NEWS
Friday, October 19th at 2:30 PM
New York City
777 United Nations Plaza (2nd Floor) on the corner of 44th St. and 1st Ave.
Join us for a memorable afternoon of award presentation and responses by authors and illustrators. Come meet and talk with the honored guests, including Award winners Winifred Conkling, Susan L. Roth, and Cindy Trumbore and honorees Anna Grossnickle Hines, Calvin Alexander Ramsey, John Holyfield, Bettye Stroud, Kadir Nelson, and Thannha Lai. Enjoy a reception, hosted by The Hastings Peace and Justice Fund, and an opportunity for book signing after formal presentation of the awards. All the award books will be available for purchase. View the 2012 Jane Addams Book Award winners and honors announcement here.
The Advancing Human Rights Issue Committee has established a new working group on Human Trafficking.
By Robin Lloyd, Chair of Development Committee
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| Petra Totterman Andorff, International Coordinator for WILPF International, and former Secretary-General of WILPF SWEDEN talks from the Gathering in Vermont via Skype with the WILPF California cluster, sharing international's plans for the celebration of WILPF's 100th anniversary in 2015. |
Women fundraiser activists are needed for our expanding Development Committee! As our 100th anniversary approaches we are overflowing with ideas for building awareness of our Centennial, and reaching out to new members and donors. We are excited that our two projects that bring young women and WILPF members to the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women are moving forward, and see the occasion of the CSW in February 1213 as an opportunity to formally launch our Campaign for the 100th. Secretary General Madeleine Rees and a committee from the Dutch section is planning an International Celebration and Conference on Women, Peace and Security for April, 2015 at the Hague, Holland, at the location of the first Women’s Peace Conference in 1915 that tried to stop World War 1.
What will we be doing here in the US? Could branch historians interview older members and develop branch histories for inclusion on our new website? Could we put special emphasis on the 99th year, and plan projects for that year to raise money for members to attend to celebration in the Hague? Could we approach supporters and celebrities who would commit to being a Sponsor through our centennial year? Its also important to develop funders for our issue committees. We need your ideas and help! Our conference calls are on the second Thursday of every month at 3 pm (Eastern). Please email Robin Lloyd at robinlloyd8@gmail.com if you would like to get involved.
by Anne Hoiberg, UN SCR 1325 Subcommittee
From September 26-28, 146 women peacemakers and peacebuilders gathered at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice in San Diego for its fifth international conference, “Breaking Barriers--What it will take to achieve security, justice, and peace.” To be confronted in conference deliberations are the barriers impeding women’s progress: militarism, patriarchy, corruption, gender-based violence, impunity, and misogyny. This enews report summarizes conference presentations and recommendations subsumed under the categories of challenges related to security, justice, and peacebuilding.
Challenges to Security, Justice, and Peace
Although gender-based instruments related to security have been adopted by U.N. member states, this acceptance does not guarantee implementation or security. Reports connecting gender-based violence to arms trade and disarmament agreements have been ignored as has the shifting of militarism funds to meeting human needs. Challenges to justice center on women’s limited access to courts as well as to transitional and transformative justice. Peace can only be achieved if the barriers of patriarchy and militarism are broken.
Recommendations to the U.N., national government agencies, civil society organizations Security: appoint more Gender Advisors; involve more men in gender work; increase women’s political participation; protect populations from mass atrocities; integrate women’s perspectives into prevention and protection mechanisms; arrange for disarmament and trade specialists to work with UN Women and CEDAW committee members to incorporate gender issues in agreements; allocate funds from militarism to meet human needs; and foster women’s access to technology, education, media, and networking
Justice: educate women about their rights and law systems, help them gain access to justice, compensation, and reparation; encourage women to seek justice in all courts, protected from harm and stigma; increase women’s participation in courts as judges or legal experts; transfer government funds from militarism to law enforcement and the judiciary; provide government funds for women’s leadership training; end corruption; and adopt the 4P and 3R paradigms to end human trafficking and protect victims
Peacebuilding: approach foundations to fund research on women peacebuilding; develop means to end patriarchy, prevent the privatization of the military; end the arms trade and all elements of militarization (e.g., abolish nuclear weapons); encourage mothers to stop their children from becoming soldiers; create a cohesive message about the society that we want; and support peace women—they never give up
WILPF’s Secretary-General, Madeleine Rees, reminded the conferees that women through their NGOs should raise their voice to power to inform their governments of women’s human rights laws and resolutions, instruments to be used to achieve what women want: security, justice, and peace. “We can do it.”
Image: Rebecca Gerome, speaking. Seated: Sarah Taylor, Petra Totterman Andorff, Nadine Puechguirbal, and Lt. Col. Jesus Ignacio Gil Ruiz
By the WILPF-DC Branch
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| Friday, September 28, New York: WILPF-DC members Isabel Macdonald and Shirley Pate, showing support for Guinean victims as they demand justice after a brutal massacre and mass rapes |
On September 28, the third anniversary of a terrible massacre in Guinea, which included mass rapes of women, WILPF-DC members, Isabel Macdonald and Shirley Pate, joined Guineans from the Washington area to participate in a protest in New York to demand justice for the victims. The event was sponsored by a U. S.-based Guinean human rights group, Pottal-Fii-Bhantal Fouta Dajllon. WILPF-DC is working with this group to inform the public about this atrocity and to enlist support from other organizations and individuals who wish to help in their struggle for justice.
Background
The September 28, 2009, massacre shocked the world. Opposition demonstrators opposed to a military junta which had taken over the country a year before converged at a soccer stadium in the country’s capital, Conakry, to hold a rally. Suddenly, all exits were shut and military soldiers, gendarmes, police, and Liberian mercenaries entered the stadium attacking in all directions. Old men were shot as they were down on their knees praying and women were raped openly on the soccer field; many were sexually abused with rifle barrels. Opposition leaders in the stands were attacked as well, some knocked unconscious. One leader, severely injured, only survived because he played dead. When the attackers began to leave, they dragged women to military trucks and took them to rape houses where many were kept for days.
When it was all over, at least 160 were dead, over 100 women were raped, and at least 1200 were injured. The attack was ethnic in nature. Often attackers approached the women and asked them if they were of the Peul ethnic group. If the answer was yes, they were raped.
For more information on the massacre, please see Human Rights Watch’s excellent report, Bloody Monday.
Current Status
The massacre investigation continues to languish in Guinean courts where it has been for three years. The International Criminal Court, and international human rights groups have criticized Guinea for not producing solid indictments. This past Friday, September 28, the United Nations issued a statement critical of Guinea for lack of progress in the case. The text of the statement follows:
Statement by Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Bangura
GUINEA-CONAKRY: POLITICAL RAPE REMAINS UNPUNISHED (New York, 28 September 2012)
Three years ago today, the atrocities committed against peaceful protesters by security forces in Guinea-Conakry shocked the world. Women were particular targets of the violence. Public rapes and gang-rapes of women in broad daylight dramatically showed that sexual violence is not only a weapon in times of war. Whether it serves as a tactic of conflict or part of the repertoire of political repression, the intent is the same: to humiliate, silence, intimidate and punish the victims.
The International Commission of Inquiry on the 28 September 2009 events in Guinea verified that in addition to the massacre of at least 150 unarmed protesters, no less than 109 women suffered rape and other forms of sexual abuse. According to the International Commission of Inquiry, these widespread and systematic attacks could constitute crimes against humanity.
I welcome the indictment, announced earlier this month, of Colonel Abdoulaye Chérif Diaby, former Minister of Health in the Moussa Dadis Camara government, for his alleged responsibility in the 28 September 2009 events. It is important that these and other charges are processed swiftly and thoroughly, as justice in Guinea has already been delayed for too long. Although Lieutenant Colonel Moussa Tiegboro Camara earlier this year was charged for his role in the massacre, to date not a single perpetrator has been convicted.
Last November, my predecessor visited Guinea to meet with rape survivors, representatives of victims associations, and government officials. A Joint Communiqué was agreed between the government of Guinea and the United Nations, clearly stating the government’s commitment to fight impunity and ultimately prevent and deter sexual violence. The Joint Communiqué also welcomed the assistance of the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law / Sexual Violence in Conflict to support the Panel of Judges in Guinea, created to lead national investigations into the 2009 incidents. The Team of Experts is currently engaged in discussions with the national authorities to deploy an expert on sexual violence, and I want to encourage the government of Guinea to facilitate this deployment as soon as possible.
There is an urgent need to assist the survivors and bring the remaining perpetrators to justice. It is equally crucial that all victims, other witnesses and their families are afforded full protection and that no effort is spared to ensure their safety throughout this process. Known abusers must not be allowed to hold positions of authority.
Addressing these atrocities is crucial for fostering reconciliation, for trust in the justice system, and for a durable peace. We are committed to supporting the government’s efforts to address impunity for sexual violence and to ensuring that such atrocities are never repeated. We will continue to monitor the situation in Guinea-Conakry and anywhere else that sexual violence may occur.
WILFP-DC will provide periodic updates on the progress of this case to the WILPF E-newsletter. If your Branch is interested in having Guinean speakers appear for an event or if you have questions or comments, please contact Shirley Pate, at guineaoye@gmail.com.
