PAN-AFRICAN CONFERENCE ON PEACE, GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT, KIGALI, RWANDA, FROM 1ST-3RD MARCH, 1997
PAN-AFRICAN CONFERENCE ON PEACE, GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT, KIGALI, RWANDA, FROM 1ST-3RD MARCH, 1997
I am grateful to H.E., President Pasteur Bizimungu and the conference organisers for having invited me to attend and speak at this important gathering, organised on the initiative of Rwandan women under the auspices of the Rwandan Government, the Organisation of African Unity and the Economic Commission for Africa, to discuss and define the critical roles and responsibilities of men and women, civil society, the private sector, the international community and the media in the promotion of non-violent resolution of conflict and sustainable peace and development in Africa.
This conference is a significant one for Rwanda, in that it provides an opportunity to explore the important role played by women in the reconstruction of post-genocide society. Its Pan-African nature also underlines its wider relevance, especially for women in Africa at an important stage in the development of women in positions of leadership throughout this continent. Giving power to women is not only an essential goal in itself but forms an essential goal in enabling society to address the challenges of the future. If there is one message which has gone out from the major UN conferences on women, it is that the lack of equality is an immense obstacle to development and that the empowerment of women is an essential key to solving many of the world's crucial issues. As the Beijing Platform for Action states "Peace is inextricably linked with equality between women and men and development".
One of the objectives of this conference is to identify major root causes of conflict and use women's particular perspectives in formulating strategies to address these causes. This is part of the process of giving full recognition to women as agents of the necessary changes, not just beneficiaries of it.
Firstly, in my view, poverty is the worst enemy to global peace at the end of this century. As Mwalimu Julius Nyerere stated during a recent visit to Dublin:
"Violence has to be brought to an end in the Great Lakes area; but in the long run the real dangers to peace in that part of the continent, as in most other parts of Africa, come from the desperate poverty and consequent disputes over who is to control what wealth there is. However honest an African government, and however much national leaders try to serve their people, poverty without hope of relief is a pile of gunpowder waiting for a spark to set it off".
Over recent years, there has been remarkable, although uneven, successes in many African countries in critical sectors such as education, health and the provision of basic social services. At the same time, it is estimated that over half of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa at present live below the poverty line, while 43% suffer from chronic malnutrition. These statistics have particular implications for women, since, as we know, 70% of the world's poorest are women, who continue to face problems such as low life expectancy rates, high infant, child and maternal mortality rates, limited access to safe water and sanitation, malnourished children and low literacy rates. One of the factors underlying poverty in Africa is a population growth rate which has until recently outpaced economic growth rates. It is encouraging to note that many African countries are beginning to implement the objectives of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) through an integrated approach and one which places the well-being of people at the centre of efforts to achieve sustainable development. The role of women and their empowerment is crucial in the successful implementation of the ICPD.
Sustained patterns of growth are an essential requirement for measures to substantially alleviate poverty in Africa. It is also clear that poverty reduction is the key to enhance economic and social development and to the achievement of lasting food security. However, as the Beijing Platform of Action emphasises, "sustainable development and economic growth that is both sustained and sustainable are possible only though improving the economic, social, political, legal and cultural status of women".
Most African countries now accept that for the process of economic transition to succeed requires new patterns of government and authority centered around the aspiration - political, social and economic - of the people. During that past decade, issues of democracy and human rights have been high on the domestic agendas of many African countries. The general picture is one of substantial progress in achieving more open political systems. Across Africa, national governments are seeking new ways of enabling their people to participate more in the process of government and to allow them greater control over decisions which shape their lives. Tragically, the troubles of Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia and Somalia and setbacks in countries such as Nigeria, have given many in the outside world an image of continuing confusion and political and humanitarian crisis in Africa.
At present, most countries in Africa are in a state of transition between the old political and economic order and a new future, yet to be fully defined, but essentially involving political and economic liberalisation and developing human and institutional capacity as the new way forward. New windows of opportunity are open in Africa. The process of change is irreversible. The peoples of Africa are surely entitled to look to the international community for generous support and assistance in this time of transition. It seems to me that a new future for Africa must involve several inter-related themes.
As a pre-condition for economic development, peace, stability and security must be assured throughout the continent. This will involve new forms of preventative diplomacy as well as conflict resolution. In this endeavour, the OAU has a particular and critical role to play, but it will require greater political and financial support to allow it to play a leadership role.
