October 2004

Fourth Anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325

Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security was unanimously adopted under the Namibian Presidency on 31 October 2000. It is a watershed political framework that makes women — and a gender perspective — explicitly relevant to negotiating peace agreements, planning refugee camps and peacekeeping operations and reconstructing war-torn societies. Each year since 2000, the anniversary of SC resolution 1325 has been marked by the Security Council and the United Nations, as well as by women around the world. A global constituency has grown up around this resolution as women use it, alongside the Beijing Platform for Action and the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to focus advocacy on women, peace and security and to hold governments accountable for their commitments to women. (Read more about SC resolution 1325.)
         As we mark the 4th anniversary of SC resolution 1325, October 2004 is one of reflection on the work of the UN system. The Secretary-General will submit a report on the full implementation of SC resolution 1325. UNIFEM too has reflected on its work to support implementation of resolution 1325 in Women, Peace and Security: UNIFEM Supporting Implementation of 1325, a publication that highlights advocacy and programming on women, peace and security over the past four years. UNIFEM's work going forward will include new ways of looking at gender justice and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) processes.

Women, War, Peace: The Independent Experts' Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Women's Role in Peace-Building
In response to SC resolution 1325, UNIFEM appointed Mrs. Elisabeth Rehn (former Defense Minister of Finland) and Ms. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (former Finance Minister of Liberia) in 2001 as Independent Experts to conduct an assessment on the impact of armed conflict on women, and women's role in peace-building. Over the course of a year, the Independent Experts visited 14 conflict-affected areas across the globe, collecting first-hand data and testimonies from women victims and survivors of conflict; women directly involved in peace processes; activists; members of women's groups and international and national NGOs; the media and religious organizations. They also met with UN departments and agencies, host governments, opposition groups and peacekeeping and humanitarian personnel to assess how they were approaching gender issues. As a complement to the Report of the Secretary-General on women, peace and security of 16 October 2002 (S/2002/1154), they issued their report entitled Women, War, Peace: The Independent Experts' Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Women's Role in Peace-building.

Conference on Gender Justice in Post-Conflict Situations — "Peace Needs Women and Women Need Justice"
The Independent Experts' Assessment, in Chapter 7 on Justice presented five main clusters of recommendations for achieving gender justice in post-conflict situations. These included, inter alia, a call

• for a panel of experts to assess the gaps in international and national laws and standards pertaining to protection of women in conflict and post-conflict situations, and women's role in peace-building;
• for States Parties to the Statute of the International Criminal Court to undertake national law reform to ensure compatibility with the Statute, particularly as regards crimes against women;
• for national legal systems to penalize and remedy all forms of violence against women in conflict and post-conflict situations;
• for women's access to justice to be ensured through legal literacy programmes, support services and legal aid;
• for gender equality to be enshrined in constitutional, legislative and policy reforms, with particular attention to family, civil and labour laws as well as land reforms; and
• for the rapid establishment of interim judicial systems to deal effectively with violations against women.

        To move forward on its programming to strengthen gender justice within post-conflict countries, UNIFEM is consulting with major stakeholders in those countries to identify action needed, in view of local needs. As part of this consultative effort, and to identify potential partners to assist with such implementation, UNIFEM and the International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC) co-organized a conference on gender justice in post-conflict situations from 15-17 September 2004 in New York (with the theme "Peace Needs Women and Women Need Justice"). The conference brought together women in key legal and judicial positions from over 12 conflict-affected areas across the globe — an important group of national stakeholders — as well as representatives of Member States, regional organizations, NGOs, academic institutions, foundations and relevant UN bodies (including peace operations) to facilitate a broad-based exchange of views on how best to proceed with implementation of the independent experts' recommendations on justice within the context of UNIFEM's programmes. Leading women, many at the ministerial level, from Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Liberia, Namibia, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Haiti, Burundi and Rwanda discussed, from first-hand experience, why gender justice is so crucial to establishing the rule of law and consolidating peace in their countries/regions.
        The conference provided a platform for these national women stakeholders, who have seen and felt the painful effects of war and now assume key legal and judicial roles, to share their views on (1) the most critical gender justice concerns and requirements in their countries/regions and the implementation action needed; (2) best practices that have emerged in the gender justice area in their countries/regions; and (3) the assistance most needed from potential international/bilateral partners to support such implementation action. By bringing together key groups of international players to engage in this dialogue, the conference aimed to forge more coordinated and effective assistance by multilateral and bilateral partners to such national stakeholders so that they may develop and implement their own strategies for making institutional and legal reforms to achieve gender justice.
        The report on the conference conclusions and recommendations will be conveyed by UNIFEM and ILAC to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council so that they may be taken into account during the Council's open debate in October 2004. The report will be available on UNIFEM's Web portal on women, peace and security by 28 October 2004.

Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration — "Getting it Right, Doing it Right"
The process of disarming, demobilizing and rehabilitating (DDR) former combatants involves and has implications for women, whether they participated in combat, have family members who did or are members of a community trying to integrate ex-fighters. While some women joined armed groups of their own free will, large numbers were abducted into combat and/or forced to become sexual and domestic slaves. But no matter how they came to military groups, women are routinely neglected during the DDR process, and information on the gender dimensions of DDR has been largely absent. (Read more about gender and DDR.)
        The Independent Experts' assessment, in Chapter 9 on Conflict Prevention and Early Warning recommended a study that would evaluate the extent to which gender has been mainstreamed throughout DDR efforts undertaken by the UN system. UNIFEM is launching a new publication on Gender and DDR that offers guidance and lessons-learned from previous experiences so that DDR can be democratic, inclusive and ultimately successful in the future. Getting it Right, Doing it Right: Gender and Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration includes two in-depth case studies, one on Liberia and one on Bougainville-Papua New Guinea, key lessons learned and recommendations gleaned from UNIFEM's study of DDR processes to-date, and Standard Operating Procedures on Gender and DDR.
        The publication was produced as part of an inter-agency process to develop a coherent UN approach to DDR. The Standard Operating Procedures offer policy makers and practitioners the guidance needed to incorporate gender analysis and perspectives into DDR planning and execution to ensure that women and girl combatants, supporters and dependants are not excluded from disarmament, demobilization and reintegration processes. Targeted at decision makers and practitioners, Getting it Right, Doing it Right is intended to influence policy and procedure in order to promote successful and inclusive transitions to peace in post-conflict societies.

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UNIFEM Commemorates 4th Anniversary of SC Resolution 1325

National Symposium for Iraqi Women
More than 500 women and men took part in the first national symposium of Iraqi women, organized by Iraq's Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) in close collaboration with UNIFEM. Several ministers, including the deputy prime minister and the minister of defense, as well as female members of political parties, representatives from national and international NGOs, and women activists gathered in Baghdad on 10-11 October 2004 to discuss women's rights and critical gender concerns in the new Iraqi political climate. Studies of the situation of Iraqi women conducted over the past two years on topics ranging from security to the eradication of poverty to women's political participation, informed the debate and served as a basis for participants to input experiences and perspectives into the draft National Strategy for the advancement of Iraqi women which is currently in development. For more information, contact Basma Alkhateeb, basma@unifem.org.jo

1325 Workshop for Gender Advocates in Sarajevo
UNIFEM, Kvinna till Kvinna, and Zene Zenema will support a South Eastern Europe regional workshop to review SC resolution 1325 from the perspectives of gender equality advocates from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro and Kosovo. The workshop, 25-26 October 2004, aims to develop a common regional strategy for advanced implementation of resolution 1325 and a common approach to advocacy at the national level for each country. For more information, contact Kathryn Alborough, kathryn.alborough@undp.org

