Societas et Iurisprudentia (Mar 2017)
Status of Women in International Law – Gender Equality in the United Nations Peacekeeping
Abstract
The status of women in international affairs has considerably changed during the last years. In this regard, the Resolution of the United Nations Security Council 1325 (2000) seems to be path breaking, as it was the first which addressed the problem of sexual violence committed on girls and women during armed conflicts. Later, the United Nations Security Council began to deal with women not just only as victims, but also as active players in security affairs and this led to calls for increased deployment of women in the peacekeeping operations. The presented paper deals with the role that women can play in these missions. The aim of their deployment is not just only to promote women’s equality, but also to counter the problem of sexual abusement committed by male peacekeepers. Moreover, women can significantly contribute to earning the confidence of local women, as only they are able to understand and to address their problems. Despite the fact that women can be very successful in fulfilling the mission’s mandate, they are still deployed only in limited numbers.
