R2P - Whose responsibility - Whose protection? A gender perspective

Quenivet, Noelle

Abstract

The keynote speech starts by questioning who is protected by humanitarian interventions. It argues that there is a disparity between the rhetoric of protecting vulnerable groups (especially women), the law that is contained in UN reports and UN Security Council resolutions and the reality, i.e. the practice of the UN Security Council. Indeed, despite the fact that gender-based violence falls within the remit of the R2P crimes, legal documents relating to R2P hardly ever link the third pillar of R2P with gender-based violence and the Security Council has missed opportunities to support intervention in cases of gender-based violence. The second part of the keynote speech focuses on the post-intervention space, contending that there are four tensions. First, although these groups are deemed vulnerable and in need of protection, we expect them in the post-intervention space to play an active role. Second, whilst the UN has recognised the important role played by women in the post-intervention space it struggles to tackle the underlying structural inequalities that often lead to conflicts. The third tension is that those intervening, whilst professing an all-inclusive and bottom-up approach towards the restoration of peace, often adopt a binary, gendered view of women. The fourth tension is that in the post-intervention phase, there appears to be a dichotomy between the issues prioritised by the international community and the concerns and most pressing issues faced by the local population, mostly comprised of women and children.

• Presentation Conference Type: Keynote
• Conference Name: Responsibility to Protect and Humanitarian Interventions - Military Force in the Name of Human Rights
• Start Date: Nov 6, 2023
• End Date: Nov 8, 2023
• Deposit Date: Nov 22, 2023
• Keywords: responsibility to protect; women; violence; gender; humanitarian intervention
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11457423