Special Needs of Women and Children in Conflict: Training for UNMIBH

Participation
60 participants attended the two courses on the “The special needs of women and children in and after conflict: the situation in the Balkans”, which took place at the UN House in Sarajevo for civilian peacekeeping personal of the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) from 3-5 and 6- 8 December 2001. Since the number if staff interested in the course had been extremely high UNITAR decided to organize two identical courses back to back to provide as many staff members as possible with the chance to participate in this training event.

The participants had been nominated by UNMIBH and selected in cooperation with UNITAR. The selected candidates were staff members working in the area of human rights, civil and public affairs, the administration as well as political affairs. They came from UNMIBH's headquarters in Sarajevo, from regional offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina and from the liaison offices under UNMIBH’s administration. All in all, the group of participants in each course consisted of approximately one third international staff, one third local staff and one third governmental and NGO representatives. UNMIBH also nominated key personnel from the administration who deal with local staff and work with local authorities and institutions on various issues involving children and women.

The local participants represented all geographic regions and ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Local staff was also chosen with the goal to provide them with training and knowledge, which they will retain even after the end of their work for the UN peacekeeping mission. UNMIBH's Human Rights and Civil Affairs departments therefore recommended as participants a number of language assistants who assist programme managers in high-level meetings and negotiations since these are highly qualified staff members who might be absorbed into the decision-making structures of the country after the end of UNMIBH's mandate.

Both training courses were organized in an almost identical manner with only tiny differences in the actual training curriculum.

Programme Objectives
The overall objectives of the two courses organized for the civilian staff at UNMIBH were to:

Familiarize the participants with the specific needs, rights and the situation of women and children during armed conflict, repatriation and resettlement, reintegration as well as during post-conflict reconstruction with a specific focus on the Balkans;

Analyze basic international legal standards that provide protection for women and children in and after armed conflict;

Up-date and re-fresh the participants' knowledge in selected areas of international law such as humanitarian law, refugee law and human rights;

Raise their awareness for the important role women play as partners in assistance operations, during reconstruction, reconciliation and peace-building in the Balkans;

Analyze the current situation of women in the Balkans;

Provide training on the reconstruction and development process, in particular women's participation and position in the social, economic and institutional reconstruction in the Balkans;

Familiarize and connect the participants with the network and activities of local NGOs.

The large majority of all participants perceived that the objectives of the training courses had been fully achieved and considered the training very useful for their professional tasks. As a consequence, almost all participants recommended without hesitation that this kind of training should be provided to other peacekeeping missions as well.

The training and reference material that was developed for and handed out to the participants of both courses was particularly appreciated and rated as very good. Overall both the structure of the courses as well as the contributions of the trainers were highly praised by the participants who repeatedly pointed out the excellent content of the training modules given by the lectures of the two courses.

Most of the participants expressed their gratitude for having been giving the chance to attend this training and pointed to the lack of training offered for civilian staff of peacekeeping missions. They also recommended strongly to make such training available either in the deployment phase or in the first few months of a peacekeeping mission. All in all the trainees identified this kind of training as the first step in the right direction to enhance the professional preparedness of civilian peacekeeping personnel dealing with societies in and after armed conflict.

Interagency Cooperation
The successful implementation of these two pilot courses was achieved due to an excellent cooperation between UNITAR, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in New York and the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH). UNMIBH's help proved to be vital for the selection of participants as well as in the administration of all participant-related issues. UNMIBH signed responsible for the travel and accommodation of the invited participants. During the conduct of the courses in Sarajevo UNMIBH staff, in particular the team around the Personnel Officer Suren Shahinyan, helped in the preparation of the daily training schedule.

The excellent inter-agency cooperation that UNITAR was able to establish was also essential to the realization of these two training courses. For the design, the development and the implementation of the training modules UNITAR worked closely with other international, national and regional organizations as well as non-governmental organizations to secure a common platform for the project. Among the agencies and organizations that seconded experts and field practitioners as resource persons to deliver essential parts of the training were the ICRC, UNHCHR, UNHCR, UNICEF and UNDP.

THE PROTECTION OF REFUGEES: THE SITUATION OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE BALKANS
Susin Park, UNHCR
Susin Park from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) introduced the participants to the basics of international refugee law by covering the 1951 Convention, the 1967 Protocol, regional Conventions from the OAU and Europe, as well as the Cartagena Declaration and the Convention against Torture. Based on this, she analyzed the definition of a refugee and looked at their status in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the main population groups of concern in in the country, e.g. internally displaced persons, stateless persons, returnees, and asylum seekers. With the help of selected case studies the participants then examined the idea of gender-specific protection and discussed to what extent a special protection approach is required for refugee women and children. The training module also covered fundamental protection principles and addressed the linkage between human rights law and refugee law as well as its applicability in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Flight and prima facie protection in refugee camps were discussed, as was the topic of gender-specific persecution and its impact on the determination of refugee status. Questions of return and integration were covered with a special focus of the current situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the major problems the UN has to deal with in the region.

