The United Nations Security Council has recently adopted two key resolutions to protect women in conflict.

Resolutions 1888 and 1889 reaffirm previous UN resolutions on women, peace, and security. These resolutions condemn the use of gender-based violence in conflict situations and commit to increasing women’s participation in peace processes including negotiation, mediation, and post-conflict governance and reconstruction.

UN Resolution 1888 establishes a system of protection and support to end sexual violence in war. It calls for a team of experts to be deployed immediately to conflict-affected situations and for a new Special Representative to coordinate the UN’s response.

The resolution also requests that the UN hold warring parties responsible for using rape as a weapon of war. The resolution urges all Member States to treat survivors of sexual violence with dignity and to provide survivors with effective protection and support throughout the justice process, as well as full reparation for their suffering.

UN Resolution 1889 urges Member States, the United Nations bodies, donors, and civil society to ensure that women’s protection and empowerment are taken into account during post-conflict needs assessment and planning. The resolution also proposes that the Security Council pursue a strategy to increase women’s participation in all peace processes, particularly in negotiation and mediation and post-conflict governance and reconstruction.

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To read the full draft text of Resolution 1888, click here.

To read more about Resolution 1889, click here .

UN: Security Council Action Spells Hope for Women in War – NGO Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security.