Hillary Clinton: Keeping the Peace

Last edited Tue Jun 2, 2015, 07:32 PM - Edit history (1)

WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY

Hillary Clinton made promoting women’s rights a signature part of her tenure as Secretary of State. She elevated their role in peacekeeping efforts and helped inaugurate Georgetown’s Institute for Women, Peace, and Security. Recently, she spoke about security through inclusive leadership, saying, “Today marks a very important next step. Shifting from saying the right things to doing the right things. Putting into action the steps that are necessary to not only protect women and children but to find ways of utilizing women as makers and keepers of peace.” As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton fought to do just that.

ELEVATED ROLE OF WOMEN AS PEACEKEEPERS

Under Hillary Clinton, “tradition-bound” bureaus and agencies were pushed “to think differently about the role of women in conflicts and peacemaking.” In her book Hard Choices, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote, “We had to push tradition-bound bureaus and agencies to think differently about the role of women in conflicts and peacemaking, economic and democratic development, public health, and more. I didn’t want [the Office of Global Women’s Issues] to be the only place where this work was done; rather I wanted it to be integrated into the daily routine of our diplomats and development experts everywhere.” [Hard Choices, pg. 567, 2014]

Sec. Clinton “funded aid programs to train women leaders in developing countries for government, civil society, and peace negotiations.” “Last week, Georgetown University inaugurated a new Institute for Women, Peace, and Security to research the role of women in mitigating global conflicts. The institute was first announced by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who made promotion of women’s rights a signature part of her tenure. Clinton funded aid programs to train women leaders in developing countries for government, civil society, and peace negotiations. Ambassador Melanne Verveer, who will head the Georgetown institute – and ran Clinton’s office for Global Women’s Issues – clearly hopes to build on that legacy in her new role.” [Trudy Rubin, Philadelphia Inquirer, 2/28/13]

Sec. Clinton promoted investing in women and girls because they “build peace and prosperity and political stability for everyone.” “The United States is committed to making women and their advancement a cornerstone of our foreign policy not just because it’s the right thing to do. Investing in women and girls is good for societies, and it is also good for the future prosperity of countries. Women drive our economies. They build peace and prosperity and political stability for everyone—men and women, boys and girls.” [Statement on International Women’s Day, state.gov, 3/8/12]

Sec. Clinton: “When women participate in peace processes, they tend to focus discussion on issues like human rights, justice, national reconciliation, and economic renewal.” In her book Hard Choices, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote, “When women participate in peace processes, they tend to focus discussion on issues like human rights, justice, national reconciliation, and economic renewal that are critical to making peace. They generally build coalitions across ethnic and sectarian lines and are more likely to speak up for other marginalized groups. They often act as mediators and help to foster compromise. Yet despite all that women tend to bring to the table, more often than not they’re excluded. Of the hundreds of peace treaties signed since the early 1990s, fewer than 10 percent had any women negotiators, fewer than 3 percent had any women signatories, and only a small percentage included even a single reference to women. So it’s not too surprising that more than half of all peace agreements fail within five years.” [Hard Choices, pg. 571, 2014]

Sec. Clinton pushed equal participation for women in peace efforts in countries affected by war, insecurity, and violence. According to the State Department website, the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP) “seeks to ensure that women participate equally in preventing conflict and building peace in countries threatened and affected by war, violence, and insecurity. The Department’s implementation of the NAP demonstrates its commitment to furthering the promotion of gender equality in service of U.S. foreign policy and national security.” [“Department of State Implementation of the United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security,” state.gov, 8/15/12]

Sec. Clinton: “We must support women and girls” if we want to support “stable, peaceful societies worldwide.” “So if we want to support strong democracies, thriving economies, and stable, peaceful societies worldwide, we must support women and girls. And that means focusing on a wide range of issues – from working to improve women’s leadership in industries where they are currently underrepresented, as Australia has pledged to do in the mining and construction industries, to enforcing and strengthening laws that guarantee women’s equal political participation, as Senegal has committed to do, to addressing once and for all the problem of nationality laws that discriminate against women and leave they and their families vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.” [Remarks at the Equal Futures Partnership Launch, state.gov, 9/24/12]