African Women's Peace Tent and Peace Torch
A decade ago, African women peace movements from across the continent gathered in a Women's Peace Tent in Dakar, organized by the NGO Forum of the Fifth African Regional Conference on Women to prepare for the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. African women shared their experiences of poverty, conflict, internal displacement and violence, and strategised to ensure that women were involved in peace-building processes — they made significant contributions to highlighting the 12 critical areas of concern contained in the Beijing Platform for Action. The Peace Tent also led to the creation of the Federation of African Women's Peace Network (FERFAP), which links women's peace movements throughout Africa.
        Ten years later, African women gathered again at a Women's Peace Tent in Addis Ababa in October 2004, to review the Beijing Platform, highlight the achievements of women in the past decade to promote peace and security in their countries, and determine strategic and concerted ways to meet continuing serious challenges facing women from conflict-affected areas. The Peace Tent was organized by the NGO Forum of the Seventh African Regional Conference on Women, which will input its recommendations to the Beijing + 10 review process, which will be conducted by the UN in March 2005.
        Participants to the NGO Forum noted the many successes achieved by women over the last decade, acknowledging the crucial role of NGOs in moving the Beijing Platform forward often despite serious financial and human resource constraints. Political participation and education were recognized as areas where most progress had occurred. Serious challenges requiring urgent attention remain however including violation of women's rights in the context of customary and religious laws, the rampant spread of HIV/AIDS particularly among women and girls and deepening poverty for millions of women. Data shows that poverty has actually increased among African women over the last ten years.
        A moving and symbolic moment at the event was the lighting once again of the African Women Peace Torch. Since 1995, when it was presented at the Beijing conference, the Torch has traveled across the continent, becoming a symbol of women's quest for peace, freedom and development. Women from the Great Lakes Region brought the Torch to the conference, where it was lit at the opening ceremony. It was handed to women from the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the end of the conference, to resume its journey from one conflict area to another, to spread its message that "Without Peace, There is No Development."
        For more information, please contact Miranda Tabifor, miranda.tabifor@undp.org and Florence Butegwa, florence.butegwa@undp.org

Conflict Resolution and Peace Building in the Southern Caucasus
Armenian NGOs — key partners of the UNIFEM project "Conflict Resolution & Peace-building in the Southern Caucasus" and active members of Peace Coalition — met in early October 2004 to commemorate and discuss implementation of resolution 1325. Discussions focused on key achievements, and future action needed to promote women's active role in peace negotiations and increase women's participation in decision-making processes. For more information, contact Ilona Ter-Minasyan, ilona.ter-minasyan@undp.org

Labyrinth, a national NGO, Wings of Time, an art association, and UNIFEM will launch a photo exhibition on women, war and peace at the Baku Museum Centre, Azerbaijan on 30 October 2004. The exhibition is being held to observe the fourth anniversary of resolution 1325 and will consist of works by well-known photographers, artists and amateurs. UNIFEM will also organize in Azerbaijan at the end of October, a national conference on implementation of 1325. For more information, contact Gulshan Pashayeva, gulshan.pashayeva@undp.org

Responding to Violence Against Women in Conflict and Post-Conflict
This panel discussion, which takes place on 25 October 2004 in New York, will discuss a new interagency effort to respond to the gender-specific impact of conflict, and the devastation that sexual and gender-based violence can wreak on communities. The interagency initiative, funded by the Government of Belgium, is an $8 million programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that uses a holistic approach to provide urgent medical, psychosocial, legal and economic assistance to women and children who are victims of sexual violence in the three provinces of Orientale, Equateur and Maniema.
        Speakers on the panel include Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of UNIFEM, Lucy Nusseibeh, Director of Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy (MEND), Pam Delargy, Chief of the Humanitarian Response Unit, UNFPA and Nicola Dahrendorf, Chief of the Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy Unit, Office of Emergency Programmes, UNICEF.
        A short film will be screened before the panel. Produced by the Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the film — Our Bodies, Their Battleground — is a chilling and powerful portrayal of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls during armed conflict. For more information, contact Sarah Douglas, sarah.douglas@undp.org

Getting It Right, Doing It Right: Gender and Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration
UNIFEM released its latest publication on 19 October 2004 at the United Nations in New York. The publication is an evaluation of the extent to which gender has been mainstreamed throughout DDR efforts undertaken by the UN system. The publication is a compendium of information on gender and DDR that includes (1) two in-depth case studies, one on Liberia and one on Bougainville-Papua New Guinea; (2) lessons learned and recommendations; and (3) a Standard Operating Procedure on Gender and DDR, developed in close collaboration with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and UNDP's Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery as part of an inter-agency process to develop a coherent UN approach to DDR.
        Issues discussed in the publication were addressed by a panel including Joanne Sandler, Deputy Director of UNIFEM; Dyan Mazurana, author of Where Are the Girls?; Sam Barnes, Bureau of Crisis Prevention and Recovery, UNDP, Comfort Lamptey, Gender Advisor, Best Practices Unit, DPKO and Espe Kanani, President of the Ndabaga Association, the first association of female ex-combatants in the Great Lakes region. The publication is available in PDF format. For more information, contact Sarah Douglas, sarah.douglas@undp.org

Colombian Women Debate 1325
The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Governmental Machinery for the Advancement of Women, and UNIFEM, will convene a debate panel on 29 October 2004 in Bogota, aimed at deepening understanding and implementation of Resolution 1325 by the Columbian Government.
        UNIFEM and the Colombian Social Movement, comprised of women's networks and organizations, will organize a public event on 2 November 2004 to mark the fourth anniversary of resolution 1325. The event will include the launch of a debate panel on 1325 organized by the Colombian Social Movement and the launch of a UNIFEM publication that explores Colombian women's initiatives for peace-building. The publication, titled "Colombian Women in Search of Peace: Initiatives and Proposals," addresses the impact armed conflict has had on Colombian women, with particular emphasis on forced displacement, sexual violence and sociopolitical violence. The study also recognizes the important role Colombian women have played in peace-building and lists a range of organizations, networks and initiatives involved in peace activities. For more information, contact Carmen de la Cruz, carmen.cruz@undp.org

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UNIFEM Around the World

Noeleen Heyzer Receives Dag Hammarskjöld Medal
Noeleen Heyzer, executive director of UNIFEM, is the seventh recipient of the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal, established in memory of the second secretary-general of the United Nations. She delivered a lecture in Uppsala, Sweden in September 2004 on Women, War, Peace: Mobilizing for Security and Justice in the 21st Century. Read the press release and Ms Heyzer's presentation.

First Regional Women's Meeting of Great Lakes Region Concludes
More than a hundred women from the Great Lakes Region participated in a regional meeting in October, in the lead up to the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region which will take place in November this year. UNIFEM was a lead facilitator of the event, coordinating the activities of women from the region to ensure that different viewpoints on key issues were adequately reflected, and that national perspectives would feed into a broader regional vision. During three days of deliberations, women repeatedly echoed the pain and suffering endured from sexual and gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and social exclusion and marginalization. At the end of the meeting, participants put forth a Declaration, calling for an end to impunity for perpetrators of crimes against women, the creation of a regional mechanism to ensure women's participation at all levels of decision-making, and for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration processes to pay attention to the specific needs of women. The Declaration will be submitted to the heads of state attending the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region. Read the press release. For more information, contact Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, nyaradzai.gumbonzvanda@undp.org

Afghan Presidential Candidates Discuss Women's Issues
The Association of Voice of Afghan Women in Global Media, with UNIFEM support, organized an open debate for ten presidential candidates on the role of women in Afghan society and their participation in the political process of the country. More than 100 journalists from around the country attended the event alongside women activists and government officials. Although no candidate seemed to have a clear programme for the advancement of women in their platforms, at least two said that they would assign women to ministerial positions in their cabinet. The focus of discussions revolved primarily around women's rights in Islam, with candidates pledging to ensure Afghan women had rights, as accorded to them under Islamic law. All candidates agreed however that education, health, political and economic security and an end to violence against women were important issues to include in their agendas. For more information, contact Carlotta Ferrero, carlotta.ferrero@undp.org

Domestic Violence on Belarus Legislative Reform Agenda
A conference — "Family Free of Violence - Free of Violence Society" — organized in Belarus by the Legal Initiative, a public organization, with UNIFEM support, examined the problem of domestic violence in Belarus, and efforts towards preparing Belarus' draft law on the prevention and combating of domestic violence. The issue has been recognized as one of the most important to be addressed in Belarus, where according to recent research, at least one in three women report abuses from their spouse or partner. The Conference provided valuable inputs to improve the draft law for submission to the Belarus Parliament. For further information, please, contact Yelena Kudryavtseva, yelena.kudryavtseva@undp.org

