Resources on ARMED CONFLICT
Section e
"An environment that maintains world peace and promotes and protects human rights, democracy and the peaceful settlement of disputes, is an important factor for the advancement of women. Peace is inextricably linked with equality between women and men and development."
Beijing Platform for Action.
Websites and Electronic Resources
http://www.unifem.undp.org/gov_pax.htm
This UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) peace building and conflict resolution site outlines UNIFEM's programme to strengthen women’s participation in peace processes and encourage gender-sensitive approaches to peace building. Included are project highlights from Africa, Cambodia and El Salvador as well as upcoming conferences and networking tools.
http://www.wilpf.int.ch
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom was established in 1915 to eradicate the economic, political, social and psychological causes of war and to work for the elimination of the root causes of war and conflict. Having a long history of working on total and universal disarmament WILPF's UN Office launched the Reaching Critical Will project.
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org
An initiative of the UN office of The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Reaching Critical Will was set up to foster international NGO preparation for and participation in the 2000 Review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The website also provides organizing tools such as a message board and chat rink, an events calendar, NGO contacts, governmental disarmament contacts, factsheets and outreach materials.
PeaceWomen http://peacewomen.org
Under Construction. A new site that will contain information on the issues and activities of women peace activists worldwide.
http://www.gn.apc.org/warresisters/news/wriwomen.htm
The War Resisters International Women’s Working Group, recognizing the connections between war and violence against women, has formed a women’s working group that publishes a twice-yearly magazine, "WRI Women". Recent issues of this magazine are available at this site.
http://www.womenwagingpeace.net
The Women Waging Peace website provides information about the essential role and contribution of women in preventing violent conflict, stopping war, reconstructing ravaged societies, and sustaining peace in fragile areas around the world.
http://www.wand.org
Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND) is a grassroots, US organization with members in all fifty states which seeks to empower women to act politically, to reduce militarism and violence and to redirect excessive military resources toward human and environmental needs. The website offers women a number of opportunities to take action in the fields of disarmament and women's empowerment.
http://www.ifor.org/fsub1/fwpp.htm
The International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) Women Peace- makers Program (WPP) seeks to support and empower women peace activists locally and globally. This website describes the programme and provides information about nonviolence training for women. In addition, WPP publications are available on-line.
http://www.interlog.com/~vow/
The Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW), founded in 1960, works locally, nationally and internationally to promote peace, social justice, human rights and development. VOW sponsors a number of events including nonviolence training and the peace website provides links to other national and international NGOs. A 'Women and a Culture of Peace' kit can be ordered on site.
http://www.batshalom org
This is the website of Bat Shalom, a women’s centre in West Jerusalem, and the site includes a "Jerusalem Link" that links it to another women’s centre in East Jerusalem known as Marcaz al-Quds la I-Nissah. The Jerusalem Link was formed as a result of an ongoing dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian women which began in May 1989. Activities deal with the practical needs of women and also seek to increase the number of women supporting the peace process and to provide political education for women.
http://www.womenscommission.org
The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children is one of the leading advocacy and expert resource organizations speaking out on behalf of refugee and displaced women, children and adolescents around the world. Find out more about their advocacy campaigns, country and regional facts and figures, their refugee reports of countries in crisis, and the latest breaking refugee news!
http://www.theirc.org
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a leading non-sectarian, voluntary organization providing relief, protection and resettlement services for refugees and victims of violent conflict. IRC accomplishes its mission through national and international advocacy and by providing hands on assistance in resettlement, health and training services. Their web site gives easy access to IRC’s programs all over the world as well as particular regional/country information. Highlights include a newsroom and an online refugee reference library.
http://www.churchworldservice. org
The Church World Service comprises of 35 American religious institutions partnered with indigenous churches and organizations in more than 80 countries worldwide to assist in disaster and emergency relief to refugees. This site is a resource gold-mine, containing reliable information about emergency situations, children’s games, organizational links, field reports, and free services/tools for you or your organization.
http://www.unhcr.ch
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has a website full of information concerning refugees and crisis/emergency situations around the globe. You will be able to find the latest statistics, news, UN programmes and fundraising, refugee issues, resettlement information, photos and publications. When you visit this site, be sure to visit in particular their REFWORLD (a reference library) and maps. In French, Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean, English and Polish.
http://www.un.org/special-rep/children-armed-conflict/mainIndex.html
This website of the UN Special Representative for the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict will keep you abreast of the latest UN debates and meetings on issues of armed conflict as well as any UN resolutions and international law concerning this issue. In English, Spanish, and French.
http://www.icbl.org
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) accomplishes its mission by monitoring the mine ban treaty, through advocating local and international governments and organizations, acting as a resource center and distributor, and serving as a networking nexus between public and private organizations working on this issue. Invaluable links, cutting edge news articles, original reports and its resource/document centre will make this site one you will visit again and again.
