Women Security

1992, the Secretary -General appointed the Special
Representative on internally displaced persons to examine human rights issues relating to internal displacement. In 1998, the Special Representative formulated Guiding Principles on Internal

Displacement, which have become the framework for policy and programmes for governmental and humanitarian actors in dealing with internal displacement. The Guiding Principles contain a number of provisions addressing the specific needs of women.

In 1996, the Secretary -General’s study 30 on the impact of armed conflict on children emphasized the roles and experiences of girls and highlighted the ways in which they are placed at high risk during armed conflict.

In 1997, the Secretary-General appointed a Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict with a mandate to protect and promote the rights of war-affected children and ensure that those rights are comprehensively addressed by the main actors at all levels. The efforts of the Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict have resulted in the inclusion of child protection officers in the mandates of the United Nations peacekeeping missions in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Special Representative has also supported and facilitated the development of local peace initiatives, such as the Sudanese Women for Peace. He has included gender perspectives in his work, including through advocating for a new law in Rwanda allowing girls to inherit property.

There have been a series of positive initiatives by the United Nations in addressing HIV/AIDS in conflict situations, including Security Council resolution 1308 (2000) on HIV/AIDS and international peacekeeping operations. In June 2001, the Security Council released a Presidential Statement welcoming references in the Declaration of Commit – ment31 on HIV/AIDS with regard to situations of armed conflict and disasters, in pa rticular the measures recommended to reduce the impact of conflict and disasters on the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Intergovernmental bodies dealing with peace support operations have increasingly become aware of the importance of incorporating gender perspectives into the ir work, including the Security Council and the Sp ecial Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. This Special Committee first placed an item on gender mainstreaming on its agenda Introduction at its session in 1999 and has since kept gender mainstreaming and gender balance issues under review.