Why Should We Care About Unpaid Care Work?
High death rates in Southern Africa due to AIDS are making it more difficult for governments to adequately provide care to persons living with the disease. This has led to a shifting of the major responsibility for care-giving and the costs related to home-based care to women and girls at increasingly untenable levels. Young girls have to drop out of school and many women have to give up income-generating activity to take care of their sick families. Mothers and grandmothers also take in and care for AIDS orphans in addition to their own children.
        Home-based care workers are often unremunerated volunteers. They also tend to be female. This is reflective of the fact that when a man becomes ill, the women in the household tend to provide the care, whereas when a woman becomes ill, the men in the household do not usually take on the care work themselves, preferring to find other caregivers, usually women.
        These findings came out of a regional workshop on home-based care for people living with HIV/AIDS, organized by the Women Action Group and UNIFEM. The workshop was building on UNIFEM-commissioned research on the issue to determine the burden of care, as well as the contribution of unpaid care work to economic development and growth. The findings will feed into national advocacy efforts to encourage governments to recognize the contributions of home-based care work, and provide support to ease the burden of women volunteers.
        For more information, contact Cecile Ncube, cecile.ncube@undp.org

UNIFEM Trust Fund Grantee Wins Human Rights Award
The Comision de Derechos Humanos (COMISEDH) has won an award from OXFAM, DfID and CARE for its efforts to include a gender perspective in the work of Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). When the TRC was established in 2001 to investigate human rights violations during the country's conflict and formulate proposals on reparations for victims, the agenda lacked a gender aspect and issues such as rape and sexual assault were omitted, leaving many women without assistance or access to justice. COMISEDH has been working to systematize information on sexual violence during the conflict and raise awareness among government authorities and the general public about violence against women. Its continued advocacy has put the issue of sexual violence on the TRC's agenda, and also highlighted the need for reparations for female victims of violence. For more information, contact Promita Sengupta, promita.sengupta@undp.org

Oaxaca State Government Adds Gender Perspective to Budget and Development Planning
The state of Oaxaca, Mexico has included a gender perspective in its public budget and development planning exercises. Modifications have been made to several state laws to ensure that clauses stating the equality of rights of both men and women are included. One law, the Organic Law of Executive Power, now instructs all public administration officials to take gender into account when performing their duties. The law also requires mechanisms to improve women's rights to land ownership, and to improve provision of medical services to vulnerable groups on issues such as reproductive health. For more information, contact Teresa Rodriguez, teresa.rodriguez@unifem.org.mx

UNIFEM and Sweden Partner to Advance Women's Human Rights in Kenya
UNIFEM has entered into a three year partnership with Sweden to promote women's human rights in Kenya, with a focus on democratic governance. UNIFEM will work with UNDP and UNICEF to encourage democratic processes and ensure that gender equality is central. The partnership will support the government of Kenya through the work of the Ministry of Gender, Sports and Culture as well as the newly established National Gender Commission. Partnerships with civil society will include FIDA Kenya, Education Centre for Women in Democracy, League of Kenya Women Voters, Kenya Women's Political Caucus, Coalition on Violence Against Women, and ActionAid among others. For further information, contact Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, nyaradzai.gumbonzvanda@undp.org

Somalia National Assembly Falls Short on 12% Quota
The last phase of the IGAD-led Somali Peace negotiations has led to the establishment of a transitional national assembly with 10% female representation. This falls short of the 12% quota that is required by the transitional charter. UNIFEM and its partners have been supporting efforts to gender mainstream the national peace and reconciliation process. Somali women's organizations have been working tirelessly to raise the issue of the shortfall and the non-fulfilment of the charter's obligation and are calling for an increased number of women to be appointed to senior positions of government. For further information, contact hendrica.okondo@undp.org

