The village of rape survivor Angeline Mwarusena in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to be threatened by militia. Credit: Einberger/argum/EED/IPS

By Leymah Gbowee and Jody Williams
DOHA, Qatar, Apr 10 2013 (Al Jazeera)

In a London boardroom today – on Apr. 10 – a new era in the longstanding fight to stop gender violence in conflict will be ushered in. Eight Foreign Ministers from the wealthiest countries around the world, the G8, will discuss conflict-related sexual violence and – if all goes according to plan – will emerge with a clear set of commitments to help end the global scourge.

For the countless individuals and organisations around the world that have tirelessly and courageously devoted themselves to going after the perpetrators of sexual violence and helping survivors, including all of us at the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict, this is a sweet day.

It is also a bittersweet. Since the wars in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Rwanda in the 1990s -when the world learned that thousands of women were brutally raped – the international community finally decided that rape in conflict is a serious threat to peace and security.

The result was a few important U.N. Security Resolutions, and a rough international framework for addressing sexual violence. While all positive, progress is slow. And as debates go on in the hallowed halls of power, more conflicts have been – and are being – waged over women’s bodies, including in Myanmar, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Libya and Syria.

Yet, those toiling behind-the-scenes – from doctors running clinics to stitch the mutilated genitals of women raped in war to human rights defenders challenging national governments to prosecute those who commit mass rape – have had their work cut out for them convincing the world’s most powerful leaders that sexual violence in conflict is indeed a crisis. One they have the power to help bring to an end. Now, it seems, finally some of these leaders are listening.

Leading this charge is the United Kingdom’s own Foreign Secretary William Hague. He has made ending sexual violence in conflict a foreign policy priority for both his own country, with the newly established Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI), and as the UK takes up presidency of the G8 this year. With patience and determination, he has succeeded in placing it high on the global agenda of the world’s most powerful nations.

Grassroots women and organisations working to stop rape have knocked for decades on the iron door of the international “all boys club”, and today Secretary Hague is helping us all break open that door.

We hope that the door stays open – for all of our sake.

Rape in conflict is not an issue that only touches women and their families in faraway countries. Rape in conflict is part of a continuum of gender violence that manifests itself in every corner of this globe. The face of gender violence is your sister, your mother, your daughter – and sometimes even your father, your brother, or your son. It tears apart the fabric of society and is one of the reasons women and their families leave their homes as refugees or immigrants to build new lives on shattered foundations.

Gender violence also continues to be the face of the future, as climate change becomes a more present reality and helps fuel conflicts resulting from desertification and lack of water, and countless natural disasters.

As our Foreign Ministers place ending gender violence on their agenda, we wish to remind them that this is going to be a long-standing item and is not going to be solved in the near future. While the UK has admirably taken this issue and made it a priority for the G8, it must remain a commitment for our leaders with concrete actions to prevent rape, protect survivors and provide justice. This is not a crisis we will solve in one year.

When looking at regions where rape and other forms of gender violence have been ongoing for years, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, we need to provide comprehensive, long-term strategies to end the violence. This means not only providing greater support and reparations to survivors, but bringing impunity to an end by focusing on the prosecution of those committing these heinous crimes.

Equally important, we need to ensure that as conflicts come to an end, women are at the peace table to keep negotiations focused on gender equality and justice reform.

Women’s voices must be heard.

The G8 Foreign Ministers today have set an admirable precedent for other leaders around the world, who can be sure that women will keep knocking on the door. And for those meeting in London, we, more than 700 organisations of the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict, will hold you to what you pledge.

*Published under an agreement with Al Jazeera.

Leymah Gbowee is a peace activist, trained social worker, and women’s rights advocate who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. Her leadership of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace is chronicled in her memoir, Mighty Be Our Powers, and the documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell.

Follow her on Twitter @LeymahRGbowee

Jody Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work to ban antipersonnel landmines through the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) who shared the prize with her that year. Her life of activism has been chronicled in a newly released memoir, My Name is Jody Williams: A Vermont Girl’s Winding Path to the Nobel Peace Prize.

Follow her on Twitter @JodyWilliams97

Williams and Gbowee are co-chairs of the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

By Jody Williams and Rachel Giora
Jul 12 2011 (IPS)

Excerpt:

By Jody Williams and Tin Tin Nyo
WASHINGTON/BANGKOK, Apr 4 2011 (IPS)

One could be forgiven for thinking that democracy is busting out all over Burma. After all, the military junta that runs the country is making a big show of handing over power to parliament, and declaring a victory for General Than Shwe’s much-touted ‘roadmap to democracy’.

The trouble is, as we all well know, real democracy is hard work and requires a lot more than a ‘roadmap’. It involves bothersome things like free and fair elections, respect for human rights and equality before the law. That’s why most people in Burma, including women and ethnic minorities, are not fooled by this superficial display of democracy in Burma.

Over 2,000 political prisoners languish in Burma’s prisons in abhorrent conditions. Ethnic communities live in fear as they roam the jungle night after night trying to avoid forced labour and execution. Girls and women are left to the mercy of military gangs as they are raped, mutilated and tortured. Children are snatched from their parents and forced to porter for soldiers or used as de-facto mine sweepers. Surely, this is not what democracy entails.

Burma’s fearless moral leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has repeatedly called for national reconciliation, a process in which the National League for Democracy, ethnic nationalities and the regime could engage in genuine dialogue. There are no indications that such dialogue is on the radar screen. Instead, an inclusive political process remains elusive and human rights abuses continue unabated, especially in ethnic areas.

The elections in November 2010 were neither free nor fair, so it has come as little surprise that the ‘new’ parliament looks like the old military government. Its leadership includes ex-general Thein Sein, the head of the main pro-military party and a dependable ally of general Than Shwe.  Recently the Economic Intelligence Unit put it succinctly: ‘The country remains a military dictatorship in all but name.’