COORDINATED NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY

Sec. Clinton coordinated the development of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security with USAID and the Defense Department. In her book Hard Choices, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote, “I spent years trying to get generals, diplomats, and national security policymakers in our own country and around the world to tune in to this reality. I found sympathetic allies at the Pentagon and in the White House, including Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michèle Flournoy and Admiral Sandy Winnefeld, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. State, USAID, and Defense got to work on a plan that would change the way diplomats, development experts, and military personnel interact with women in conflict and postconflict areas. There would be new emphasis on stopping rape and gender-based violence and empowering women to make and keep peace. We called it a National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security. In December 2011, President Obama issued an executive order launching the plan.” [Hard Choices, pg. 572, 2014]

Under Sec. Clinton’s leadership, America developed “its national action plan to promote the essential role of women when it comes to securing peace.” According to a Courier-Journal op-ed by Kentucky state legislator Mary Lou Marzian, “With the leadership of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, America joined the ranks of more than 30 countries in developing its national action plan to promote the essential role of women when it comes to securing peace. All of this started with a movement of women that has risen up across the globe and has been developing through the United Nations.” [Mary Lou Marzian, Courier-Journal, 8/25/12]

The National Action Plan better coordinated U.S. efforts to implement a UN resolution on women and peacekeeping. According to a State Department fact sheet, “In this process, the United States has reaffirmed its support for [UN Security Council Resolution] 1325 and decided to initiate development of a National Action Plan to better coordinate and advance our efforts. The plan will include regular consultation with civil society groups in countries affected by conflict in recognition of their knowledge and expertise in the promotion of peace. We also will continue to partner with other countries, bilaterally and multilaterally, in support of 1325 principles.” [“The United States and UN Security Council Resolution 1325: Promoting the Political Participation of Women in all Aspects of Peace and Security,” state.gov, 10/26/10]

SECURED SUPPORT FOR UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1325

Sec. Clinton helped lead the charge to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325, “the first ever to recognize the role of women in restoring peace and maintaining security.” According to Sec. Clinton’s remarks on making human rights a human reality, “We led the charge for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the first ever to recognize the role of women in restoring peace and maintaining security. We created a National Action Plan and encouraged others to do the same.” According to the United Nations, “Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) stresses the importance of women’s equal and full participation as active agents in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace-building and peacekeeping.” [Remarks on Making Human Rights a Human Reality, state.gov, 12/6/12; UN.org, accessed 6/24/14]

MADE FIGHTING SEXUAL VIOLENCE A PEACEKEEPING PRIORITY

Sec. Clinton achieved consensus in the UN to make ending sexual violence a priority for global peacekeeping missions. In her book Hard Choices, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote, “A little more than a month after my trip to Goma, in late September 2009, I presided over a meeting of the United Nations Security Council focused on women, peace, and security, where I proposed making the protection of women and children from the kinds of rampant sexual violence I witnessed in the Congo a priority for UN peacekeeping missions around the world. All fifteen Council members agreed. It wasn’t going to solve the problem overnight, but it was a start.” [Hard Choices, pg. 282, 2014]

Sec. Clinton “led the unanimous adoption of UN Resolution 1888,” which mandated that “peacekeeping missions protect women and children from sexual violence during armed conflict.” “Secretary Clinton has long worked to highlight the urgent need to end sexual violence against women and promote their in participation in peace and security. She led the unanimous adoption of UN Resolution 1888, the successor resolution to UNSCR 1325 and 1320.” According to the UN website, “Resolution 1888, as a follow up to Resolution 1820, mandates that peacekeeping missions protect women and children from sexual violence during armed conflict, and requests that the Secretary-General appoint a special representative on sexual violence during armed conflict (Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict).” [“The United States and UN Security Council Resolution 1325: Promoting the Political Participation of Women in all Aspects of Peace and Security,” state.gov, 10/26/10; UN.org, accessed 6/24/14]

Correct the Record. Fight the Republican Smears from Rand/Bush/Etc.