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Study Of Women’s Role In Kosova’s Reconstruction Released

posted: June 4, 2000

New York, NY

New York, NY -- June 5, 2000 – The Gender Audit of Reconstruction Programs In South Eastern Europe will be released during a consultation at the Beekman Towers Ballroom (3 Mitchell Place at 49th Street and 1st Avenue) on Wednesday, June 7 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. The Audit is being published by the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children and the Urgent Action Fund. Many people involved in the Audit will participate in the consultation. Although women have assumed leadership roles in Kosova society for more than ten years, their work within the parallel system, participation in the war and key involvement in the local and regional reconstruction process have been disregarded by the international community. This was confirmed by an Urgent Action Fund mission to the region which concluded that women leaders were not meaningfully involved in the design and development of reconstruction programs and that women were frustrated by the duplication of efforts within the international community. The Gender Audit was undertaken to explore these serious inhibitions to the rebuilding process. After looking closely at the work of the UN Interim Administration Mission In Kosova (UNMIK) and the Stability Pact For South Eastern Europe, the Audit found that discrimination against women has impeded the women's contributions, critical to sustaining peace in the region. Specifically:

  • UNMIK authorities failed to take into account the need for democratic structures within UNMIK itself as an example of democratic governance and few women have been appointed to key decision-making positions.
  • Within international nongovernmental organizations, the UN and OSCE operations, there is a lack of gender balance in the jobs available.
  • There has been a significant rise in the sexual exploitation of women, trafficking, forced prostitution and sexual harassment.
  • Statistics categorized by sex and age are not a priority even though such statistical work is a vital ingredient to the integration of women and girls in all economic, social and political concerns.
  • Women who have become heads of household due to the death of male family members have been marginalized.
  • The international bureaucratic processes have been slow and often duplicative. Much of the funding for women’s programmes is channelled through international umbrella groups, which, at times, appear to be searching for appropriate ways to spend it. With this orientation, it is possible that local groups will develop only in response to perceived international needs and thereby become dependent on the international funding.
  • Many professional women in Kosova resent the international media’s portrayal of Balkan women as "backward" with fundamentalist attitudes.

In addition to a series of specific recommendations for the UNMIK and the Stability Pact, the Audit calls for immediate efforts to facilitate the participation of women in political, economic and social reconstruction and rehabilitation by:

  • incorporating Kosovar women into decision-making structures,
  • establishing mechanisms to facilitate women’s integration into all areas of social and economic life, and
  • promoting education about women’s human rights and democratic development.

The Gender Audit is a tool for local and international non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental bodies and agencies to set the tone for better cooperation. Information from the audit can be used as a benchmark for re-evaluating the role of Kosovar women in the reconstruction of the region. Copies of the complete Gender Audit are available on request.

Another study, Engendering the Peace Process: A Gender Approach to Dayton and Beyond, will also be discussed at the consultation. This report, sponsored by the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation in Sweden, demonstrates that a lack of gender awareness in the peace negotiations has had a negative impact on the reconstruction work in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Engendering the Peace Process includes a gender analysis of the Dayton Peace Accords, based on the Beijing Platform for Action, and a survey of gender sensitivity among the international actors responsible for implementing the peace agreement.

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The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children seeks to improve the lives of refugee women and children through a vigorous program of public education and advocacy, and by acting as a technical resource. The Commission, founded in 1989 under the auspices of the International Rescue Committee, is the only organization in the United States dedicated solely to speaking out on behalf of women and children uprooted by armed conflict or persecution.

Focusing in areas of armed conflict, the mission of the Urgent Action Fund is to support structural changes that result in the realization of women’s human rights including women's full participation in society. The Fund pursues its objectives through a program of urgent response grant making and by encouraging or creating collaborative programs that promote women’s leadership and the inclusion of women’s perspectives in conflict prevention and resolution, peace building, and post conflict reconstruction.