Oddly, though, many countries are willing to overlook the lack of real change. Some democratic countries, like India and Germany, took Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest last November as a sign that it was time to relax the international community’s efforts to bring about change in Burma.

The sad truth is that Aung San Suu Kyi is not free.

Only three months after her release, a commentary in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper threatened that ‘if Daw Suu Kyi and her party keep going the wrong way… they will meet their tragic ends’. And after months of silence, Burmese officials have still not granted the six Nobel Laureates who have continuously supported Aung San Suu Kyi visas to visit their sister Laureate in Rangoon. This is not an oversight. It is a clear signal that the government perceives Aung San Suu Kyi’s work with international activists a threat to the status quo.

Meanwhile, Burma is violating international laws standards on a daily basis, and there is little indication that this is going to change anytime soon. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, certainly recognizes this reality. At the most recent Human Rights Council session in April he reiterated his recommendation to establish a UN Commission of Inquiry in Burma.

Such an action has strong support from women of Burma.

Representing thousands of other women, last year 12 courageous women of Burma travelled to New York City to testify in front of an international tribunal, and describe the atrocities they have suffered under the Burmese military. They believed that their testimonies, which according to their own words are ‘normal stories inside Burma’, would provide the basis for the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry.

It is sad to see that a year later, the international community has not matched these women’s courage. This is not the dawn of a new era in Burma; it is just business as usual. With the military steadfast in their power, women and ethnic communities of Burma will continue to suffer the same atrocities at the hands of the new ‘civilian’ regime.

It is time for the international community to demonstrate that we are as committed to the people of Burma as we are to pro-democracy movements in Libya. It is time for concrete actions. The establishment of a Commission of Inquiry can no longer be delayed as it has more potential for a roadmap to democracy than any military blueprint could ever have. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)

(*) Jody Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work on banning landmines, and is the Chair of the Nobel WomenÂ’s Initiative. Tin Tin Nyo is the General Secretary of the WomenÂ’s League of Burma.

Excerpt:

By Jody Williams and Tin Tin Nyo
WASHINGTON/BANGKOK, Apr 2 2011 (IPS)

One could be forgiven for thinking that democracy is busting out all over Burma. After all, the military junta that runs the country is making a big show of handing over power to parliament, and declaring a victory for General Than Shwe’s much-touted ‘roadmap to democracy’.

The trouble is, as we all well know, real democracy is hard work and requires a lot more than a ‘roadmap’. It involves bothersome things like free and fair elections, respect for human rights and equality before the law. That’s why most people in Burma, including women and ethnic minorities, are not fooled by this superficial display of democracy in Burma.

Over 2,000 political prisoners languish in Burma’s prisons in abhorrent conditions. Ethnic communities live in fear as they roam the jungle night after night trying to avoid forced labour and execution. Girls and women are left to the mercy of military gangs as they are raped, mutilated and tortured. Children are snatched from their parents and forced to porter for soldiers or used as de-facto mine sweepers. Surely, this is not what democracy entails.

Burma’s fearless moral leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has repeatedly called for national reconciliation, a process in which the National League for Democracy, ethnic nationalities and the regime could engage in genuine dialogue. There are no indications that such dialogue is on the radar screen. Instead, an inclusive political process remains elusive and human rights abuses continue unabated, especially in ethnic areas.

The elections in November 2010 were neither free nor fair, so it has come as little surprise that the ‘new’ parliament looks like the old military government. Its leadership includes ex-general Thein Sein, the head of the main pro-military party and a dependable ally of general Than Shwe.  Recently the Economic Intelligence Unit put it succinctly: ‘The country remains a military dictatorship in all but name.’

Oddly, though, many countries are willing to overlook the lack of real change. Some democratic countries, like India and Germany, took Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest last November as a sign that it was time to relax the international community’s efforts to bring about change in Burma.

The sad truth is that Aung San Suu Kyi is not free.

Only three months after her release, a commentary in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper threatened that ‘if Daw Suu Kyi and her party keep going the wrong way… they will meet their tragic ends’. And after months of silence, Burmese officials have still not granted the six Nobel Laureates who have continuously supported Aung San Suu Kyi visas to visit their sister Laureate in Rangoon. This is not an oversight. It is a clear signal that the government perceives Aung San Suu Kyi’s work with international activists a threat to the status quo.

Meanwhile, Burma is violating international laws standards on a daily basis, and there is little indication that this is going to change anytime soon. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, certainly recognizes this reality. At the most recent Human Rights Council session in April he reiterated his recommendation to establish a UN Commission of Inquiry in Burma.

Such an action has strong support from women of Burma.

Representing thousands of other women, last year 12 courageous women of Burma travelled to New York City to testify in front of an international tribunal, and describe the atrocities they have suffered under the Burmese military. They believed that their testimonies, which according to their own words are ‘normal stories inside Burma’, would provide the basis for the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry.

It is sad to see that a year later, the international community has not matched these women’s courage. This is not the dawn of a new era in Burma; it is just business as usual. With the military steadfast in their power, women and ethnic communities of Burma will continue to suffer the same atrocities at the hands of the new ‘civilian’ regime.

It is time for the international community to demonstrate that we are as committed to the people of Burma as we are to pro-democracy movements in Libya. It is time for concrete actions. The establishment of a Commission of Inquiry can no longer be delayed as it has more potential for a roadmap to democracy than any military blueprint could ever have. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)

(*) Jody Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work on banning landmines, and is the Chair of the Nobel Women’s Initiative. Tin Tin Nyo is the General Secretary of the Women’s League of Burma

Excerpt: