Women have a right to be involved in restoring and maintaining peace

I wish to talk about Security Council Resolution 1325 because it gives a real commitment to women’s participation in peace building, reconstruction and nation building. Therefore for the first time, it recognises women’s political right to be included in the process of nation building. To be at the table as well as serving it, as women do everywhere. I am focusing on how to implement Security Council Resolution 1325.

UNIFEM and the experts have laid the groundwork. In the preamble to the 22 key recommendations of 1325 the independent experts call for:

#16 - The Security Council to formulate a plan for the least diversion for armaments of the world’s human and economic resources.

Sixty years after being assigned the task, the Security Council should implement Article 26 of the United Nations Charter, taking into account the Women’s Peace Petition which calls for the world’s nations to redirect at least 5 per cent of national military expenditures to help education and employment programs each year over the next five years. Also:

#17 – The UN Development Program, UNDP, as a leading agency in the field of security sector reform to ensure that women’s protection and participation is central to the design and reform of security sector institutions and policies. Especially in police, military and rule of law components. UNDP should integrate a gender perspective into country programs.

If these recommendations are implemented then Security Council Resolution 1325 will come to life.

The report is divided up into ten chapters and they say a lot about women’s experience. The titles of those chapters are

Violence against women
Women forced to flee
War and health of women
HIV/AIDS
Women and peace operations
Organising for Peace
Justice, media power, prevention and reconstruction

There is so much to say and to tell about women in Timor Leste, but these ten areas, used as the template for reporting on the experience of women, can lead to defining women’s lives in Timor Leste, and indeed everywhere.

Importantly, they do not limit their experience and their resilience to survive. So much of this experience is formative, not absolute, shown in the fact that we are organising ourselves, working to prevent further violence and working to reconstruct our nation, giving us hope for the future. I have to remind myself that, as tough as things sometimes are, we are at least free from occupation, free from intimidation and fear. Having achieved this, we can achieve anything.

Women in Timor Leste have seen it all. The country has been occupied for centuries. First by Portugal, with whom today we share a deep connection and language, and therefore culture. Then came the Indonesian military occupation. We are still struggling to come to terms with the violence of this time, and forging a new relationship with them. And then liberation, with various forms of leadership: first, the National Council of Timorese Resistance, UNIMET, INTERFET, and now our own government, the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste.

So how have women fared under all these forms of government or governance? I have to say: not well, but they are making some inroads. Our first elections saw 22 women out of 88 members elected to the Constituent Assembly. But we have yet to make an impact on policy – and I often have women members of parliament express to me their concern about how they are locked out by their male colleagues.