Men as Partners in Promoting Gender Equality
Dean Peacock from EngenderHealth, an NGO working on family planning and HIV/AIDS in South Africa, was at UNIFEM headquarters recently to speak about his Men as Partners (MAP) programme. MAP aims to involve men more actively in health programs, gender equality and HIV/AIDS work in Southern Africa. MAP's main efforts involve holding workshops for men from various backgrounds, including community-based groups, trade unions, religious groups, youth, and military personnel, to stimulate and examine their own ideas about gender and how their individual actions impact on women. The workshops approach gender as a holistic issue that affects whole communities, in the hope of creating a social movement of men working for gender equality and an end to violence against women.
        Mr Peacock and his colleagues operate on the premise that any positive change towards gender equality can occur only through collaboration between men and women, and that men have to share in the responsibility of care-giving and be accountable for behaviour that disrespects and demoralizes women. "After the workshops, we find that the men often undergo a dramatic individual change with new attitudes and values. They start to show positive behavioural change, such as increased condom use and receptivity to negotiation for protected sex," said Mr Peacock. "We have found that the workshops seem to have a very positive impact on youth in particular, and are also successful when there is collaboration with leaders of faith based organizations who have wide influence throughout the community," he added.
        MAP is in the process of planning training programmes with UNHCR to reach men within refugee camps. For more information, contact Stephanie Urdang, stephanie.urdang@undp.org

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Other News

25th Anniversary of Adoption of CEDAW
A commemorative roundtable was held at the United Nations on 13 October 2004 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Speakers included the Deputy-Secretary General, Louise Frechette, Thoraya Obaid, executive director of UNFPA, and several past chairpersons of the CEDAW Committee. For more information, read the press release and the Statement by the Committee on Human Rights.

World Leaders Reaffirm Programme of Action of ICPD
More than 250 leaders from governments, religious groups, the development community, business and scientific communities and private foundations have signed a statement reaffirming the value of the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). The Programme of Action, a consensus reached by 179 nations a decade ago in Cairo, Egypt, set clear, achievable targets relating to sexual and reproductive health, universal access to family planning, safe motherhood, treatment and prevention of sexually-transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS, basic education and women’s empowerment. For more information, visit www.icpdleadersstatement.net, or contact William Ryan, ryanw@unfpa.org

E-Discussions on Upcoming Review of Beijing Platform for Action
Gendernet and Womenwatch are conducting a series of e-discussions to provide feedback and recommendations to the Commission on the Status of Women, which will convene in New York from 28 February to 11 March 2005. The UN Task Force on the 10-year Review of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) will coordinate the discussions, twelve in all, covering each of the areas of concern contained in the BFPA. UNIFEM will moderate the discussion on violence against women. For more information and to join the discussions, visit WomenWatch.

Development Cooperation Ireland Launches Gender Equality Policy
"This Policy focuses attention on an issue of critical importance to poverty reduction. The majority of poor people in the world are women and girls: it is impossible to eliminate poverty without having a clear and unambiguous commitment to gender equality" (Tom Kitt, Minister for State Development Cooperation and Human Rights, Ireland). For more information, visit their web site.

FACES: Women as Partners in Peace and Security
Produced jointly by the UN Department of Public Information and the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI), FACES is a publication that brings to life Security Council resolution 1325 through profiles of ten women whose work in international peace and security and humanitarian assistance embodies the essence of the resolution in action. Some of the FACES stories include:
        "Women Prepare for First Elections" highlights a courageous Afghan woman, Husai Fazel Qadir, who was an electoral registration worker in the country's first presidential election, helping to enable other women to participate in the electoral process.
        "The ABCs of Walking in a Minefield" features two young women, Saba and Zahra, who are teaching groups of women and children in Eritrea about the dangers of landmines — lessons that may save their students' lives.
        "What Is a Gender Adviser?" looks at the role of a gender adviser in a United Nations peacekeeping mission and illustrates the significant move made by the UN to include, for the first time, a gender component led by Nadine Puechguirbal in its operations in Haiti.
        "The Ugly Face of Trafficking" features one of the many hidden victims of human trafficking and talks about the efforts that have been made and the challenges that still remain for all actors in combating this terrible crime.
        To read FACES stories in full, visit WomenWatch. FACES is also available in French.

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