Practicing Women, Peace and Security in Post-Conflict Reconstruction in International Law and Post-Conflict Reconstruction Policy

Abstract

The advent of what is now referred to as the women, peace and security agenda (WPS), consisting of seven resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council, brought with it great expectations. The resolutions created hope that approaches to addressing armed conflict and post-conflict reconstruction would tackle entrenched gendered bias against women and become equitably reflective of the gendered economic, political and social justice concerns of both women and men. Since their adoption however, scholars and activists have critiqued the gaps that remain in securing implementation of the resolutions. As a chapter in a volume examining International Law and Post-Conflict Reconstruction Policy, this paper examines the tensions that arise between the potential gains that can be made for women under this framework, and the limited ways in which the resolutions have been conceptually developed and since inception, implemented. Through the example of Liberia’s National Action Plan on women, peace and security, this chapter examines the pros and cons of a bureaucratic translation of an international law instrument into a state-level administrative policy tool. The chapter highlights that such processes should be practically oriented towards tackling the root causes of the obstacles faced by women - the gender inequalities that pre-empted the conflict and endure in its aftermath.

Keywords: gender equality, women, peace and security, UN Security Council, Liberia, violence against women, Resolution 1325, feminist legal theory