In this video you will learn about key instruments that contain gender and disarmament aspects dealing with conventional weapons, such as:
The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT, 2014 ) is the first legally binding multilateral instrument to acknowledge the connection between international arms trade and gender-based violence (GBV).
Article 7 (4) states
The exporting State Party, in making this assessment, shall take into account the risk of the conventional arms covered under Article 2(1) or of the items covered under Article 3 or Article 4 in being used to commit or facilitate serious acts of gender-based violence or serious acts of violence against women and children.
Article 7(4)
Member States and civil society have undertaken capacity-building efforts to operationalize Article 7 (4). During Latvia’s ATT presidency in 2018, it announced “gender and arms related gender-based violence” as the priority theme for its presidency. The announcement provided an opportunity to deepen knowledge on the link between categories of conventional arms to which ATT applies and GBV.
Control Arms campaigner David Grimason lays a photo of his son Alistair during a demonstration close to the United Nations building on 25 July, 2012
The UN Programme of Action to Reduce, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons (UN PoA, 2001) has also recognized the link between illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and gender-based violence.
Paragraph 14 of the 2018 Outcome Document to the Third Review Conference states:
We remain gravely concerned about the negative impact of the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons on lives of women, men, girls and boys, and recognize that eradicating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons is a key part of combating gender-based violence.
UN PoA,2001; Paragraph 14 of 2018 Outcome Document.
In this video you will learn about key instruments that contain gender and disarmament aspects, such as:
UN General Assembly Resolution 65/69, 8 December 2010 was the first resolution to be adopted by the UN General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament and International Security focused on “Women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control”. The resolution focused on:
Chart showing percentages od UNGA First Committee Resolutions with Gender References.
Katrin Geyer from the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom reviewed the number of adopted General Assembly First Committee Resolutions that included gender references over a five-year time span, from 2015 to 2019. The data gathered from the Reaching Critical Will First Committee Monitor publication of November 2019 and illustrated in the above graph, demonstrates a positive upward trend of gender perspectives being increasingly included in peace and security discussions and reflected in adopted resolutions. It is important to note that over the years some resolutions have adopted stronger language on gender, while others included references to gender for the first time.
17 of the adopted resolutions in the UN General Assembly First Committee included gender references, accounting for 28% of all adopted resolutions.The resolutions addressed:
Of the 17 adopted resolutions, four included language on gender for the first time. The four resolutions focused on:
2018 and 2019 PrepCom Chair Factual Summaries/Recommendations to the Review Conference:
At least three working papers submitted at the 2019 NPT PrepCom included gender references addressing the following topics:
Women are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of ionized radiation than men.
Long Term: women and girls have a higher risk of developing cancer than men or boys.
Graph constructed for Gender and Radiation Impact Project. 60 years of A-bomb survivor cancer incidence data shown for each age-of-exposure cohort.
Each State Party shall, with respect to individuals under its jurisdiction who are affected by the use or testing of nuclear weapons (…) adequately provide age- and gender-sensitive assistance, without discrimination, including medical care, rehabilitation and psychological support, as well as provide for their social and economic inclusion.
Article 6: Vicitme Assistance, "Chance for Peace", speech to American Society of Newspaper Editors.
Women continue to be underrepresented in disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation fora. The two figures to the right were provided by the UN Institute for Disarmament Research and are extracted from their report entitled “Still Behind the Curve: Gender Balance in Arms Control, Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Diplomacy”. The first graph highlights the percent of women represented in Geneva disarmament forums in the year 2018. In all fora for that year, women representation was below the baseline indicator of 36 percent. The second graph highlights women representation in meetings relevant to the disarmament, arms control and disarmament field with more than 100 participants. The average female representation in such meetings is 32 percent, which is below the average baseline and distant from gender parity aspirations.
For more information on the images and for further graphs on female representation in disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control fora, please read the UNIDIR “Still Behind the Curve” report from 2019.
What was the first legally binding multilateral instrument to recognize the link between international arms trade and gender-based violence?
Select all that apply.
In which year was the first resolution on “Women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control,” adopted in the UN General Assembly First Committee?
True or False: Ionized radiation does not impact men and women differently.
Select all that apply.