CHILDREN IN AND AFTER ARMED CONFLICT
Mary Black, UNICEF
Isabella Castrogiovanni, UNICEF
A training module rated as very interactive and energetic by the participants was conducted by Mary Black from the Bosnia office and Isabella Castrogiovanni from the Kosovo office of the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF). The module started out by reviewing children's views on armed conflict as well as the consequences of armed conflict for children. This was based on selected basic facts about the violation of fundamental rights of children and the impact on survival, life and the physical and mental development of children. The two trainers focused on both the immediate and direct as well as the secondary effects, which influence the evolution of children in times of war and long after armed conflict has ended. The participants then looked at the mechanisms that international law provides for the protection of children, e.g. the 1989 Convention of the Rights of the Child, the 1949 Geneva Convention and the 1951 Refugee Convention. Analyzing the international legal framework, the participants singled out those elements of conflict that are most likely to affect the rights of children, e.g. particular violations with a long-term impact on their development. The module ended with a simulated case study, which addressed the participants directly in their positions and duties as staff members of a UN peacekeeping mission. By drawing together all the issues that had been covered in the session, the lecturers analyzed how a common UN approach to protection of children's rights in situations of armed conflict can be achieved.

WOMEN AND WAR - THE SITUATION, RIGHTS AND NEEDS OF WOMEN IN ARMED CONFLICT
Monika Kämpf, Women and War Project, ICRC
Monika Kämpf from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) presented a training module based on the ICRC study "Women Facing War." This study has been conducted over the past three years to heighten the awareness of the plight of women in conflict situations and of the protection to which they are entitled. Ms. Kämpf presented the results of the study and identified the needs of women in wartime, analyzed the relevant provisions of international humanitarian law, and outlined the ICRC's work for and with women affected by armed conflict. The module was based on the assumptions that women experience war in a multitude of ways. While in some cases they may be combatants, they also usually live through the events as civilians. Therefore the module focused on issues such as personal safety, sexual violence, displacement, access to health care, food and shelter, detention, and less commonly discussed matters such as the problem of missing relatives and how it affects survivors, mainly women. Another aspect highlighted was the way armed conflict forces women into unfamiliar roles and demands stronger skills from them in coping with extraordinary situations.

WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN CONFLICT AND POST-CONFLICT ZONES
Corey Levine
Corey Levine examined the current thinking around women and children affected by armed conflict. She tried to promote the idea that women and children need different interventions during and after armed conflict and provided a starting point for considering appropriate action. The participants were made to understand why a different approach is needed and how the success of reconstruction in a war-torn society depends on the correct approach towards the more vulnerable groups. Focusing on the situation in the Balkans, Corey Levine analyzed how armed conflict impacts on the basic socio-economic living conditions of women and children. She then outlined how this feeds into the special mandate given to UN peacekeeping missions and where this necessity overlaps with the mission's task to help rebuild a society.

RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT: POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION IN THE BALKANS
Corey Levine
In her second module Corey Levine addressed the specific situation of women and children during post-conflict reconstruction in the Balkans. She based her intervention on the underlying principle that armed conflict is rooted in structural, economic, social and political conditions. It is intimately linked to poverty, inequitable development and discrimination, which is critical to bear in mind when designing intervention patterns in armed conflict or post-conflict situations, especially when missions are expected to reach vulnerable groups. Corey Levine analyzed the framework conditions for development that existed in the Balkans after the end of the conflict and took the participants through the relevent legal norms, in particular the Dayton agreements.

RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT: SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND LEGAL POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION IN THE BALKANS
Madeleine Rees, UNHCHR
Armin Sirco, UNDP
Madeleine Rees from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and Armin Sirco from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) focused on the current social, economic and legal post-conflict reconstruction process that is taking place in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Armin Sirco listed the steps towards achieving gender equality that have been taken in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the past decade. He provided the participants with facts and figures and showed how through formal and informal actions, governmental and civil society sectors have increased awareness and established a gender equality machinery. He noted that the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was ratified by the Bosnia and Herzegovina State Parliament in 1993 and pointed out that the socio-economic situation of women is slowly improving with the growing integration of women into the workforce. Regarding the participation of women in post-war political life he pointed out that the women's percentage in the State Parliament has increased from 2% in 1996-1998 to 26 % in 1999.
Madeleine Rees then shifted the focus to the problems dominating the situation of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She described the trafficking of women and domestic violence as main areas of concern, which both international and national actors had to address over the past few years by developing legislation as well as establishing mechanisms to deal with these post-conflict phenomena. She described how framework structures have been established to help the local administration address these problems. Madeleine Rees also pointed out that the increasing success in dealing with these issues highlights the fact that the UN is efficiently handing responsibilities back to the local administration as a reward for excellent cooperation between the UN's work in the field and local stakeholders.