http://www.reliefweb.int
ReliefWeb, a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, (OCHA), serves as an information highway of breaking news, UN initiatives, and a reference/resource center of countries and regions in emergency situations. Well designed and user friendly, you will be able to cruise through this stockpile of information to find what you need on financial tracking, background information, daily updates, and resources.
http://www.icrc.org/eng/women
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) performs humanitarian missions by directing and coordinating international relief activities in situations of conflict. The Red Cross has a women and war program which includes raising awareness of war on women’s lives. Visit this site to gain a perspective on ICRC’s reports and initiatives for women during and after wartime. In English, French, and Spanish.
http://www.iansa.org
The International Action Network on Small Arm’s (IANSA) mission is to facilitate NGO action aimed at preventing the proliferation and misuse of small arms. Using a holistic (economic, political, legal and cultural) approach, IANSA’s website is a clearinghouse of news, alerts, resources, and government documents about small arms/light weapons issues.
http://www.refugeenet.org
Refugeenet is a resource of information and ideas related to the integration of refugees in Europe. Sponsored by European Union networks, Refugeenet develops issue-oriented networks on refugee integration themes such as education, employment, vocational training, health, housing and community integration. Wonderful links of organizations who provide services to refugees. In English, French and German.
Selected Books
Many of these publications can be ordered online at http://www.womenink.org
Assault On the Soul, Women in the Former Yugoslavia
Sara Sharratt and Ellyn Kaschak (Eds.)
This powerful collection brings together the voices and perspectives of attorneys and Justices involved with the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague; the founder of the Women’s Autonomous Centre in Belgrade; and mental health professionals who worked with survivors of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia.
1999. 176 pages. US$19.95
Common Grounds, Violence Against Women in War and Armed Conflict Situations
Indai Lourdes Sajor (Ed.)
This book reveals the global dimensions of the problems faced by women living in situations of armed conflict. It offers case studies, analyses and recommendations by scholars, scientists, researchers and women activists at the Inter-national Conference on Violence Against Women in War and Armed Conflict Situations (Tokyo, Japan, October 30-November 3, 1997).
1998. 358 pages. US$17.50
Gender Violence, The Hidden War Crime
Women, Law and Development International
This book explores which international, regional and national mechanisms protect civilian women against sexual violence against women during armed conflicts; why women find difficulty in getting access to an effective legal recourse procedure; and what improvements are necessary to prevent, and protect women from, state violence.
1998. 133 pages. US$10.00
The Space Between Us: Negotiating Gender and National Identities in Conflict
Cynthia Cockburn
Cockburn brings fresh insight to theories of gender in nationalist thought and practice, and reveals the political acts that are needed to build and sustain democratic societies, based on her work with women’s projects in Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine and Bosnia/ Herzegovina.
1998. 247 pages. US$25.00
States of Conflict: Gender, Violence and Resistance
Susie Jacobs, Ruth Jacobson and Jennifer Marchbank (Eds.)
Through case studies and articles, the contributors deliver insightful analyses on gendered violence in order to make connections between global processes, conflicts at the state and community levels and those taking place among households and individuals. They emphasise women’s agency in both creating and challenging conflict at different levels and across national and social spaces.
2000. 246 pages. WE505V. US$25.00
Towards a Women’s Agenda for a Culture of Peace
Ingeborg Breines, Dorota Gierycz and Betty Reardon (Eds.)
This excellent publication shows how indispensable women’s visions, intelligence, energy and experience are to the peace process. It analyses issues and problems of women’s roles in times of war as well as in peace; reviews peace and security policies and practices from a gender perspective; assesses women’s initiatives for peace; and calls for a new equilibrium based on gender equality.
1999. 265 pages. WE 502V. ISBN 92-3-103559-2. US$17.50
What Women Do in Wartime, Gender and Conflict in Africa
Meredith Turshen and Clotilde Twagiramariya (Eds.)
A mixture of reportage, testimony and selected scholarship, this book describes and analyses the experiences of women in Chad, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa and Sudan. The political context of these conflicts is outlined in an introduction to each chapter. It profiles women’s responses to war as combatants as well as victims and describes the action that women are taking for change.
1998. 180 pages. US$19.95
Women and Peacebuilding, Essays on Human Rights and Democratic Development #8
Dyan E. Mazurana and Susan R. McKay
This book not only gives visibility to women’s peacebuilding work, but also argues that their approaches in response to violent conflict are key elements to the attainment of human security and peace. It documents and analyzes a diverse range of peace-building polices and projects from grassroots organizations, NGOs and the United Nations.
1999. 116 pages. US$11.95
Women at the Peacetable, Making a Difference,
Sanam Naraghi Anderlini
This book traces women's involvement in peace-building from grassroots community activism to formal political negotiations. It offers examples of concrete ways women have harnessed these agreements to advance the peace agenda at national and international levels.
2000, 64 pages. Free from UNIFEM
Many of these publications can be ordered online at http://www.womenink.org