Fuente: © European Parliament
http://www.europarl.eu.int/

EU: Women in front line of armed conflicts

/noticias.info/ The tragic situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and sexual violence were the main issues discussed at a hearing on women in armed conflicts held jointly by the EP development and women's rights committees on Tuesday. More consistent implementation of UN Resolution 1325 by the Member States and a European strategy were among the proposals made by MEPs.

Marie-Arlette Carlotti (PES, FR) said that women are in the front line because conflicts are often civil wars. "Nowadays 90% of the casualties are civilians, mainly women and children, because of their social status and their gender". "Increasingly, rape and sexual violence are becoming tactics of war. We must move from words to deeds", she added, stressing that international humanitarian law is often a dead letter.

International humanitarian law is intended to "reduce suffering in armed conflicts" by distinguishing between civilians and combatants, explained Florence Tercier of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Nevertheless, "there are women who take up arms, some forced to do so, some not", she acknowledged.

Grace Lula Hamba of the League of Women for the Development and Education in Democracy (DRC) said that women were regarded as "trophies, war booty and the warrior's prize" in the conflict raging in Kivu since 1996.

Luisa Morgantini (GUE/NGL, IT) emphasised that "accumulated violence in armed conflicts often leads to domestic violence" in the post-conflict period when women have an important role to play.

Recommendations

"The EU's development programmes deal with gender equality and the problems of armed conflicts separately", acknowledged Dubravka Sekoranja, speaking on behalf of the Council Presidency-in-Office. "The EU has a range of tools and policies but it needs a global strategy", she added. "To improve the EU's response to armed conflicts, the Slovene presidency has requested a study that will be used as a discussion document for a debate at the Council in May".

"Precisely because international law must not remain a dead letter, the Spanish government has implemented a national action plan based on UN Resolution 1325 on "women, peace and security". At present, only 6 EU Member States out of 27 have applied this resolution", said Silvia Escobar, ambassador for human rights issues at the Spanish foreign ministry. Ana Gomes (PES, PT) urged the Slovene presidency "to call on the Member States to apply this resolution".

"Women in armed conflicts must be seen both as victims but also as actors in conflict prevention", was the view of Anja Ebnöther of Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), who criticised the low number of women in the police and army.

According to Kasereka Lusi, director of the organisation HEAL Africa in the DRC, "the EU must play a role on the international stage to restore peace". He called for "zero tolerance of sexual violence". And although the law exists to punish such crimes, "an effective judicial system is often lacking".

Winding up the debate, Anna Záborska (EPP-ED, SK), chair of the Women's Rights Committee, urged that the next EU presidencies follow up the study commissioned by Slovenia. She also called for concrete, targeted EU aid for women who are victims of sexual violence to ensure that "zero tolerance is not just a slogan". notas_de_prensa_archivo