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Michael Young, International Rescue Committee
Munira Subasic, "Mothers of Srebrenica"
Dijana Duric, "United Women"
Michael Young from the International Rescue Committee introduced the participants to the structure and network of non-governmental organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Based on his work with the International Council of Voluntary Agencies in Bosnia he outlined the legal and economic status of NGOs as well as the extent of collaboration between national and international NGOs. Michael Young addressed the question of the cooperation between NGOs and the peacekeeping mission, in particular the civilian administration of UNMIBH, and explained to what degree they join forces in the reconstruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Based on this, two individual representatives of NGOs working in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Munira Subasic ("Mothers of Srebrenica") and Dijana Duric (“United Women”) presented their work and described the overall spectrum of NGO activities in the area of women and children. Dijana Duric described the various levels of NGO activities and explained how the focus of their activities has shifted from emergency response projects during the period war to a post-conflict situation in which long-term development projects to improve the socio-economic framework for both women and children are given priority.

Funding
The financial support provided by the United Nations Foundation (UNFIP) for the development of the first year of UNITAR's training initiative was essential also to the development and implementation of this particular courses. A generous contribution for the overall programme was also received from the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (DDPS).

The funding made it possible for UNITAR to cover the travel and accommodation costs of the course lecturers and to finance the travel and accommodation of the 60 participants, not all of whom were not all based in Sarajevo. The funds also enabled UNITAR to provide the participants with a comprehensive set of training and reference material, which was an essential part of the course methodology designed to allow the participants to pursue and further deepen their knowledge after the end of the training event.

Selected Comments from Participants
General:

"Excellent training! I was so glad I was able to participate."

"Most of the courses were an excellent combination of lecture, case studies, videos and simulations."

"I am completely satisfied and consider this training as very useful and fruitful."

"I learned a lot but feel that I would need more training before I can actively get involved in helping to solve problems – we need a follow-up."

"I will try to take a new approach to my work and incorporate what I learned."

"This is a programme that needs little improvement in the course planning."

"This training will support us in the daily tasks to re-think our approach to work and remember these aspects."

"This course will help us to find better arguments to convince our policy-makers that the issue of women and children should be included in the mission's mandate."

Training modules and lecturers:

"The inter-agency approach in the organization of this training is excellent and should be kept at all times since it allows to share and learn from the experience of other agencies and improves the dialogue between different players in the field."

"Some of the lecturers were outstanding, especially Corey Levine and Monika Kämpf."

"The course could have been longer to give more time to various topics but in the light of the time given the course was excellent."

"UNICEF and UNHCHR did some excellent work."

"Some of the speakers and trainers were really extraordinary."

"Especially the UNICEF and the ICRC teams had excellent materials and an innovative approach to teaching."

"I particularly enjoyed the interactive approach and the application of contemporary training methods."

"I particularly liked Corey Levine's, Monika Kämpf's, Mary Black's and Isabella Castrogiovanni's contributions, which were excellent with an active learning approach."

"Madeleine Rees and Susin Park were excellent – we really got something to take back."

"In particular the presentations of Mary Black, Corey Levine, Monika Kämpf andMadeleine Rees were very good."

"Mary Black from UNICEF was excellent in making it easy to understand the various conventions and legal norms on the rights of the child."

"The group exercises by UNICEF were both enlightening and fun."

"Most of the lectures were very informative providing a very good understanding of the legal framework needed for operations and, at the same time, explaining the critical points of the status of UN missions in a difficult political or social context."

"The areas of international law, humanitarian law and refugee law were particularly good as refresher courses."

"All presentation were extremely good although one was a bit too emotional which is not adequate for a UN professional."

Course objectives:

"The objectives have been more than achieved and the training received will be very useful both professionally and personally."

"I gained extensive knowledge from both participants and lectures."

"The training exceeded our expectations – great engaging atmosphere – good materials."

"The objectives have been fully achieved but the cross-section meeting of participants from different sections, regional offices and NGOs was the most important outcome of the course."

Topics or items that could be included in the future:

Trafficking of women and prostitution;

Health related topics (malnutrition, HIV/AIDS post-traumatic stress syndrome,
psychological traumata);

Sexual harassment and domestic violence;

Lessons learned from women and children protection activities in other peacekeeping missions;

A short field visit, e.g. to a camp of internally displaced women;

Confidence-building, reconciliation and reconstruction of divided societies;

Conflict prevention and conflict resolution.