A UN Security Council (UNSC) motion, proposed by the Russian Federation, that threatened to undo the work of the previous 10 resolutions concerning “Women, Peace and Security”, has been defeated after failing to gain the minimum nine votes required for its adoption.
The resolution was proposed just a few days before the 20th anniversary of the first UNSC resolution (resolution 1325) that recognised women’s unique and disproportionate experience of conflict, with many rights activists stating its imposition could unravel the rights of women in conflict zones.
Those opposing the Russian motion said its adoption would weaken commitment to resolution 1325, which the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has previously described as showing:
“how women and a gender perspective are relevant to negotiating peace agreements, planning refugee camps and peacekeeping operations and reconstructing war-torn societies for sustainable peace.”
The results of the email vote on the resolution were 5-0, supported by Russia, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and South Africa, with 10 countries: the United States, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Germany, Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tunisia all deciding to abstain.
The response from the international community has been extremely critical of the Russian attempt to “water down” UN commitments to the rights of women in conflict.
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, said: “We will not accept any backsliding on this vital agenda and are working with our partners to ensure the resolution upholds the progress made on women’s rights over the last 20 years.”
Kelly Craft, the US ambassador to the United Nations, reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to the preservation of the rights of women in conflict in a statement released on twitter, saying:
“By abstaining on Russia’s draft resolution, the U.S. shows its determination to defend Resolution 1325 and twenty years of progress in strengthening the role of women in peace and security… Today we join nine fellow Council Members in taking a firm stand to protect this critical agenda from attack by the Russian Federation & the People’s Republic of China”
Germany’s UN ambassador, Christoph Heusgen, was also vocal in his criticism of the proposed resolution, stating “the adequate reflection of the critical role of civil society, women peacebuilders and human rights defenders” were not reflected in the Russian draft and reiterating the need for “action and implementation…not more words.”
This is reflected by the fact that from 1992 to 2019 only 13 percent of negotiators, 6 percent of mediators, and 6 percent of signatories to peace agreements were women, despite the imposition of 10 relevant UNSC resolutions during this period.
In a joint statement, the CARE USA CEO Michelle Nunn, and CARE International Secretary General Sofia Sprechmann, commended the abstaining UNSC members, saying:
“The strong show of support by two-thirds of the Security Council membership today sends a clear message to the international community: that women’s and girls’ human rights will not be traded away in backroom deals”
The Global Justice Center was also outspoken in its praise of those who abstained, with Grant Shubin, the organisation’s legal director saying:
“Every country who withheld its vote for this unnecessary and dangerous resolution should be applauded. The women, peace and security agenda are anchored in human rights and this resolution could have turned back the clock on 20 years of progress.”
However, the Russian UN ambassador and current UNSC President, Vassily Nebenzia, maintained that the defeated draft preserved and urged implementation of the previous 10 resolutions; dismissing claims that the proposed draft would have weakened the rights of women in conflict as “not true.”