jurisprudence in their
development and diplomatic engagements in Afghanistan. These skills and qualifications
are necessary for Afghan women to work in high level positions in the judiciary.

For more information, please contact: awn.kabul@gmail.com, +93 (0) 700 286 598

1 These figures are based on estimates from the government and Afghanistan Independent Civil Service Commission.