Prevention of Violence Against Women in Conflict & Humanitarian Situations

1. Prevention of Violence Against Women in Conflict & Humanitarian Situations Engaging the ASEAN Political-Security Community through existing progress on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda Sara Davies

2. About the Centre and R2P Asia Pacific Centre for R2P SG’s 3 Pillar Approach to R2P In 2009, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon presented three pillars fundamental to realization of R2P: Primary responsibility of the state to protect populations Responsibility of the international community to encourage and assist the state, Responsibility of the international community to take timely and decisive action. Each pillar is equal in importance, but the responsibility to prevent has been the enduring focus of the UN Secretary-General in his reports on R2P • Responsibility to Protect principle is laid out in paras.138-140 of 2005 World Summit Outcome Document (2005 UN General Assembly) • The APR2P Centre’s mission is to deepen knowledge and advance policy on Responsibility to Protect principle, and, mass atrocities prevention and response in Asia Pacific.

3. About the Centre’s focus on WPS • Endemic gendered violence within society facilitates and legitimizes exclusion of some members of society from political, social and economic opportunities. • The Centre advocates the need to address gender inequality and gender discrimination as elements of the responsibility of every state to prevent atrocity crimes (as identified by UN Secretary-General in 2013). • APR2P has identified UN Women, Peace and Security Agenda (first adopted by UN Security Council as Resolution 1325 [2000]) as vital component of preventive aspect of R2P. • Prevention of mass atrocity crimes requires gender specific understanding, and implementation of Women, Peace and Security agenda (& National Action Plan) at the state, regional and international level.

4. Why this region, this topic? • ASEAN Member States have made important progress in promoting women’s rights & prevention of violence against women (VAW), particularly, through the ACWC & AIHRC within ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. • Region has progressively moved towards democratic governance, peaceful coexistence & economic growth; however, there remain situations of vulnerability. • In these situations, women are more likely to be politically marginalized, financially disadvantaged & face higher risk of violence and discrimination based on their gender and sex.

5. VAW, WPS and PSVI:Different but interlinked agendas • prevention focus • (early warning of human rights violations/embedding WHRD within national institutions); • protection focus • (treaty obligations, security sector and justice reform); • participation focus • (inclusion of women in political, governance and security sectors) ACWC and AIHRC promotion of Prevention of Violence Against Women UN Women, Peace and Security agenda; and UK FCO Prevention of Sexual Violence Initiative Workshop Focus: What are the opportunities for the alignment of different, but interlinked VAW, WPS and PSVI agendas, to assist in advancing the prevention of violence against women in conflict and humanitarian situations?

6. ASEAN VAW and WPS • UN Security Council Women, Peace and Security Resolution 1325 (2000), calls for women’s equal and full participation in the maintenance and promotion of peace and security; and incorporation of gender perspective into all aspects of conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. • ASEAN Member States have promoted women’s rights, prevention of violence against women (VAW) and WPS in the ACWC and ACWC Declaration within ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community • To date, there are fewer regional commitments that progress the core concerns of the WPS agenda in the ASEAN Political-Security Community. • However, growing ASEAN leadership, amongst the Political-Security Community, in relation to the UK FCO Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.

7. ASEAN and PSVI Amongst 12 recommendations to build state capacity to prevent these crimes, there are two central to this workshop: Strengthen national and regional capacity to respond to sexual violence, which includes the creation of national and regional 1325 National Action Plans; and, Promote women’s full participation in all political, governance and security structures. • UN Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict (September 2013), now endorsed by some 155 countries • Amongst these, eight ASEAN member states endorsed the Declaration (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam) • The Declaration refers to widespread and systematic sexual violence as not being limited to zones of conflict, but also humanitarian disasters & situations of civil strife

8. ASEAN: Aligning VAW, WPS and PSVI This workshop aims to provide a forum to share insights and experience on how to achieve progress in these separate agendas and provide opportunities to examine: How to align advocacy, messages and policy across the three agendas at the national and regional levels? Trace and report state-level commitments towards VAW, WPS and PSVI across political, governance and security sectors? How (and whether) to promote the adoption and inclusion of Women, Peace and Security agenda in regional political-security processes?

9. Group Interactive Dialogue Chair & Rapporteur to guide respective Group A, Group B and Group C focus and discussion.Each Group to identify: • 3 Key Priority issues concerning VAW, WPS and PSVI engagement in the region • 3 Key Recommendations geared as specific actors and institutions (DFAT, UK FCO/UN ESCAP WPS Working Group/ASEAN Secretariat/National Human Rights Institutions) • 3 Future Engagement Activities, Programs or Outputs to build from this workshop