Women’s Representation in Peace Processes

My Lords, the Government are firmly committed to the women, peace and security agenda. We see women’s representation not as an addition to peacebuilding but as central to more effective conflict prevention and resolution. Over the last two years, we have supported women’s safe and meaningful participation in processes in Sudan, Colombia, Iraq, Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria and the Philippines, among others, and worked to integrate women’s perspectives into all UK support on conflict resolution.

I am very grateful to the Minister for that Answer. Would she please say more about how the commitments in this plan will be translated into measurable, accountable outcomes, particularly where women’s participation remains limited? Could she also say how the Government are supporting female-led grass-roots organisations in conflict-affected regions through flexible, accessible funding?

We fund many such organisations. The right reverend Prelate is right to highlight the significant role that women and women-led organisations play, not just in negotiating. Processes that involve women are also more likely to be successful, and the peace that is secured is more likely to last—there is lots of evidence that this is the case. The outcome she asked me about, which eventually we would be looking to measure, is that we resolve more of the conflicts we see around the world. I have to say that, as of today, we are not seeing enough success.

My Lords, the Minister in her substantive reply mentioned Sudan. She will be aware that, during this appalling conflict, rape is being used habitually as a weapon of war, and quite atrociously also against minors. This constitutes among the most significant crimes against humanity: war crimes. Can she assure the House that everything possible is being done to identify those culprits, so that when peace eventually comes to that troubled nation, those people will face justice?

If only it was just Sudan—but it is not. The noble Lord asked about Sudan specifically. We have instigated and funded a fact-finding mission so that testimonies can be gathered and the relevant data can be held, so that accountability can happen. He is absolutely right about the horrific nature of these crimes. The grotesque way in which rape is committed and the mutilation of women that takes place as part of this horrifies us all, and we must use every mechanism we can to prevent it.

The Minister has given us a list of places where terrible conflicts have taken place. I noticed that Gaza was not included. A rather nonsensical peace board has been created. It would be interesting to hear how many women are involved in that, never mind the absence of Palestinians. What do the Government make of it?

For a peace process to be successful, it must be inclusive. That includes Palestinian representation, and it should include women, because in just about every example of any kind of agreement withstanding the tests it invariably encounters, it is the inclusive nature of the settlement that gives it the strength to survive.

My Lords, I welcome the Government’s and the Minister’s commitment to trying to ensure that women are involved. I am sure that she will agree that in recent years we have seen conflicts mostly promoted by misogynist men who have no interest in the rights of women. Will the Government call on the US, Israel and Iran to include women in the negotiations as the best way to present conflict reigniting? As she says, without women’s involvement, the chances of settlements sticking are very low. Will she pressure those countries to recognise Resolution 1325 and implement it?

I do not hesitate to support what the noble Lord has said about the inclusion of women. I would go a little bit further and say that peace which is achieved, or pauses in conflict which are achieved, through imposition of agreements that have not been negotiated through the long, hard, diligent, inclusive process that we all know about in this Chamber rarely stand the test of time.

My Lords, earlier the noble Baroness referred to the importance of strong, women-led organisations. We on our Benches are very proud of our record of having strong women leaders in charge of our organisation. We are now on our fourth, so we well know the impact that women can make at the very top of politics. What role is the Government playing in encouraging our international partners to recognise the unique contribution that women can make in leadership roles?

As a woman who has worked in politics for longer than I care to admit, I welcome the noble Lord’s sisterly solidarity. What are we doing? We fund many women-led organisations. We insist at the Security Council—when we are able to—that women’s participation is embedded in resolutions. We participate fully in multilateral organisations that are supporting the work of women in this context.

My Lords, women suffer disproportionately in times of war, and it is odd that the most warmongering countries are usually those that treat women very badly even when there is not a war. A recent example is the systematic use of sexual violence by Hamas. Will the UK support moves at the United Nations and the International Criminal Court to recognise and sanction a new crime, conflict-related sexual violence, the details of which have been worked out by a project called the Dinah Project?

I will look very carefully at that. It sounds like the sort of initiative that the UK would be interested in supporting. There are so many examples of where sexual violence is used to subjugate communities, to humiliate and to destroy societies. This is something where we have seen the world going backwards, not forwards at the moment. Anybody who cares passionately about this, as I do, needs to use every avenue in order to bring this to an end.

The Minister has made reference to sustainable peace agreements. I am very pleased to come from an area where we have a sustainable peace agreement, but one which has to be worked on continuously. Have the Minister or the Government given any thought to using the example of Northern Ireland and the strong women leaders in Northern Ireland who can come forward and show other areas why it is important to have women involved in peace processes?

We do, and we are asked about the example and our experience in Northern Ireland. The noble Baroness has far more knowledge of this than I do, of course, but it is seen as instructive. We always make the point that the inclusion of women, women’s leadership and community representation was essential to creating an agreement that has stood the test of time. As she said, it needs to be cherished and protected and we need to make sure that it lasts, even still now. But the point that she makes is right. Yes, we do include conversations about Northern Ireland whenever that is relevant.

My Lords, it can be very difficult for women to take part in peace agreements without support and training. If they are excluded from peace processes, it can mean that there is no long-term peace for half the population: the women. In particular, the Minister mentioned a number of places where we are supporting women. Are we offering the Yemeni women any support? They are suffering terribly.

I met the female Minister from Yemen just yesterday. The noble Baroness is right that women in Yemen are suffering terribly and yes, we do work to provide support. I will get back to the noble Baroness on specific programmes and exactly how that is done, because I do not want to mislead, but the point the noble Baroness makes about women in leadership is exactly right.

My Lords, in March, the Commons International Development Committee reported on its inquiry into women, peace and security. It said that “our report finds that the Government has failed to deliver on policy commitments relating to the inclusion of women, girls and marginalised groups in meaningful participation and conflict prevention”. Paragraph 4 states: “We find that the Government continues to reduce funding and resourcing towards WPS … despite the devastating impacts this has on women and girls”. The Minister was right: the need is greater. So, why are a Labour Government cutting the very thing that is needed for women, girls, peace and security?

We have protected the £7 million that we spend centrally on women, peace and security. That is just a fact. I do not know what time period the report was referring to. It was published in March, but obviously it is retrospective. There is less money to spend as part of our aid budget, that is true. We have had to make some hard decisions. But even though we have had to make trade-offs and difficult choices, without a doubt, we have protected our central spending on this issue, for good reason.