A new economic partnership with the developed world must strengthen human and institutional capacities, reduce poverty levels and ensure access to social services. The role of women in Africa must be strengthened and enhanced. Human development means investing in human capabilities and ensuring that the capabilities of all people - men and women - are utilised for the benefit of all.
New forms of regional economic integration in Africa should be carefully examined, something that is already increasingly happening, as with the Southern African Development Community (SADC). African countries must be facilitated to become attractive trading and investment partners for each other and with the wider international community.
A new partnership must address Africa's debt problem and provide access to Western trade and investment as well as technology transfer. The process of economic and political liberalisation must continue and be encouraged and strengthened.
Developed countries must avoid any temptation to aid fatigue and seek to foster economic and social progress in Africa by investing in a process of broad based, participatory development. I believe that it is possible to develop a new contract between donors and recipients which seeks to shape African development by focusing on human priority issues such as health and basic education, reduction of poverty, environmental security. In my visits to Africa, I have been particularly impressed by the new primary needs assistance models in use in a number of different countries.
In charting a new future for Africa, the decentralisation of government authority and the emergence of new NGOs and civil society structures in many African counties provide powerful momentum for greater participation and involvement by people.
Violations of human or minority rights are another major cause of conflict. Our recent history has shown that internal disorder, civil war, heightened regional and international tension can be causally related to such violations. Respect for human rights is essential for genuine peace and the effective protection of human rights is indissociably linked to international peace and security. As was emphatically re-affirmed by the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, the protection of human rights is a duty for all states, irrespective of their political, economic or cultural system.
However, the credibility of the international community's attachment to human rights is intimately bound up with its ability to respond effectively to situations where human rights are being grossly violated. We seem to have created for ourselves the following paradox.
Since the Second World War, important, positive advancements have been made in the creation of international courts of human rights to enforce state obligations, in important standard - setting activities by the UN and regional organisations and in the creation of teams of special rapporteurs to examine disappearances, tortures, political executions or the situation in specific countries.
Yet the institutions we have created appear to be stricken with inertia and paralysis when confronted with the reccurrence of the very evils which led to their foundations. While we cannot stop wars and may be unable to foresee or forestall outbreaks of violence on a massive scale, honouring the commitment to human rights requires us to respond to this unacceptable paradox and to the deep international concern about gross violations. We must assume collective responsibility and develop institutions and processes to deter, anticipate, prevent and terminate gross human rights violations. An essential element in this is providing these institutions with adequate resources to enable them to react in timely and effective fashion and to support movement in the direction of compliance with human rights. This support should build on and develop local capacities, including the work of defending and promoting human rights values and public information campaigns being undertaken by local NGOs and women's groups, which can achieve remarkable results. Here in Rwanda, many organisations, such as ARDEC and Pro-Femmes, to name just two whom I met on my past visits, are building community and reconciliation.
Central to the international concern about gross violations of human rights is the possibility of taking preventive action through the effective operation of and attention to early - warning devices. The tragic events in Rwanda in 1994 graphically illustrate the dangers of ignoring these warnings. The human rights situation in Rwanda today continues to be a complex and inter-related one. Around 90,000 prisoners are still in detention, mostly in overcrowded and inadequate conditions, on suspicion of complicity in the 1994 genocide. Few of these yet have been charged or brought to trial. The judicial system in Rwanda remains in urgent need of substantial financial and legal assistance so that due process can be observed in bringing those accused to trial, witnesses can be protected and justice can be seen to be done. The urgent rehabilitation of the judicial system is a prerequisite for peace and reconciliation in Rwanda and will provide the bedrock of a free and fair society. The equity and efficacy achieved in restoring the judicial system will, along with other human rights safeguards, be a determining factor for the future social and political stability of Rwanda. Other violations of human rights, such as arbitrary killings or extra-judicial punishments, must thus be prevented.
At the same time the international community must respond effectively in exercising its responsibility to help bring perpetrators of gross human rights violations to justice.
It is essential therefore, that full support is given to the current efforts of UN Secretary General Annan to resolve the administrative and budgetary difficulties being faced by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The substantial progress which has been made by the Tribunal to date in bringing forward indictments and hearings must be consolidated and further measures taken to ensure its important work is adequately resourced on a firm basis.
