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UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820: constructing gender in armed conflict and international humanitarian law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2010

Amy Barrow
Amy Barrow
Affiliation:
Dr Amy Barrow is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
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Abstract

While the Geneva Conventions contain gender-specific provisions, the reality of women's and men's experiences of armed conflict have highlighted gender limitations and conceptual constraints within international humanitarian law. Judgements at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) ad hoc tribunals have gone some way towards expanding the scope of definitions of sexual violence and rape in conflict. More recent developments in public international law, including the adoption of Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 focused on women, peace and security, have sought to increase the visibility of gender in situations of armed conflict. This paper highlights important developing norms on women, peace and security. Although these norms are significant, they may not be radical enough to expand constructions of gender within international humanitarian law. This leaves existing provisions open to continued scrutiny.

Type
Women
Information
International Review of the Red Cross , Volume 92 , Issue 877: Women , March 2010 , pp. 221 - 234
Copyright
Copyright © International Committee of the Red Cross 2010

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References

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73 United Nations ‘Women, peace and security’ study submitted pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), New York: United Nations, 2002, para. 116. This is also evidenced in an annotated guide to SC Res. 1325 which fleshes out the provisions of the framework, ‘UNIFEM Security Council Resolution 1325: Annotated and explained’, UNIFEM, 22 September 2006, available at http://www.un.org.np/reports/UNIFEM/2006/2006-9-22-UNIFEM-sec-council-report-eng.pdf (last visited 8 February 2010).

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76 Ibid., Clause 8(a).

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78 SC Res. 1325, above note 14, Clause 9.

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