Assisting and empowering women facing natural disasters: drawing from Security Council resolution 1325.

• Author: Shah, Payal K.

In the wake of the tsunami that hit the coastal communities of the Indian Ocean, images of women were splashed over the media's reports of the catastrophe. But while sympathy for women has garnered a great deal of aid, "[b]eyond the camera lens in the follow-up policies ... there is a trend for women to be rendered almost invisible." (1) Reports by women's groups streaming in from all over the region reflect the same message--women were among the hardest hit by the tsunami, and women continue to be the most marginalized in relief efforts. (2)

While the relative lack of women-specific initiatives in the tsunami effort arguably could be attributed to the cultural norms of the region and the particular nature of the disaster there, a broader look at disasters worldwide shows that women's needs and abilities are systemically ignored in rehabilitation and restoration efforts. (3) Although this trend has been recognized by international organizations ranging from the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly, (4) the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), (5) the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee), (6) the U.N. Office for International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), (7) the International Labor Organization (ILO), (8) and the European Union (EU), (9) there is yet to be a binding global initiative that explicitly calls for gender-mainstreaming in disaster prevention and reconstruction efforts. As a result, when the time comes for nations to respond quickly and efficiently to disasters, the lessons learned in gender-sensitivity are lost in the tumult once again.

While gender issues are sidelined in disaster contexts, however, this is not the case in other crisis situations. In 2000, the U.N. Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1325 (1325), which "stress[es] the importance of [women's] equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security" (10) and "[r]ecogniz[es] the urgent need to mainstream a gender perspective into peacekeeping operation." (11) The resolution calls for increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in conflict prevention, management, and resolution; attention to the specific protection of the needs of women in conflict, including refugees; increased support for women peace-builders; refusal to allow impunity for crimes against women, including gender-based violence; and combination of a gender perspective in U.N. operations, post-conflict processes, and Reporting and Security Council Missions. (12) Through the resolution, women must be integrated in reconstruction efforts, and local women's initiatives in maintaining peace and security must be supported by the U.N. and government officials. (13) Some aid groups have drawn on 1325 in their calls for a gendered perspective in disaster relief post-tsunami, but explicit support for this connection has not yet been articulated.

This Article draws a connection between the interests protected by 1325 and those that would be protected by a similarly binding resolution for women in disaster situations, and argues for the realization of such an international agreement. Part II of this Article urges women's rights activists to acknowledge the capacity and the desirability of a binding Security Council resolution for gender-mainstreaming and female participation in disaster prevention and aid work. Further, this section argues for the recognition of disasters as a "threat to the peace" that can be reduced through the symbolic and legal powers of a Security Council resolution. Part III then establishes why the Security Council itself should seek such a resolution, based on the centrality of disaster relief in ensuring the success of core Security Council goals, such as resolving conflict and fostering sustainable development. Part V shows how gender-mainstreaming in natural disasters would further the goals of the Security Council; indeed, failing to pursue gender-mainstreaming would actually undermine the Security Council's objectives, particularly those relating to 1325. Examining the effects of the Asian tsunami on Aceh, Indonesia, this section argues that implementing disaster prevention and disaster aid efforts without considering gender would be contrary to both the purposes of 1325 and the watershed of support for gender-mainstreaming by international organizations in recent years. Part VI concludes by recommending that the Security Council promulgate a binding international resolution on gender-mainstreaming and female decision-making in natural disaster relief efforts.

1. SEEKING A BINDING RESOLUTION

   The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Commission on the Status of Women's Agreed Conclusions on Environmental Management and the Mitigation of Natural Disasters can be used to show an international consensus on gender-mainstreaming in disaster programming; however, the fact remains that neither are currently binding documents. (14) The CEDAW Committee itself, following the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, made a statement inviting the U.N. to prepare "a comprehensive action-oriented resolution on the gender perspectives of disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, following the example of Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace, and security." (15) As the subsections B and C below will discuss, such a binding resolution would provide legal leverage for women's rights advocates, and would also constitute a symbolic action showing an extraordinarily high level of international consensus that women's needs must be taken seriously in disaster relief.

   1. Legal Basis for U.N. Security Council Chapter VII Action

      While states and the U.N. administration itself have indicated support for a resolution concerning gender-mainstreaming in disaster situations, the threshold question is whether such a resolution falls within the scope of the Security Council's functions under the U.N. Charter. Under Article 24, the Security Council's "primary responsibility [is] for the maintenance of international peace and security, and [its Members] agree that in carrying out its duties under this responsibility the Security Council acts on their behalf." (16) These resolutions of the Security Council are binding if enacted under Chapter VII of the Charter. (17) However, Chapter VII leaves the decision of what constitutes a "threat to the peace" up to the Security Council alone. (18) As Stefan Talmon argues,

      [a]n examination of the Council practice and the common understanding of the United Nations membership in general shows that "threat to the peace" is a constantly evolving concept. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the understanding of what constitutes a "threat to the peace" has broadened considerably from the narrow concept of the absence of the use of armed force, to the wider concept of situations that may lead to the use of armed force. (19) In its final declaration from a 1992 summit meeting, the Council stated that "[t]he absence of war and military conflicts amongst States does not in itself ensure international peace and security. The non-military sources of instability in the economic, humanitarian, and ecological fields may become a threat to peace and security." (20) As of 1998, however, the Security Council had not exercised any power in promulgating resolutions during natural disasters. (21) By ignoring the opportunity to coordinate initiatives on natural disasters and conflict, the Security Council risks undermining the billions of dollars the U.N. has invested in peace processes in as little time as it takes for natural disaster to strike.

   2. The Desirability of a Binding Security Council Resolution

      A binding Security Council resolution would be a particularly effective means of ensuring that states comply with their commitment to gender-mainstreaming in disaster situations and fund aid efforts accordingly. (22) First, in natural disaster situations, time is often of the essence. The relative speed with which the Security Council can act, as well as the binding quality of its decisions, makes its resolutions much more effective than ad hoc diplomatic negotiations of treaties and agreements, which leave advocates with time-consuming challenges, such as confronting hold-out states. (23) A binding resolution would allow the Security Council to impose, under U.N. Charter, Chapter VII, Article 41, measures such as sanctions, imposition of travel restrictions on government officials, freezing of funds, severance of diplomatic ties, and interruption of communications by air, rail, sea, post, and radio. (24) In addition, since the Cold War ended, the Security Council has shown a marked increase in willingness to impose economic sanctions in situations where its binding directives have been disregarded. (25) By contrast, the Security Council's comfort level with invoking Chapter VII measures for violations relating to human rights has developed more slowly; however, a study of the Security Council's action and inaction in situations of human rights violations shows that the Council has grown increasingly willing to use force to address these threats to the peace. (26) The Security Council's unique combination of willingness and capacity to respond to time-sensitive situations makes it an ideal body to handle national crises, such as natural disasters.

      Second, even where the Security Council may be unable to impose punitive measures, several scholars have argued that the mere fact that the Security Council has promulgated a binding resolution on a particular issue will significantly increase pressure on and willingness among states to comply with that directive. (27) In terms of increasing pressure, Security Council resolutions serve as evidence of opinio juris by showing international consensus on a legal norm. (28) Further, as the environmental movement...