The second objective of this conference poses the question of how we can devise and strengthen mechanisms that will ensure sustainable peace in Africa through increased partnership between men and women in political, social and economic development. I feel that strengthening the leadership role of women is very important in this regard. As the Beijing Platform of Action points out: "The equal involvement and full participation of women in power structures and their full involvement in all efforts for the prevention and resolution of conflicts are essential for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security. If women are to play an equal part in securing and maintaining peace, they must be empowered politically and economically and represented adequately at all levels in decision - making".
Since education enables people to take change into their own hands and shape their own destiny, increasing education opportunities for girls is the key to enabling more and more women to attain leadership positions at all levels of society, from health clinics in the villages to parliaments in the capitals. This, in turn, will change the way societies deal with problems and raise the quality of global decision-making. As the African proverb tells us: "If we educate a boy, we educate one person. If we educate a girl, we educate a family and a whole nation". We should not underestimate the magnitude of the task which faces us. Among the 900 million illiterate people in the developing world, women still outnumber men by two to one. Girls constitute 60% of the 130 million children who do not attend primary school.
Implicit in calls for equal involvement of women in power structures and decision - making in order to secure and maintain peace is the vision that women exercising leadership would make a difference. This is the core challenge to women leaders today. Part of achieving this difference, I believe, requires a different approach to leadership itself. As we know, leadership, whether in the political or economic sphere, has traditionally tended to be hierarchical, and exercised by an individual or group on the basis of recognised authority which has an inherent interest in perpetuating itself. But when discussed among women, a subtle change occurs in the perception of leadership. It is not seen as hierarchical but as empowering. It is not so much about exercising power as about influencing others. The approach is to listen, discuss and seek to reach consensus or compromise. The emphasis is on practical problem solving. As Robert Chamber puts it in his recent book, entitled "Whose reality counts? Putting the first last". "Disempowerment seems loss, but often all can gain".
This open, flexible approach to leadership can provide fresh, improvisational responses to the challenge of preventing and resolving conflict in Africa.
I am pleased to note that one of the objectives of this conference is to record the crucial roles which African women play in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, maintenance of social cohesion, reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in crisis and post - conflict countries. In a few days time, I will be addressing the World Food Programme's celebration of International Women's Day in Rome. Having participated in this conference, I will be in a unique position to give witness, before a wider international audience, to the insights gained here and to "bottom up" development needs in Africa and the values which underpin them, including the increasing role of women.
We can get some feeling for the extent to which conflict affects women if we realise that in 1995, for example, some thirty complex emergencies were identified, affecting over 60 million people. If Beijing achieved anything, it forced the world to recognised the grim realities of life for these millions of innocent victims of war and political upheaval. The Platform of Action focused sharply on the fact that an overwhelming majority of refugees - over 80% - are women and children. It also broke new ground in the definition of rape in the conduct of armed conflict as a war crime, which in certain cases constitutes a crime against humanity and an act of genocide. The text also called for action to investigate and punish all those responsible and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In conflict and emergency situations involving humanitarian crisis, women play a critical role in the survival of their families and communities. Therefore, women's ability to survive and support others must be seen holistically. There is need to address issues such as physical safety (including protection from rape and other physical attacks), personal psychology (overcoming trauma and stress), health (including reproductive health), economic opportunities (access to and control over resources) and women's role as family and community leaders. Women's "invisibility" and the highly personal nature of some of their problems means that identifying their needs cannot be done by superficial means of assessment. International assistance also needs to recognise and build on the resilience of community mechanisms, by acting as a source of empowerment to the local community coping with the crisis. This offers the best hope of guaranteeing people's survival in both the short and long term.
We also need to take account of the fact that crisis situations can lead to rapid changes in gender relations, which can reinforce or challenge the traditional views of men and women. Sometimes, this can create opportunities for positive changes and more equality. At other times, it leads to more discriminatory attitudes. In Uganda, for example the division of labour has become much more flexible following the war. While economic opportunities for women have opened up, their overall work load has significantly increased. Also, women, whether in marriage or single heads of families, have had to take responsibility for managing and providing for their families. Violence against women is still common. On the other hand, government policies and statements have had a very positive effect in enabling women to take wider public and family roles.
Here in Rwanda, I understand that the need to revise traditional inheritance and land holding laws, which favoured men, to take account of the fact that 70% of households are now headed by women, is recognised and being acted on.
Gender issues are a specific and important aspect of ongoing efforts at linking relief, rehabilitation and development. There is need to maintain a long-term perspective, in which women are perceived as crucial actors in the process of rehabilitation and reconstruction. This perspective must inform emergency responses just as firmly as immediate survival needs do. While the importance of a gender perspective in this field has only recently been recognised by the donor community, there have been some positive developments. For example, at their November 1996 meeting, the European Union's Development Ministers agreed that a gender perspective should be integrated into all policies and interventions dealing with crisis prevention, emergency responses and post emergency rehabilitation. In particular, all interventions should assure the full respect of the human rights of women as well as men and the protection of women from all forms of violence and the threat of violence in refugee camps and other emergency locations.
Before concluding, I wish to offer a few observation on the efforts currently being made at international level to address the problems of the Great Lakes on a broader, regional basis. I have had a sense for some time of the beginnings of a new approach slowly coming into view. I am referring to the initiative of the Heads of State of the Great Lakes Region in taking to themselves a collective responsibility for tackling the problems of the region. The imposition of sanctions on Burundi following the military coup there was a statement by African leaders themselves that coups are no longer acceptable as a means of effecting political change, no matter what the circumstances. This is a critically important lesson, irrespective on one's views on the merits or otherwise of economic sanctions. The initiative has involved also the deployment, as facilitators and mediators, of a number of senior African statesmen, in particular Mwalimu Nyerere. A further and critical element of this strategy has been the involvement in a supportive role of the international community, largely through the use of special envoys. The European Union, in the person of Ambassador Aldo Ajello, has played a particularly prominent role in this regard. I welcome also the recent appointment of Ambassador Mohammed Sahnoun as the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General.
In my view, we have the shape here of a critical new paradigm - African leadership addressing an African problem and the deployment of wise and experienced African elders as mediators, with the international community in the role of close support. If this paradigm can make progress in addressing the problems of the Great Lakes Region - as I believe it already has - I am certain that it can serve as a valuable model for other conflict situations in Africa. During the visit to Dublin last November of Mwalimu Nyerere, we had a long conversation about these issues. He is firmly convinced that with the proper support from the international community this model can work. Africa, in his view, recognises that it must take a greater role in resolving its own conflicts. But it also recognises that it cannot do so alone. The challenge is to work out an arrangement which encapsulates this balance in correct measure. This conference in Kigali represents, I feel, another valuable example of efforts by the people of Africa to develop their own resources and to seek solutions from within.
How can the international community support African efforts to resolve the problems of the Great Lakes Region? It is now generally accepted that a comprehensive, political approach, not merely a humanitarian response, will be necessary on a regional basis and African primacy in that process will be critical. The individual elements of the problems facing the region - some of which are separate from each other, some of which are clearly inter-related - must, of course, continue to be addressed on an individual basis. But we must also redouble our efforts towards a more global resolution of the problems of the region as a whole. The holding of an international conference on peace, security and development under the aegis of the United Nations and the Organisation of African Unity seems a sensible initiative in this context. One of the ideas such a conference could look at might be a Stability Pact for the region, which would draw together the many disparate elements of its problems. The situation in Eastern Zaire, and the continuing humanitarian emergency there, serves as a further reminder of the urgent need for such a comprehensive approach. It is, of course, critical that such an approach should be Africa-driven. Like the rest of the international community, the European Union has an important role to play in the process ahead in that context, building on the good work it has been doing this past while. Let us hope that this approach can mark the beginning of a new, mutually fruitful partnership between Africa and the international community.
I would like to conclude by sharing with you the challenging perspective put forward by Ambassador Jonathan Moore in his recent book "The UN and complex emergencies". In it, he offers an expert view on the role of rehabilitation assistance and the need for improved international support for societies in transition from crises. Ambassador Moore's vision, which I share, is essentially optimistic. It is this: despite huge suffering, brutality, conflict, war and violence, people in the end yearn for peace and recovery. At some time, a chance for peace and reconciliation emerges. We must seize that chance courageously and quickly. If we miss that moment, it may be lost and with it lives, hopes and a dynamic for peace. I hope that our discussions over these three days will help to equip the women of Africa to seize every chance for peace and reconciliation on this continent with both hands!